Y Class, Etc

NW Mailing List nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Sat Jun 29 12:08:01 EDT 2013


Dave -

There were almost as many places to measure steam locomotive horsepower as there were people who measured it.

The only really meaningful place was at the rear drawbar. That’s where the rubber met the road, so to speak.

EdK

From: NW Mailing List
Sent: Saturday, June 29, 2013 7:38 AM
To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Subject: Re: Y Class, Etc

Ed:

I'm confident Pete will clarify in his own right, but for my part I read his posting as meaning the boiler horsepower capability as a "steam generator", not the drawbar horsepower that you're citing.

Dave Phelps

In a message dated 6/29/2013 6:55:44 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org writes:
Pete -

Where do you get your horsepower figures? The rating for the Y-6 was worked
out using train resistance formulae and the actual topography of the
territory by Dave Stephenson and published in the Arrow. There was never a
7000 horsepower figure put out for the A. The first test was 6300 which
Engineer of Tests Bob Pilcher felt was too high. He felt the A was actually
in the 5300 horsepower range and that the dynamometer car's recording
mechanism was in error. The A was not a Y "modded for speed". The only
feature the A shared with the Y was the tender (and maybe the electical
system, and stuff like that).

One has to be careful tossing "facts" around among folks who don't know much
about the N&W. They're like football players who pick up a fumble and run
with it.

EdKing

-----Original Message-----
From: NW Mailing List
Sent: Friday, June 28, 2013 4:17 PM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject: Re: Y Class, Etc

Query: "Again the A class was essentially a Y modded for speed . . ." The
boilers (the most important part of a steam loco, I'm finally beginning to
realize) were very different - 5500 HP or so for a Y6 and 7000 HP or so for
an A; also very different in design, particularly, the fireboxes.

pete groom
On Jun 27, 2013, at 7:19 PM, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
wrote:

> There was purpose behind designs, the Big Boy was meant to tackle Sherman
> Hill, it has larger drivers for speed not to just get over the grades but
> out west is a lot of land to cover and get over it as fast as possible.
>
> N&W had numerous tough grades and perhaps harder curves, speed was not
> exactly the big handle to get over its grades than to get as much tonnage
> over as possible, double heading and pushers a common scene on the N&W.
> Again the A class was essentially a Y modded for speed and larger drivers
> for the not so mountaneous and level routes for speed, but they were put
> on the plodding Y6 runs as well.
>
> The railroads had their engines made -their- way for -their- purposes.
>
> The DM&IR had their yellowstones and were more powerful than the big boys,
> why...heavy ore trains, which can be far heavier than any coal train.
>
> -Lynn-

> . . .

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