It’s been a bit since I last posted on the Trains Mag forum.
So then…I am looking for information on T. W. Blasingame Company, Incorporated, of Boise, Idaho. The only information I have is from an article posted on The Ultimate Steam Page; where-in it describes a series of proposed steam locomotive designs as recent as the 2000s.
I tried the listed email address, and got an “Message could not be delivered” error almost immediately after I had sent it.
If anyone has any information on these locomotives listed in the article, or any email contact for the company, it would be greatly appriciated.
If they were designing steam locomotives in this millennium, they have probably since gone out of business. Or perhaps they moved on to buggies or cheriots.
I have read part of the article. It appears that this company comes out with outlandish designs that do not take into account what railroads want in locomotives. If they are still around, I suggest that they do research.
I would agree with ericsp. While I’m not an engineer, the designs proposed seem overly complex and would be maintenance-intensive. There have been a lot of design concepts over the years which look great on paper but fall short in practice.
A PDF File about Solid Fuel Semitractors(!) This file is dated Jun 2006…
Summary: we have designed locomotive which are big and heavy, but can convert coal to be used in modern steam equipment…(Coal Gassification?) They can use our new rotary steam engine (the rest of the world call these turbines…) PS, we need money to build one, make checks payable to…
and this link about ultimate steam.… (which appears to be dated)
Interesting concepts…developed by folks who used to work for Morris-Knudsen. Wonder if that association with a defucnt engine manufacturer has something to do with the lack of acceptance…
Where in, it summarizes the company products as: “Manufactures modular quick-change truck equipment systems, semi-trailers & railroad equipment; contract manufactures special truck & rail equipment.”
So the company was not based strictly on the designing and production of solid fueled fired steam locomotives for the 21st century; it has an actual purpose.
The company is an offshoot of MK, and the steam loco stuff is just a curio sideline. I think they have patented a few of their steam ideas, but nothing more.
I don’t know anything about this company, but it is possible that their interest in designing/building steam engines is for the short-line / tourist train market.
It seems like they have ideas on paper but nothing to back it up, no drawings, renderings or any sort of prototype.
If you want to get railroads interested, you need to build a demonstrator that clearly can take over current revenue service and provide a very big cost savings to the railroad.
I thought the Jawn Henry was the absolute last word in steam design except that it got dusty at times and ate just as much fuel running and standing still.
I also feel that western water is different than that on the east coast and you need to be careful what you put into that boiler. It would be painful to manufacture “water” just for steam engines, railroads would not want to have to pay twice for fuel. (Coal and water)
I do support the idea that welded technology might provide a savings on the number of bolts, fittings and other items on or about a steam engine. These welds will need to be perfect in every way and only removing oxygen from the burn area will help alot. How are you going to weld in three dimensions in a vacumn?
Also how much does it take to test the engine annualy or whatever is required for safety?
They will still need to get power to the wheels that matter. They cannot still be considering the old driving rod arrangement because it is hard on the track and requires oiling every so often. That 1000 mile trip they see with the new dream design on paper might be a monstor requiring far too much lost time, money and expense to hand hold, nursing it over that distance.
The need to keep it simple is really great. You would want to be able to pull a tool truck and a few bodies up to the engine and fix it on a gravel area somewhere. The railroads are not going to want to rebuild the old infrastructure that once kept steam going. Thinking further on this, the engine will need to fit into and be servicable by existing shops that tend to desiels today.
And finally, they need to allow a unmanned computer to operate the engine which is something I hope neve
Here’s some info. email addr is no good. Tom Blasingame work (208) 345-5457 home (208) 376-7540 work fax (208) 342-6879 work twblasco@peoplepc.com home Vice President -Operations T.W. Blasingame Co., Inc./POBox 1532 Boise ID 83701-1532 Note: Crocker couldn’t find twblasco@mcleodusa.net -7/06