Sonme time ago I had asked a question in the Forum about a Diesel Locomotive, built by Ingall Shipbuilding of Pascagoula,Ms. Someone responded with this web adress for a photo of the 600hp Diesel that was sold to the GM&O and ran around the Jackson, Tn and Corinth, Ms area for some time. http://www.globaloutlet.com/products.html
While doing some research on Otto Kuhler for a current thread I checked this web site for a photo of the Sou Rwy Ps-4 #1380, a streamlined engine trhat was assigned to the " Tennessean" and designed by Otto Kuhler.
This website is a model manufacturer and hosted some photos of locomotives I had never seen before, that they were planning to reproduce ,or had manufactured, some I recognized, som I did not.
The photos are good quality, and [i]I wonder if any of the members can provide ]some details on them?
This is the Web site page:http: //www.globaloutlet.com/products.html
I do not know anything about this manufacturer, but they certainly seem to have some unusual engines in production.
Sam
…Prototype German steam engine {railroad}, with a “V-8” type cylinder arrangement…Era: Right before WWII. Have seen photos but must look for it again on the “net”. It was capable of up to 125 MPH.
Hmmm…that’s really interesting. Makes one wonder how they adjusted the valve timing on such a bugger. A cammed valvetrain similar to internal combustion V-8’s would have been the simplest (barring a set of Coates Heads - http://www.coatesengine.com/csrv.html) means of valving the cylinders, but wouldn’t have been very adjustable to take advantage of shorter cut-offs at higher speeds such as traditional valve gear on a side rod engine.
Also would be curious if they used double sided pistons like traditional steam, or single sided like traditional internal compbustion. The former would much better suit steam, but again might be a nightmare of implementation on an 8 cylindered beast.
If you find your link Quentin, please post it here…would love to see how they made the bugger run.
Chris: I will hunt the net for it again…It’s configuration was weird. A “V” arrangement of 2 cylinders was located on the outside of each axle and a short drive rod {or piston rod], connected to drive that axle…{4 driving axles}, so 2 sets of “V” arrangements on each side of the locomotive making a total of 8 cylinders. Overall the engine looks like a basic large streamlined steam engine…Strange as it may seem…it was transported back to the USA after the war and somehow then was scrapped, I believe somewhere down in one of the Carolinas…Not just sure where…
It was built about 1938 if I remember correctly and did attain a speed of about 125 mph. I have found the pictures and articles several times in the past so I will look again to see if I can locate it…
Chris: I have found one photo of the above experimental “V-8” steamer…If you will send me an email address I will forward the pic. to you…You then can post it if you care to…This pic. shows the complete engine but not the good detail I have seen of the “V” mechanism…Again, I’ll keep looking.
Somewhere I have the article on paper on the German V-8 but it is filed deep. It was very impressive mechanically speaking but like so many late steam inovations the diesels did it in by the time it got to the US.
It was an interesting design…4 driving axles with a V of 2 cyl. on the end of each axle. 2 V’s per side. Eliminating the big side rods. Cyl’s mounted basically in a vertical plane. Driving the axle with a crank arrangement…if I remember correctly.
…Yes, those are the details I have been looking for again…Had them pulled up perhaps a year or so ago and let them get away from me. There is another article similar with a few more photos out there somewhere. It was a really interesting design. Wonder why such an off beat unit was scrapped outright at the time. Sure would have made an interesting museum piece for the following decades. But the numbers of moving parts it contained…Tremendous…! One would imagine it would have required an extra rail car just to bring along mechanics and spare parts, etc…It looks like each “engine” must have had an oil sump and pump to lubricate all those moving parts similar to what an I C engine requires in the automotive field or even prime movers in diesel electrics of rail use.
The right hand column in particular, when you get down to such creatures as Pearson’s “9 footer”, “The Fontaine Fiasco” etc you have some real interesting things people have done or thought about doing.
The story about the German “Diesel pneumatic” experiments was entertaining, though I have to wonder if they were pulling somone’s leg.
The Ingalls Shipbuilding Co. built the above GM&O #1900 there(Ingalls) model #4-S. It was rated at 1500 hp. It did operate at 660 rpm hence maybe the confusion. They proposed building a 1000hp version ( 3-S ) and two switchers (simular to ALCO S-3/S-4) as well as a A-1-A A-1-A 2000 hp passenger unit to look simular to the1946 Baldwin demonstrators. GM&O 1900 was the only engine to come out of the shipyard.
When I started this topic, I thought that some of the U.S. Loco’s were somewhat strange; little did I know what was out there in Europe. What had been proposed and then actually built. A train with a propeller; it worked, and then the NYC’s jet engined RDC that was only a test, amazing. I guess the links made here point to how little most American’s actually know about the rest of the world, and what goes on out there.
Thanks, for the links, and any more you might add, should be a pretty interesting file of info for other railfans.
Sam
Hre’s a link to the Wikipedia article on the Centipede with acouple of photo’s. I know how hard it is to find those back issues. LOL [swg] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_Centipede