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"Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?"

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Robber Baron (71 posts)
Jun-14-01, 10:27 PM (EST) "Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" I imagine the number of individuals who have driven steam locomotives is dwindling and the number of guys who have both tried the steamers in the game and driven the real thing is smaller still, but there must be one or two out there. When I got the game, for the first while I did nothing but Marias Pass freight but am disappointed in the lack of realism in the freight train dynamics. Now my favourite engine is the Golsdorf, but I'm almost afraid to ask...How close are it and the Scotsman to the real thing? Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
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Subject Author Message Date ID RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... danielbee Jun-16-01 1 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... Alex Jun-30-01 7 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... Fatts Jun-19-01 2 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... 1bigjohn Jun-28-01 3 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... fredrea Jun-29-01 4 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... 1bigjohn Jun-30-01 8 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... fredrea Jun-30-01 9 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... 1bigjohn Jul-01-01 10 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... fredrea Jul-01-01 11 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... 1bigjohn Jul-01-01 12 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... Robber Baron Jul-01-01 13 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... rdfox Dec-23-01 16 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... fredrea Jul-01-01 14 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... byelen Jun-29-01 6 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... richrailart Jun-29-01 5 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... AUSSIE48 Dec-22-01 15 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... landnrailroader Dec-23-01 17 RE: Anyone here actually driven a S... ashiva1313 Dec-25-01 18

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danielbee (2 posts)
Jun-16-01, 02:39 AM (EST) 1. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" ive driven one its quite spectakulor but i havent gotten my copy of msts yet i plan to do it later today(hopefully)
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Alex (250 posts)
Jun-30-01, 00:52 AM (EST) 7. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" where's that dude who promissed one 1940's steam back a few weeks ago? I bet he forgot about it before he even started making it Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
Fatts (5 posts)
Jun-19-01, 04:42 PM (EST) 2. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" When in Korea I had the chance to ride in the cab but they would not let me get to close to the goodies! I also did the Roy Rogers thing and got on top and played cowboys with the big boys and it was fun but one can be a great target when on top!Fatts/Mac Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
1bigjohn (14 posts)
Jun-28-01, 09:29 PM (EST) 3. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" THE SOUND OF THE ENGINE IS WAY OFF UNTIL YOU GET UP TO SPEED. BUT FOR THE REVERSER IS FAIRLY CLOSE. THE DIFFERENCE THAT I SEE IS THAT WHEN YOU ARE RUNNING AT SPEED AND GIVE FULL STROKE WITH THE THROTTLE OPEN THE ENGINE SHOULD SLOW DOWN BECAUSE YOU ARE PUTTING IN MORE STEAM IN THE CYLINDER THAN CAN BE EXHAUSTED AND ALSO WHEN YOU ARE RUNNING AND SHUT THE THROTTLE THE CHUFF SOUND SHOULD DISAPPEAR. THE LOUD CREEKING SOUNDS OF THE BOILER WHILE RUNNING ARE A GOOD SIGN THE BOILER COULD SOON EXPLODE! WHEN YOU ARE RUNNING THE ONLY THINGS YOU USUALLY HEAR ARE THE ENGINE,WHISTLE,BELL,FIREDOOR,TURBO GENERATOR AND TRACK SOUNDS.
BUT THOSE EUROPEAN ENGINE'S DON'T HAVE A BELL OR TURBO GENERATOR Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
fredrea (7 posts)
Jun-29-01, 00:33 AM (EST) 4. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" I concur with the above remarks. I second the initial plea. Lets hear from someone who has run heavy steam under load. Maybe we can get Mr Lee at UP or some of the Ohio Central guys near me here in Ohio to try MSTS. Most of us have a feeling his thing is just not right. We need a person with experience to publish his opinion. Then we might get a decent upgrade out of MS. The problem is, if you could run the real thing would you mess with a simulator.There is more to simlation than solid models and skins.Fred Rea Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
1bigjohn (14 posts)
Jun-30-01, 11:23 AM (EST) 8. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" I HAVE RUN BIG STEAM UNDER A HEAVY LOAD UNLESS YOU DON'T CONSIDER A READING T-1 CLASS 4-8-4 HEAVY. I HAVE ALSO RAN A USRA LIGHT 4-6-2, A 30" GAUGE SHAY ALSO SMALLER GAUGE ENGINE'S Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
fredrea (7 posts)
Jun-30-01, 08:22 PM (EST) 9. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" Great BigJohn. Now, have you run MSTS steam yet? I am curious aboutthings like the following. Get it up to a good track speed and full throtle. The push the cut-off wide open. Shouldn't that make the boiler pressure plummet?Fred Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
1bigjohn (14 posts)
Jul-01-01, 08:12 AM (EST) 10. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" you are correct about when running at speed with the throttle open wide and drop the reverser to to full stroke the steam pressure will drop and the engine will slow becouse you are putting more steam in than you can get out of the way of the piston and make high back pressure in the cylinders Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
fredrea (7 posts)
Jul-01-01, 08:58 AM (EST) 11. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" How fast would it drop? Say running the T-1 at 50 or 60 MPH? I knoqw you probably would never do this. It just seems very slow in MSTS.Fred Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
1bigjohn (14 posts)
Jul-01-01, 09:10 AM (EST) 12. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" Like I said earlier it drops but you can only get so much steam through the cylinders. At speed you run cutoff so you can use your steam expansively, because of high piston speed when you drop the reverser steam is still in the cylinder expending when new steam is admitted. So it's not like opening a big valve to atmosphere. Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
Robber Baron (71 posts)
Jul-01-01, 01:21 PM (EST) 13. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" So, can you use it to generate some form of engine braking? Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
rdfox (78 posts)
Dec-23-01, 02:32 PM (EST) 16. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" It's possible, but not recommended--if you're not REALLY careful when doing so, it's entirely possible to blow the cylinder heads off, which pretty well ruins your day.That said, if you ever visit Cedar Point, the train ride there seems to be live steam with unbraked link-and-pin coupled cars; to stop at the station, they DO use engine braking. Every time they pull in, I expect to see a big hunk of metal fly off one of the cylinders...RDF
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fredrea (7 posts)
Jul-01-01, 03:31 PM (EST) 14. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" Thanks 1BigJohn. MS/Kuju may be better on their steam than I thought. I hope you'll let us know after you try it. Of course, 3 cylinder European/UK is a bit different from US locos.Fred Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
byelen (35 posts)
Jun-29-01, 03:46 PM (EST) 6. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" Having just installed the game two days ago, I'm not ready to comment on the quality of the steam locomotive in it. However, to be accurate, you should also hear (some of these only when "at rest") the air pumps, blower, air from the power reverse (if so equipped), the occasional "rattle" from the running gear when coasting, etc. Oh, you would also hear cussing from the fireman on the occasional time when his foot slips and the coal goes everyhere except into the firebox! Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
richrailart (68 posts)
Jun-29-01, 03:34 PM (EST) 5. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" In England we have regular mainline steam just about every weekend, and in Scotland the Jacobite runs steam hauled for 45 miles from Fort William to Mallaig for 3 months in summer. The freight operator EWS are training new drivers on steam for a total of 3 weeks or more this year. On top of this, all preserved railways have steam driver training courses open to anyone from between £100 and £3000. See www.march.demon.co.uk for railtour details. Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
AUSSIE48 (2 posts)
Dec-22-01, 06:52 PM (EST) 15. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" Yes I have, a Tasmanian Government Railways Q Class and a Victorian (Puffing Billy) NA Class. I build and run 7 1/4" live steam locomotives as a hobby which are as close as you can get nowadays to driving a real steamer. MSTS steam locos have some of the characterisitics of a real one but are a long way off when it comes to the dynamics. Unfortunately you don't get the "feel" or can hear the injectors drawing water or not hard to explain unless you have driven one. Same as the coal rate unless you can see the fire hard to figure out exactly how much or little it needs.

