Steam & Excursion > The Lonely Job Of A Locomotive Messenger Captured On Film!

Over the years of the steam era of railroading there were literally thousands of times that steam locomotives needed to be transferred to new owners over the rails of other railroads.  Each of these movements was usually assigned a messenger to ride in the cab of the locomotive being shipped to make sure all goes well along the way.

The first of these movements using locomotive messengers was when a new locomotive was shipped out from the factory.  The messenger made sure that the locomotive was properly lubricated along the route and that all went well with the shipment.  Later in the locomotive's life, if it was resold to a new owner, or transferred to an owners affiliated railroad, a distance away, another messenger would be assigned to that shipment as well.  That is what we see going on here.

The date is August 31, 1952 and the Long-Bell Lumber Company has decided to assign one of it's fleet of ALCO 2-8-2T's from it's Ryderwood, Washington operation to the Long-Bell operation at Vaughn, Oregon.  Here in the Southern Pacific yards in Eugene, Oregon, Long-Bell #805 is nearly at the end of her journey as she is shuffled through the yards to be added to the next train bound for Vaughn.  Riding in the cab of #805 we see the locomotive messenger assigned to this transfer. 

He appears a bit pensive as the photographer takes his photo.  The messenger has likely never been to Eugene before and he still has to figure out how to get home after he drops off #805 at her new home.

Martin



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/20 03:02 by LoggerHogger.

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As would be normal for such a move, the main rod and eccentric rod have been removed.  And the main rod is replaced with a balance weight bolted to the crank pin.

Thanks very much for an interesting photo.  It's amazing how much the fans roaming with their cameras were able to capture back in the day!

That’s not a ‘balance weight’.

It’s a two piece wood block & two bolts between the eccentric crank and the in-place Side rods ( & possibly the side rod’s floating bushings, if equipped). It keeps the siderods in parallel & in-line during transport—- from wandering out-of-line and possibly severely binding the rotating wheels.

The wood blocks simply act as spacers ( where the main rod had been) to maintain the siderods in place for smooth rotation.

Also, the wood blocks protect the
exposed main crankpin bearing surface from damage, rust or scoring during transport.

If there’s concerns for perceived imbalance of the main drivers
( account the missing mass of the main rod), typically a modest maximum speed is ordered for moves involving
dead-in-tow engines —- typically under 30 mph, depending on driver diameter and fears of the authorizing officials.

W.

( Also note the wood blocking on the lower crosshead guide — to keep the crosshead from moving during transport, and the bottom
of the Walschaert link is tied to the crosshead guide/support to keep it restrained from swinging).
Posted from iPhone



Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/20 06:38 by wcamp1472.

What's the apparatus between the stack and the bell, above the air pump?

-LD

LarryDoyle Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What's the apparatus between the stack and the
> bell, above the air pump?
>
> -LD

That is the front sand box.

Martin

Ahhhhh. Ok, thanks.

-LD

Is there a faded name on the
side of the loco’s water tank, below the handrail?

Can’t make out the spelling..

W.

Posted from iPhone

wcamp1472 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is there a faded name on the
> side of the loco’s water tank, below the
> handrail?
>
> Can’t make out the spelling..
>
> W.

Long-Bell

Martin

They would PUSH the dead locomotive?  What about the head lamp?

ldstephey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They would PUSH the dead locomotive?  What about
> the head lamp?

As I said in the post, she is simply being switched through the yards in this photo and will then be tacked onto a train bound for Vaughn.

Martin

Now it makes sense.
( faded lettering..)
I can make out the “——Bell”

Thanks.

W.

Posted from iPhone



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/20 07:52 by wcamp1472.

Interesting!!