844 (Steam Engine)

[230RN]

Son2 heard that Union Pacific steam locomotive #844 was heading up to Cheyenne for a "rest" and would be passing by on the tracks near Berthoud CO.  So he took his camera up there and got a pretty good short video of the old loco going by.  That got me excited about 844 again, possibly the most famous loco in the U.S. besides Big Boy.

I can't post his vid, but here's a real good one taken from a car paralleling the tracks.  Long, and non-aficionados won't watch the whole thing, but we addicts will watch through it completely and wish for more.

Pretty good shot of the Stephenson reversing linkage at 7:30-ish.  It's the bar with a slot in it rocking back and forth.

https://youtu.be/HRTYNxtbnjI

I got interested in the beast when they parked it next to my building in Denver on some side tracks* of Union Station.  They had a ramp leading up to the cab so you could look around in it and talk to the engineer.

In hanging around it, the most common comment from the onlookers was how huge the drive wheels were.  




(That's not me.  Pic credit in Properties.)

I still regret not buying some souvenirs from the souvenir car behind the tender.  There are costs to being a world-class cheapskate.

Terry, 230RN

* Those tracks went away when they renovated Union Station.

[K Frame]

Never understood what those "skirts" are for at the front of the locomotive.

[MillCreek]

^^^I wonder if you are referring to the cowcatcher, or something else.

[230RN]

^  No, I think he means the flat plates along the front part of the engine.

It's apparently a half-assed streamlining technique.  I guess it somehow pressed the airflow smoothly past the most "draggy" part of the engine.  But I ain't no aerodynamicist.

Some locomotives in that era were fully streamlined, with shrouding all along their length, including the working parts, but it made them hard to work on.  I am told that many of these sleek engines left the workshop with a lot less shrouding than when they went in.

As a practical matter, it was found that the streamlining made no difference except for very high speeds, and even then it was only a little.  Some suspicions arose that full streamlining was done merely to slickify the engines' appearance to esthetically compete with the newly-developed diesel engines.  See:

https://www.ixquick.com/do/search?hmb=1&cat=pics&cmd=process_search&language=english&engine0=v1all&query=fully+streamlined+steam+locomotive&abp=-1&t=air&nj=0&pg=4

I would guess that 844's partial shrouding was the result of a compromise fight between the Sales Department and the Engineering Department.  You know how that kind of thing goes, I'm sure. :)

Here are some tech/dimensional details:

https://www.up.com/aboutup/special_trains/steam/locomotives/844.shtml

If you look at the diameter of the pistons and the boiler pressure, you come up with 15,000 lb of thrust on those connecting rods*.  If my arithmetic is correct.

Terry

* Assuming the 25" diameter refers to the actual cylinder bore, and not the whole cylinder with its outside lagging.

[Angel Eyes]

Never understood what those "skirts" are for at the front of the locomotive.

If you mean those vertical panels on either side of the smokebox, those are smoke deflectors.  They re-direct the air flow upward, carrying the smoke up and away from the train.

Pretty good shot of the Stephenson reversing linkage at 7:30-ish.  It's the bar with a slot in it rocking back and forth.

Minor nitpick:  844 has Walschaerts valve gear:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_IUfuZIHrA

Great to see 844 running again.   Now waiting for #4014 to be restored.

[KD5NRH]

Never understood what those "skirts" are for at the front of the locomotive.

Extra shrapnel in case of catastrophic boiler failure.  They really thought of everything in those days.

[RocketMan]

I wouldn't call myself a train nut, but those old steamers sure are something to watch.  There is an old steam engine used for excursions around Bend, OR.  My youngest son and I heard it a few times when we stayed in hotels in Bend while attending rocket launches out at Brothers, OR.  Never saw it in action, but it sure sounded cool chugging through town late at night, bell clanging and whistle blowing.

[230RN]

If you mean those vertical panels on either side of the smokebox, those are smoke deflectors.  They re-direct the air flow upward, carrying the smoke up and away from the train.

Minor nitpick:  844 has Walschaerts valve gear:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_IUfuZIHrA

Great to see 844 running again.   Now waiting for #4014 to be restored.

OK, thanks.  Always pleased to be corrected.

[freakazoid]

That would be something to see.

[Doggy Daddy]

While I was working today, the wife and her friend went downtown to see 4014.  I'm very jealous.  At least she bought me a lapel pin.

[RoadKingLarry]

844 came through here a couple of years ago.
Impressive bit of machine.

[brimic]

Im not into trains, but that video was really cool.

[Fly320s]

[230RN]

Well, Angel Eyes, here's your 4014, from this year:

https://youtu.be/KLsUofb8WNk

I actually took two trips on steam locos back when they were still running steam commercially.  One was a trip to upstate New York on a vacation, the other was down to Florida to visit relatives.  At the time, it was no big deal, they were just trips.  I remember the smell of the coal smoke going through tunnels and the elegant diinng car on the Florida trip, and how boring it was watching things go by.