[?] The childrens train with goodies is a tradition. I caught a glimps of it on the morn news . Does it have a steam engine yet or still?? All that was shown was the rear car. Will the railroad ban the use of the track for steam?? Just curious.
Cannonball
cannonball
the railroad is Csx on the former clinchfield railroad.They used to have steam power.The up challenger once guested on the line but it was partially damaged on the trip.Even with diesiel power hope they keep the santa train going.
stay safe
Joe
[:)] Thanks Joe, I also hope the train survives the thought of RR top folk~~ (there is no room ) for steam ; read from a recent past post on scheds of Fast freight.
Cannonball
Folks and Joe:
Here’s a You Tube link to some of the Videos of the Trip 3985 made to Eastern Kentucky, and East Tennessee in 1992 @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRYZanT4WkY to guest on the Clinchfield RR’s Christmas Train.
( Remember the “scuttlebutt” ? that seemed to pervade Railroad gossip? The UPRR and the CSX were going to merge!) Completely oblivious to the truth that the guest trip was done at the behest of an on-line shipper as a way to celebrate the CRR’s ( I think it was the 50th Anniversary of their Christmas Train(?)
The accident mentioned by Joe was when the 3955 overhang on a curve tangled with a Coal Hopper and the damage was done to a wrinkled walkway on the side of the boiler, while on a ferry move for the run of the Santa Train. That damage was repaired in short order by the UPRR’S Steam Crew. It was not the only work they had to do on that trip, either.
On the run from Missouri to Memphis, 3985 suffered a broken air draft fitting in the bottom of the smoke box. It required about a 48 hour layover in Memphis, Tn. at the former area of the L&N RR’s Lenox Station, so they cold drop the fire on the 3985; cool her down and open up the smoke box door to make the repair of the air nozzle casting. Lenox Station was the very East end of the UP RR in Tennessee in 1992. and t
Current CSX policy is no antique railroad equipment on their lines, so even though the Christmas Train still runs on the former Clinchfield there’ll be no steam pulling it for the forseeable future. The only thing that really matters is that the train still runs, all else is just “nice to have.”
Firelock76, thank you for the update, I hope that “Uncle Pete” don’t follow suit with the remove of 4449 , 3985 ,844. The bottom line is first with the “bean counters” , but really??
Cannonball
No chance of UP dropping their steam program, not at this time anyway. 844 and 3985 are just too good at their jobs of being goodwill ambassadors, and as far as I know there’s no management hostility to UP steam. Southern Pacific 4449 is another story, I don’t know just where they run that one, UP doesn’t own it.