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landnrailroader (86 posts)
Dec-23-01, 11:00 PM (EST) 17. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" Back in the late 60s, I fired the Southern 4501 on a number of trips over the Manassas Branch in Virginia, and was allowed to operate it under close supervision a time or two. I will say, that a steam locomotive is very noisy, not very forgiving, but it is also a very communicative machine - it tells you what it needs, if you know what to listen for. If you go to full stroke on the valve gear at speed, theoretically the engine will slow down as one responder said - what actually will happen is that you will probably strip the rods and quite possibly blow out a cylinder head. A creaking boiler does not indicate imminent explosion, they all creak & squeak from expansion & contraction - but God forbid a stuck safety valve or getting a dry crown sheet - then you will get an explosion.And by the way, 4501 is a hand-fired engine. Many folks, including myself before I actually did it, assumed that you just tossed in a scoop of coal here and there constantly. Not so, the rounded bottom of the scoop at the rear part of it, i.e. just below the base of the handle, should strike the bottom edge of the fire door with each shovel full. This "bounce" causes the coal to be scattered in the general direction the scoop is going. The 4501, as I recall, required a scoop in each corner of the firebox, scattered thusly, and a few more around the edges, front, rear, and center. Altogether, this was 6 or 8 scoops. Then you DID NOT ADD MORE UNTIL THE STACK CLEARED.In my den, there is a B&W picture of the 4501 on Linden Hill, taken by a friend, who did not know that at that instant, I was firing. I am proud of this picture. The engine is working hard (train was followed by a GP-30 discreetly out of sight just in case) but there is a clear stack, and just a feather of steam at the pop valve. Those were the days. Diesels are a piece of cake in comparison.J. H. Sullivan, P.E. (retired) Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top
ashiva1313 (13 posts)
Dec-25-01, 01:20 PM (EST) 18. "RE: Anyone here actually driven a Steam Locomotive?" I live 15 miles from what used to br the Frisco Shops in Springfield MO, and a friend worked there...
He told me of the time, they towed a big stream engine from a museum display in St Louis, down here, to be worked on..
they fired it up, there (it had been modified to use fuel oil, instead of wood or coal)and brought it down.
Put it in the shop here, and rebuilt something over a week/10 days time...and it was ready to go back home...but the fire had been turned out, and it had been allowed to cool off...
took the company 5 DAYS, to find ANYONE that had the knowledge of starting a fire in a totally cold engine, and carefully getting it up to temp..
they brought kindeling in, and then truck loads of wood, and fired it for 3 days, then could switch it back to the fuel oil for the return trip home...
the guy that knew how was in his 80's, BTW Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

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