Steam & Excursion > UP 4014 Chase Through Arizona

In mid October, UP 4-8-8-4 #4014 traversed the sunet route. I chased the newly restored locomotive from Yuma, AZ to Casa Grande, AZ. 

Enjoy the video.
 

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1.  I LOVE the sound of the rods clanking in the first sequence....lets me know
       that they're running nice and cool...and that there's enough lateral 'free play"
       to navigate curves and crossovers --- nice and smoothly.
       (As axles slightly shift, the crankpin's --- "crank circles"---- tend to lengthen, axle-to-axle)

2. I guess the constant whistling is a necessity, but seems a touch intrusive.
     ( too much like a 'boat whistle'....not any touch of urgency in the tonality..

3. Obviously, BB is nowhere near running at superheat... no wonder that they
   need all that extra water cars.

Stilts...


 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/20 07:15 by wcamp1472.

Nice shot thanks for the video they are always nice to see even if some dont like the way its operated.

SLORailfanning Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In mid October, UP 4-8-8-4 #4014 traversed the
> sunet route. I chased the newly restored
> locomotive from Yuma, AZ to Casa Grande, AZ. 
>
> Enjoy the video.
>  

I didn't notice any sound of the engine actually working.  I usually expect to hear the exhaust barking.  Wonder if they were running 4014 with little or no load.  Jack Wheelihan would probably be the one to ask, I'm not a steam expert.

,,,,,,, and to think it sat for decades at the Los Angeles fairgrounds in Pomona, CA.

The noises of the stack reflect the mass & drag of trailing load behind the tender.
So, with little or no rolling resistance of the few cars behind the tender, the
engine is doing virtually no work.

All of the train's axle bearings (except the 8, drivered, axles) are rolling on rolling-element
bearings.   Thus, there is virtually no measurable 'rolling resistance' in the train
The same applies to ALL trains proceeding downhill ---- the train woulld be pushing the loco.

So, my earlier (post's) comment about 'no superheat' reflects the fact that the flame temps of the firebox
are low enough that there is virtually no hot gasses( hotter than the boiler water temp) entering
the superheater flues, thus, there's no way to generate 'superheated steam'.

Superheated steam, is any steam that is hotter than the water in the boiler.
When making steam, the temperature of the gaseous state of water, can never be hotter
than the temperature of the boiler water.    HOWEVER, geaseous steam contains 8-times the number of BTUs
than the amount of heat (BTUs) needed to get to boiling temperature, in the closed (pressurized) container.

Superheaters are made of a series of steam pipes inserted into flues that carry the flames of the burning
fuel-gasses.   The hot gasses entering the flues containing the 'superheater pipes',  heat the superheater pipes up.

When pulling a heavy train, the gasses in the superheater pipes get hotter because of the flame temps ----
but, 'hotter' means that the steam molecules vibrate, bumpimg into each other, and so heated ---- the molecules separate
further-apart from each other.

So --- "more steam exits the units than enters the units" --- meaning that the VOLUME of superheated steam is
greater than heat-saturated steam.   
There's fewer molecules , per volume, of superheated steam --but they're way "hotter"  -- separated further.

Thus, since the pressure is limited by the safety valve's spring settings, the steam pressure in the
superheater units is equal to the boiler pressure.( Typically under 400 F.)

So,  with virtually no trailing-load, there's no 'chugging', no hot gasses, & no superheat.

Now, with 5,000/6,000-feet of freight cars behind the tender ---- NOW, you'll HEAR the 'stack talk',
YOU WILL generate superheat, and get to HEAR what steam power is all about. 

Untill then, we'll never get to hear what this 'live' BigBoy sounds like.

Conversely, if you can hear the loco ROARING, then you're probably running at near 800 F steam temps..

Wes Camp
 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/20 19:52 by wcamp1472.

wcamp1472 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The noises of the stack reflect the mass & drag of
> trailing load behind the tender.
> So, with little or no rolling resistance of the
> few cars behind the tender, the
> engine is doing virtually no work.
>
> All of the train's axle bearings (except the 8,
> drivered, axles) are rolling on rolling-element
> bearings.   


Wes,  ALL the axles on the late UP "Big 3" steam locomotives (4-8-4s, 4-6-6-4s, and 4-8-8-4s) have roller bearings, even the driver axles.

> Wes Camp
 

OOOPS!..
In the words of Ed McMahon*: " Right, you are, Sir!"

I knew that..   It was a brain-f!!t...
Sorry, about that ...

W.

*( Half the readers are gonna' say : Who's THAT?) 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/20 12:49 by wcamp1472.

....But not me. "HaayOoooh!"

Cheers, Dave
 

There's not in the way of grades between Yuma and Casa Grande.  There is a hill out of Yuma, then flat-to-slightly-descending to Gila (Bend), then a 1% upgrade to Estrella, then down hill all the way to Casa Grande.  They put the 4014 in the hole for a couple of westbounds at Shawmut west of Estrella.  4014 made some decent noise leaving Shawmut and climbing to the summit.  It was trackside at the east end of Shawmut as 4014 pulled out.  It wasn't sensational, but I could hear 4014 working and excellerating all the way up the hill.  It was worth driving out there to see that.

Mr Dickens getting crazy with the whistle! 🤔

 

Wolfman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Mr Dickens getting crazy with the whistle! 🤔
>
>  

Some of it I believe was Kirt Clark.

For an engine that size and power, would a passenger train of that size/weight be considered a light or heavy load to pull?

On flat, level ground, the rolling resisitance of a few of today's passenger cars is
virtually not measurable.  If mearured with a dynanometer car, the balance weight would 
still be resting on its pad.   Or, if a modern electronic strain-gauge arrangement was used,
the readout would not be above the electronic 'noise' level...

4000-class engines were capable of pulling a mile of loaded freight cars up the 60-mile
grade of the Continental Divide, while burning-up two tender's-full of coal.

You tell us if you think 20 passenger cars are a comparable load.

W.