trainrider47 Wrote:
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> Hi Kevin,
>
> Comparing a flanger trip to a rotary trip is
> comparing apples to oranges. The flanger trips
> were generally kept to under 40 participants.
Agree.....and that's what I was thinking. A small group would work.....like a regular charter. Anything more and it would be difficult to manage.....and get people to pay for. Initially, that's what I was assuming was going to happen when John made his announcement.....and why I was so disappointed to find myself 150th in line for a ticket.
> The rotary is a very thirsty beast and the
> entire consist will be moving much slower than on
> the flanger trip.
Yes, in my very limited experience, the rotary works much harder than any of the pusher engines, unless the train is making rapid progress. That said, I think OY is superheated, is it not? It also has a supplemental water car in addition to the regular tender.
At White Pass, the trains also had to travel the entire distance up the hill from Skagway, in order to reach the job site on each of the first 3 days. Only the 73 was superheated. Rotary #1 and the 69 were soaks, I believe. Water support was provided at Glacier on the way up the hill. They may have brought in additional water to White Pass Station, but honestly, I do not recall them stopping to water. The trains left Skagway every day around 8AM and reached White Pass at mid-morning. They plowed until mid-afternoon and retreated home until the 3rd day. Rotary #1 did not have an aux water tender like OY does. Instead, they had an arrangement that would allow the 73 to pump some of her water to the rotary, if needed.
As John Bush indicated, the purpose here is not necessarily to open the line. It's a demonstration. Once the snow is encountered, you only need to plow for perhaps 2-3 hours max. before everyone will be exhausted from snowshoeing. Our best photos from White Pass were mostly shot during a 2 hr interval on the morning of the 3rd day, when we were on snowshoes and the rotary fleet was moving right along. And yes, we were dog-tired by lunchtime. After that, we chased from the Klondike Highway on a bus.
> Finally, what happens if there is no snow until
> after Sublette?
Totally agree with that concern. The snow situation is the single biggest crap-shoot in trying to plan one of these deals.
/Kevin Madore