Enjoy this video of a Yank in Britain!
I saw that locomotive on the Churnet Valley a few years ago. Glad to see it running again. The K & WV is a great railway!
Good to see you online again.
Would also echo Schlimm’s sentiments!
Nice to see on of those WWII Locomotives back doing what they were built to do: running in that English environment.
[ another ‘wish’ would be to see the original Swiss railroad tests of the 1st order of Krauss-Maffei ML-4000’s , with their (modified(?) Southern Pacific “Bloody Nose” paint schemes running over the Semmering Pass in Austria. Unfortunately, I think all those tests were at night? ]
Welcome back Sir Madog! You were missed!
Ulrich, Many thanks for the video! I LOVE those S-160’s. I was fortunate enough to operate the 1702 on the Reader RR many times and also experience the Ft. Eustis engines for a couple years. So happy to see several running in the UK and here. The Alaska RR will have the 557 running in a year or so, hopefully. Roger Huber
Feels good to be missed!
I have been through some rough times lately, but feeling better now. I have started to construct a small On30 shelf layout, which pretty much occupies my time. It´s something to keep my sanity, but takes away time I have spent roaming the forums.
I will drop by more often - promised!
I don’t know if the Southern Pacific units were tested on the Semmering. Certainly the first Rio Grande unit was tested there and a black and white photo was taken of it on a scenic section of the line and was published in “Railway Gazette” or the related “Diesel Railway Traction” magazine. I think the SP units were also tested in Germany but I don’t know if they took them to Austria. The DRGW units were sold to SP eventually, so you could say that SP units were tested on the Semmering.
In fact, the photo on the cover of the “Loco Profile” on the DRG 52 class is credited to Krauss Maffei and this shot showing two OBB 52 class on a freight appears to have been taken while the Krauss Maffei photographer was waiting for the DRGW unit to appear on the trial.
M636C
The main tests of the KM ML-4000 were conducted in Germany on the line between Muenster and Emden, which is in a rather flat terrain. The mountain tests were done on the Semmering line in Austria, quite successfully.
It´s a pity that these locos were not successful in the US market. The key reason, as I understand is, the lack of simplicity and ruggedness.
It’s nice having a steam loco (5820) named after you! [;)]
Reaching back into my memory ( sometimes it is very “foggy” on the details). But I do recall that, in an old issue of Trains Magazine . ( Possibly in the early 1960’s) there was a brief article and photo essay of the first K-m units being tested on the grades of the Semmering. The comment that stuck with me;was that the European Clearance Scales were the cause of the inward slopes on the Cabs of the original order from Krauss-Maffei… Also notes was that the Builders, K-M, had fought f