davidtltc Wrote:
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> A series of questions had been asked a few years
> ago about the water tank at Lava. I was wondering
> if the tank at Lava is going to be used during the
> VIHR? If not is there a plan to place water
> bottles on the turnabout prior to the tank to help
> these locomotives keep hydrated? Or are they going
> to carry a Gramps tank car full of water behind
> them for emergencies? With all the runbys that the
> phraud-o-graphers are going to want to take
> they'll need to have plenty of water, coal and
> wood too. Are there going to be gondolas parked
> along the way to replenish the wood, coal, etc...?
All of the VIH locomotives are small engines and none are superheated.....which means they use water more rapidly than the K-36s. All of them will have range/endurance issues without frequent stops. Last I knew, Lava Tank was still not operational, although there was talk of making it so. Someone from the Friends, such as John Cole, would know the status for sure. In the past, they have stationed a tank car on the siding at Lava Loop when there were charters involving 315 and other small engines. My sense is that they will be needing to refresh that daily to make this event work. There may need to be multiple tank cars, especially on Friday, with 4 small engines crossing the entire railroad. Whether or not any of the special trains will have a tank car in the consist is something the railroad will have to answer. I suspect the answer will be no. Almost certainly, you're not going to see it on the Eureka/Glenbrook train.
WRT wood, they will definitely need to be deploying carloads of wood at various locations to support the two wood-burners. Both Eureka & Glenbrook will use up their wood supplies very rapidly. Neither has anything like the fuel range of a coal-burner. When Eureka visited the D&S several times a decade ago, the railroad left wood in covered boxcars at various locations. Keeping the wood dry is important, so my guess is that boxcars would be preferred over open gons. Loading will be done the old fashioned way......with a wood line. In case of emergencies, Dan Markoff's crew carries a chainsaw. Obviously, that would be of little use on the far eastern portions of the line.
/Kevin Madore
