Author Topic: Water Capacity of Nos 9 & 10  (Read 2607 times)

Ed Lecuyer

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Water Capacity of Nos 9 & 10
« on: December 13, 2008, 04:19:56 PM »
MODERATORS NOTE:
Water Capacity of Nos 9 & 10 has been converted from the pre-July 2008 WW&F Discussion Forum.
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Stephen Hussar wrote:
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I guess this a question for members of the steam crew. I've been wondering about the distance and the "turnaround time" once trains are running to the Top of the Mountain on a regular basis. With the distance to the TOM siding at approx. 3 miles, and the need (on days when 2 steam trains are running) for one train to wait on the siding (for an unknown period of time) while the other one clears, will there be a need for a water supply at the TOM?

And if the answer is no, at what point (beyond TOM) will there be a need for a water supply to the north?
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James Patten replied:
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As someone on the steam crew, I'll take a stab at it.

I would forsee that #9 could go from Sheepscot to Head Tide and back without needing to take water anywhere along the way.  It could probably wait on a siding somewhere for 30 minutes or so without worry as well.

#10 as is right now could probably take 3 trips to AC and back (maybe 4) without needing to fill up the tank.  The reason we worry about it so much right now is we have a small line to feed it, so it takes a while.  With the water tank we may end up filling tanks once in the morning and twice in the afternoon.

Joe Fox replied:
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That is ok for now, but what about when #10 goes from Sheepscot to 218 and return. That is about double the journey. How low would the tank be then do you think James?

Joe

James Patten replied:
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I have serious doubts about #10's ability to pull anything more than 1 car up The Mountain, or maybe the doubts are more related to the fire's ability to keep pressure up.  Those of you who have fired before will understand my concern.  10 can probably pull 2 or 3 cars up the hill, but at the price of the fireman's sanity.

The tank will probably be about half full when we get back, because heavier steam use means heavier water use.

Josh Botting replied:
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James,
As for the Sanity of the fireman,  I think there could be something to be said about that anyway.......

On a seruous note, I would think that #9 could pull a train at least as far as the distance between stops on the normal journey.  Is there a record of how far the train would normally stop between taking on water?

James Patten replied:
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Judging from distances between tanks on the original WW&F, they probably watered up every 10 - 15 miles.  From Wiscasset the next tank was a mile or so north of Head Tide station, around 10 or 11 miles.  I'm not sure where other tanks were, I'd have to look at my books to try and figure that out.

The original distance limitation may have been the size of #1's tank.  #2 and 3 were the size of #9, which I classify in my mind as an engine designed to go long distances (as far as two-foot was concerned).

#10 on the other hand was designed to go out a few miles out to the sugar cane fields and came back on track that probably had no grades to speak of.  It wasn't designed to haul long trains of logs out of the nether reaches of the forest.  It's original boiler was smaller than it is now, and the tank was slightly smaller too.

Josh Botting replied:
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James,

Would passenger trains have stopped at every tank?

An additional guess on my part would be that the engineers & fireman, may have been a bit more skilled, and experianced than we all are?  Just a thought...

Dana Deering replied:
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Josh,

The best answer I can come up with is:  "I don't really know".  Our experience shows that one round trip to AC and back consumes about 4-6 inches of water in the tank.  The locomotive works hard on the northbound trip and hardly at all going south until you hit the Davis Grade.  If you were to run 10 all the way to 218 I would want to fill up again there before heading south and I think one or two loaded cars will challenge her going up the Mountain but she has surprised me in the past.  As far as 9 goes, we'll see.  That's the fun of it, knowing how much you don't know and learning all the time.  Anyone who claims to have all the answers at this point has stopped paying attention.  Running and firing require that you stay in the learning mode.  That's what I like about it.

Dana

Josh Botting replied:
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Thanks Dana,

Maybe my question could be answered under recovering the original history post topic.  More of a curiosity than anything at this point for me.  I have faith that we can come deal with whatever needs to be undertaken to get er done....
Ed Lecuyer
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