Steam & Excursion > Audio Portrait & Slide Show - Texas & Pacific #316

A couple of days ago, tomstp, presented a fine little program on Texas & Pacific's fleet of Ten Wheelers, in which the only surviving example, #316, was mentioned.  Here are a couple of great audio clips of 316 conquering hills of East Texas.  I dug through my photo files and came up with a bit of slide show to go along.

1. The first runby is at what is known locally as the "Winery Crossing" on the west side of Fairchild Hill as 316 makes a hard run at the 2% grade.  At the crossing, the grade tightens to around 2.5% and continues through the cut and over the top.

2. After dropping off Fairchild Hill to Beans Creek, 316 runs headlong into the hardest pull on the Texas State RR.  This pull to the summit of Oakland Hill hits 3% at the summit.  316 is on her hands and knees saying "I'll take one, you take one, I'll take one, you take one".  Thankfully the rail was dry and the sanders were working...  316 and train pass, the drop down into a deep sag, only to have another stiff 2% climb out the other side. This runby is a personal favorite of mine showing this tough little mill giving all she has.  I like the cicadas singing at the beginning, only to be silenced as soon as 316 starts to work.  As 316 fades into the distance, the cicadas resume their afternoon serenade.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/16 18:36 by Earlk.

You must be a registered subscriber to watch videos. Join Today!

You did an awesome job on that engine Earl.  Looks and sounds beautiful!

I rode with Earl one day and as we charged those stiff grades 316 held at 13 mph with 5 coaches all the way to the top without a slip. The exhaust was deafening and great to hear up close, something I never done before on a saturated engine.  A" soak" (as Earl calls them) engine's exhaust is quite different. It really is a thrill hearing it fight the grade.   Earl had done some work on her valve gear helping both water economy and making a very pleasant exhaust. Another nice thing about 316 is she rides good.  You don't get a lot of bouncing so prevalent in some engines...

Thanks for letting us enjoy 316's talk.

Earl, is that your Hanlon class lights on 316?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/16 20:04 by tomstp.

One thing that always stands out about the 316, besides her loud and absolutely square exhaust, was the first photo special trip.   She stalled on wet rail on a little hill west of the river going east and you backed her down, made a bit of a run for the hill, and over the top we went.  The runbys went great, and at Maydelle, where we met the regular train, you checked the water.  We stopped on Oakland hill half way up and started to let the passengers off for the last eastbound runby, and no sooner had we started letting them off, when you yelled at me to get them back on, as we were really low on water.  I thought "UH OH!" and as soon as we got everybody back on, I figured you would back down the hill and make a run for it with the train (including the really heavy observation car #1511).   NOPE!  I was really wrong on that one.  With the whole train stretched out on the hill, you just started her up and off we went, up over the hill, down the other side and up East Oakland, and down into Rusk.    NO slipping, no stalling, no nothing (and not much sand either).
At that point 316 became my all time favorite engine.

 

Very nice audio clips.  I regret not making a greater effort to see this locomotive when she was running.  Did #316 operate at all after 2013?

-James
http://www.steamtrainvideos.com

tomstp Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I rode with Earl one day and as we charged those
> stiff grades 316 held at 13 mph with 5 coaches all
> the way to the top without a slip. The exhaust was
> deafening and great to hear up close, something I
> never done before on a saturated engine.  A"
> soak" (as Earl calls them) engine's exhaust is
> quite different. It really is a thrill hearing it
> fight the grade.   Earl had done some work on her
> valve gear helping both water economy and making a
> very pleasant exhaust. Another nice thing about
> 316 is she rides good.  You don't get a lot of
> bouncing so prevalent in some engines...
>
> Thanks for letting us enjoy 316's talk.
>
> Earl, is that your Hanlon class lights on 316?

Yes, those are my Radial Lens Class lights on 316.  My "kids" have been on just about every engine I've ever run.  One is a Handlan Buck, the other a Dressell.  Both are former D&RGW.

typebangin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Very nice audio clips.  I regret not making a
> greater effort to see this locomotive when she was
> running.  Did #316 operate at all after 2013?
>
> -James
> http://www.steamtrainvideos.com

the last time 316 ran was mid-November, 2013.

Last time 316 was under steam.  11-14-2013   Leaving the Palestine enginehouse to haul the full length dome and Caritas to Rusk.

---