A site many Model Railroaders will find interesting with some recent big news:
When they’re done with that, tell them to build a NYC Hudson, too. I’d rather see that than another Big Boy, although that is cool.
Tom
There was a guy in PA that built A Pennsy T-1 in 1" scale…now it sits in Japan as a mantle piece.
This T-1 Trust sounds not just like a scam…but also a joke…
…most American railroads will not allow a steam locomotive on their rails …even if it was one of their own.
Wasn’t this particular steam locomotive full of engineering design (and subsequent maintenance) issues that could not be disguised (however artfully) by a “pretty face”? Isn’t that the real reason these locomotives were scrapped, as the onset of dieselization became increasingly dominant? Issues of labor costs, repair and even track maintenance were part of the story, as well. I enjoy a “rebuild” as much as any railfan, but how about some additional thought before trying to do this!
Kind of like the late, not-so-lamented ACE 3000 (or whatever that 70’s/80’s coal burner was called…)
Cedarwoodron
Ohh ya like the Union Pacific Railroad right?
Right. The UP owns the locos that roll on UP rails, or the rails that carry the UP steam heritage fleet, whichever way you want to cut it. They are also a lot more heritage steam friendly than the Eastern roads. And who but a Pennsy fan would want anything to do with a thoroughly imperfect art deco steam monsterpiece that met the torch while 40 year old K4 4-6-2s were still drawing assignments?
Academic to me, in any event. My prototype has at least one operable example of every significant steam class, plus literally hundreds of locomotives stuffed and mounted all over Japan. Even little private railways of no particular significance left monuments to their passage that still endure though the tracks are long gone.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with two stuffed and mounted locos)
Or our Royal Hudson…
I certainly wish them luck. If they’re able to raise the millions of dollars it will take to manufacture a T1 from scratch, the bigger question will be, what railroad will allow them to run it on their rails.
My thoughts exactly…and would the FRA even allow a modern built steam loco to operate at all?..more so the PRR T-1
Not that it wouldn;t be neat to see a locomotive like that operate, I don;t think they have a snowball’s chance in that very hot place of actually getting permission to run something like that cross-country.
The 10 million they plan to spend on building a T-1 could probably restore SEVERAL of the PRR steam locos rotting at the RR Museum of PA to running condition. Or several other locos all over the country in need of pretty much just boiler work and receritifcation to be able to run. And still, good luck getting anyone like NS or CSX to permit them to run on their rails regardless of what they do.
–Randy
The Brits built a steam loco not too long ago (THE TORNADO) and it is presently approved to run @ 75mph, it cost 3 million pounds and was built new, Pennsy’s loco could be built for the cost of a new military tank (or is that the wrong thing to say- - -) what a great idea, hopefully the Gov’t will kick in a few coins rather than squander money elsewhere. I think it’s a nifty idea, enough with the big boys.
Lets get real here. 10,000,000 to build a 4-4-4-4? Are you kidding? Someone has already spent nearly that much on the K4s #1361 to restore it to running condition. Its still in a thousand pieces and the $$$ are gone. The loco builders could turn out hundreds of massive steam locos every year. This sad country can not even restore one these days let alone build one! Maybe China could do it for us.
Pete
Building the tank would employ more people with far more re-assignable skills. Plus it’s not like they buy tanks one at a time anyhow.
Also, its a bit moot because there’s no tanks in production in the US right now and won’t be until 2017 at the earliest.
Yes,The T1 was a engineering nightmare and a high maintenance locomotive that had very limited routes it could run on…
Pete,That’s exactly how R.J.Corman bought his new steam locomotive.
Building a new steam loco is not really a big deal. It has happened quite a number of times in recent years. In the UK, the LNER A1 Pacific “Tornado” was built, in Germany this one was built 5 years ago:
… as well as this one:
Granted, both are smaller locos, and even the Tornado cannot be compared with a behemoth like the PRR T1, but basic technolgies needed to build are just the same.
Whether the T1 is a wise choice to build anew, I don´t want to comment. As a lot of the comments in this thread state, there seem to be “worthier” prototypes. But that´s a railfan´s view. From a design point of view, a loco designed by Raimond Loewy might be even more attractive to the non-railfan crowd.
The T1 comes up for discussion in the Keystone just about every issue. The only real problem was the Franklin rotary valves. Numerous technical aspects have been brought up. People who ran them say most of the problems centered on the way engineers opened the throttle. A lot of criticism here about the effort and where will it run would be the same regardless of what engine. The K4 is a very sore subject among PRR fans. A lot of politics with ownership and bad decisions with little or no input wanted.
I’d rather see a new K4 built than a T1.
This sad country can not even restore one these days let alone build one
And yet this is the country that builds most of the world’s large commercial airliners, which are orders of magnitude more complicated than a steam locomotive. Boeing’s currently got a 7 year backlog of orders.
Stating that this country can’t manufacture anything is just plain wrong.
Even Aeroflot, the Russian airline, flies Boeings and has some on order.
http://www.aeroflot.com/cms/en/flight/plane_park
Andre