The air brake stand on our SW1 (built in 1941) occasionally confuses our engineers as it has the independent above the service brake. I should have taken more notes, but molded on the stand is “K14.”
Is this just an example of lack of early standardization?
Sorry - That’s all the information I have on it right now - I’ll probably be back down in 3 weeks, but by then the regular loco should be back in service, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to get to the stand for a picture.
Hi Larry [^]
I was in a GP9 last night. That control stand was also ancient. [8D] It is funny how small they were then compared to how they are now.
It was also a hihood. It had a hugh tank inside the bathroom and no toliet. It also had a stack out the roof. I guess this must have been something to do with steam heating for the passenger cars.
Number 6 bl airbrake . Standard for 1940s until replaced by 24 airbrake of the 1960s standard until replaced by 26 in the 70s. .
Randy
UGH! 6BL, 24RL. UGH! Now those were brake valves that you really had to know what you were doing to use them correctly. I had more or less forgotten about them…ah, such fond memories. Especially fun was trying to MU units with all sorts of brake valve combinations. Randy, I bet you can remember the fun that was!
Looks about like it, from what I remember. Next time I go down, I’ll get a picture and fetch this thread out of the depths.
I do recall that the bell valve isn’t like what the picture of a 6BL I found looks like. And I still haven’t figured out why the independent is on top, instead of the automatic…
All this talk of old equipment reminds me of the throttle on one of the first switch engines I ever ran. I think it was a Fairbanks-Morse H12??? The throttle was shaped like a U laying on its side, with forward on the top; there were no notches that I remember, nor was there any mechanical seperation of forward and reverse except the leg of the U that was used. One could horse that old goat over so fast as to cause coffee to be spilled.
I think I remember being in an S2 or an NW2 that may have had brake controls like this.
And the ka-chunk! when you operated the reverser on the Alcos…