Actually RRnut282 5 small locos can make WHOLE lot of smoke even if only 1 or is hot at any given time. Smokin’ it up for the cameras should be forbidden. Back in the day a fireman who wasted fuel like this would have been put out to pasture in a hurry. I have no probem with the combustion improvements. If some wisdom is applied here there would pay for themselves eventually. The facts are that the engines are in the hou at the hours that are generating the complaints. It is asinine to have a man there firing them all night. The package boilers of today are capable of fully automatic operation and could be left unattended. With this and the ashpile improvements the 6 Pm to 6 AM problem is solved. And for 1/2 the cost of this rediculous study.
Well were all NIMBY’s at some point. If your neighborhood found out that they were building a prison for pedophiles nearby you would be all about saying no. I would think most people who move to Durango have no real interest in the railroad. I am sometimes surprised how many people are unaware of the historical organizations that reside in their town.
The RR is a pretty big part of the local tourism industry in Durango. Durango is a pretty small town and would be hurt terribly if the RR went away. So, the town has to be careful they don’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs while the RR has to try to be a good citizen. Sounds like both parties are interested working together on this.
Oh joy, steam without the steam.
Go ahead burn the dollars nuetering these engines. Just try putting wood pellets into a firebox made for coal. I dare ya. That wood carries a resin does it not? BOOM I say.
In a Nation where people beg for dollars to pay insurance to actually get permission to steam up an engine I see this as a wasteful effort. Just clean that smoke box once in a while that’s all.
The railroad was there before the towns were. The cinders, soot and other things with living breathing coal burning engines is all part of the world.
If the people cannot adapt to being around steam engines, they may think about cashing out thier property and moving away from steam or railroads in general. Last I checked, there are lots of land out west.
I am not sorry for stepping on any delicate toes. I expect to smell steam, oil, coal dust, cinders etc etc and wear appropriate clothes to be around them with several rags ready to go. Anyone offended by panting slobbering steam should consider a nice quiet diesal tourist line instead.
You want a smoke free experience? Fine do these steps in order:
1- Buy a 20 foot portable generator from CAT.
2- Install it inside a old sway back boxcar with truss rods and apply enough cosmetic patching so that no one will see the generator inside.
2a- Wire the generator to traction motors installed between the drive wheels of the locomotive.
3- Wire up the traction motors you just installed between the steam driving wheels to the generator.
4- Rip off a “Yo-boy’s” loud car stereo with thousands of watts of output. Hide it in a second car… maybe the tender. Apply a high fidelity DVD sound track of steam controlled by a computer according to Engine Load. Dont forget to pay BLI fees because they licensed the sounds of power on thier engines with QSI. Make sure the people in the very last car can hear “KLEERLY” the sounds of a working steam engine way up front.
4a sound must be loud enoug
Ever spent any time in Durango?
Not quiet “Big Sky” country. Durango sits in a pretty little valley in the San Juan Mountains. Smoke gernerated there, by any source, can tend to hang around and stiffle the air. The towns airport is below and parallel to a ridge line, and is about 200 feet above the town…and you still have to fly around mountains to get in and out. (The newer county airport, Durango/Laplata County, is at least 10 Mi s-sw of town, on a “Mesa”…which is still surrounded by other ridges and peaks…)
And, there have already been modifications to the engines, primarly to minimize spark and fire problems. Probably would be considered a precident, to allow modifications to meet more modern clean air standards.
Akin to the saying “The right to swing your arm any way you wish ends at my nose”, the right to put foul things into the air for historical reasons may end at the point where the air enters my lungs…