Re: Perlman's Legacy.

> Reply To: (#7152) Re: Perlman's Legacy.
> Author: Thom Lyons
> Date: Tues, 6 Feb 2001, at 4:54 p.m.
> While I aggree wholeheartedly with your >observations, I think replacing the
> steam with diesels would have been a greater >challenge. You state the #50 was
> equal to a C class and a GE 45 tonner is equal >to a C25. Perhaps in tractive
> effort, but not in horsepower.
Quite correct. If you look at tractive effort being what it can pull and horse power being how fast it can pull it.
>I saw the #50 work in Durango, it had a real
>workout turning the Silverton consists on the >loop. They'd make a run at the
>hill down by Gradens Mill (where the Red Lion Inn >is now) and barely make it
>over the top at the water tank. I saw it make 3 >trys to shove 3 loaded gons up
>the backside of the coal tipple. The first two >resulted in it sliding
>backwards down the ramp. The USA 3000 was >supposed to equal a K28 but when it
>latched on the a 70 car pipe empty drag in >Farmington, the crew got eaten by
>the hogs at Aztec. C&TS 19 has 21000lbs of TE, >but I will bet good money that
>the 361 could do better than 4 mph on a 4% grade >with 3 loads. The point being
>TE and horsepower in regards to steam and diesel >do not equate well.
The Army engines had real problems at switches sometimes because of the ridget truck frames. I
have seen or printed Richardson photos of then Army engines and rolling stock at both Alamos and
Durango so obviously the were on most of the NG line. Never seen one out of the yards pulling
anything though.
>Another problem is altitude. WP&Y never goes >above 3000'. An 1100hp locomotive
>is still making close to that at 3000' The D&RGW >never got below 5000' and
>most was above 6000' and the steepest grades were >all above 8000' Diesel
>locomotive technology in the 50's was such that >high alitude operation was
>poor - that is why steam held on in Leadville on >the C&S into the 60's.
I believe the lowest point on the line was at the Atowi Bridge crossing at the mouth of White Rock
Canyon at Los Alamos NM but I could be wrong.
>Another factor leading to the demise of the NG is >the one-way nature of the
>carloadings. Whether it was eastbound Crested >Butte coal or westbound San Juan
>Basin gas pipe, it was a loaded train one way, >empties the other way. It takes
>$$$ to move those empty cars around, it always >seems there is a nice 4% hill
>in the way somewhere.
Yah and people seem to forget that don't they.
Cheers
THOM