This appliance (circled in red) is on the top of a Union Pacific MoW 12,000 gal. tender assigned to a steam derrick. I have only seen it in photos of this specific tender.
Thanks much.
Bruce
I’ve seen those on some early steam locomotives possibly related to the boiler feed water pumps. If I’m not mistaken they are an air (or expansion) chamber designed to reduce “water-hammer” or the sudden pressure buildup resulting from a quickly closed (check) valve.
I’ll see if I can find more.
https://sites.google.com/site/phase3project/projects/steam-engine/feed-water-pump
Good Luck, Ed
Thanks much, Ed. This is very helpful.
An air chamber like these seem to be frequently found on the pumps of vintage fire equipment. In that service I presume they are intended to reduce pulsations on the output pressure.
Good Luck, Ed
Does Union Pacific still have a steam derrick in operation?
-Kevin
Well boys, that there’s yer upside-down all metal punchin’ bag fer yer disgruntled rail-road em-ploy-ees, to take a few whacks at when there ain’t no real person available for such festivities.
Wayne
No, they’re all either scrapped on display. This particular derrick is at the Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden.
Regards,
Bruce
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Well… I went to the railroad museum in Ogden, and I missed this piece of machinery. I checked, no pictures of it.
That stinks. I wonder where it was when I was there.
The only RR cranes I have seen in museum were in the Transportation Museum in North Carolina, and the Kentucky Train Museum.
None looked as good as the beauty pictured above.
-Kevin
The paint shop? It was there in 2016
Here is a more modern one in Strasburg
The well pump at our old cabin in northern wisconsin, had an expansion chamber mounted on the top of it, looked alot like the feed water pump that Ed shows.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Mike.
Again, I’d like to thank everyone who contributed useful replies to my request. I’m currently having my interperetation of this divice 3D-printed as part of the entire tender to add to my wrecker train. The derrick is the Tichy N-scale 120 Ton Brownhoist steam crane. The tender is supposed to be delivered in February, and if my design is any good I should have a tender finished soon.
I believe there may be one on display at the Tennessee Valley railroad museum in Chattanooga
I have never seen one up front on the display tracks.
They do have this clamshell crane in the shop area, but it is a working piece of equipment, not a display piece.
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
If they do have one, it was hidden during my visits.
-Kevin
Not a steam powered derek, but TVRR did have this one back when I visited in 2007. They even did a demo with it
That would have been interesting to see one in action.
Apparently I go blind to wreck cranes when I visit Railroad Museums.
[:(]
-Kevin
They may not have it anylonger
The Nevada Northern Railway in Ely, Nevada has a working steam derrick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL_Bzx8peS0
It looks very much like the Tichy kit, available both in HO and N scales, and the UP derrick in Ogden. It’s the kit for which I’m building the tender.
Regards,
Bruce
The Bytown Railway Society has a working 50 ton steam crane, which is used on occasions when they need to lift something, or for demonstrations.
IIRC, it is only one of two in North America which is still operational.