Steam & Excursion > Waterloo Central purchased ex-CPR 1238 used on 1969 excursion

Yesterday, B&OBill posted about a Baltimore - Harrisburg - Enola - York - Baltimore excursion operated in 1969 with two ex-Canadian Pacific G5-class Pacifics, 1286 and 1238. 

The 1286 is stored at the Prairie Dog Central Railway in Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

At the end of 2023, the Waterloo Central Railway in Ontario announced that it purchased the 1238 with the intention of restoring it to operation.  Some of you may remember the 1238 was used on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad's predecessor, the Allegany Central Railroad.  The following are links to a Waterloo Central press release and a Railfan & Railroad article:

https://fh-sites.imgix.net/sites/5442/2023/12/30083427/1238-Press-Release-FINAL-Dec-30-web.pdf

https://railfan.com/waterloo-central-acquires-canadian-pacific-4-6-2/



 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/24 18:55 by RuleG.

Thanks for the news and links, Rule G. For those interested in 1238, here it is in Frostburg, MD in 1989 when it was working on the Western Maryland Scenic.

B&OBill

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Re the title.....

Its the 1238, not the 1236.
Sister is 1286.

HICO leased both engines from then-owner George Hart, in 1967.
They're fine engines.

 After Hart cancelled the lease to HICO, both locos suffered significant
freeze damage, when not properly 'winterized'... 
In January, his crew parked them, and went home.

​W.

 

wcamp1472 Wrote:
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> Re the title.....
>
> Its the 1238, not the 1236.
> Sister is 1286.
>
Thank you for noting the incorrect number.  I corrected the subject line.  



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/24 19:31 by RuleG.

When operated and fully functional
these are perfectly proportioned
steam locos.. BP = 250 psi..
They’ll do the work of 2 GP9s.

By proportioned I mean correct balance between boiler pressure and
tractive effort. They are sure-footed
and are reluctant to spin their drivers.

They’re products of 1948, hardly been used. Roller bearings on the pilot truck, HT-1 stokers, aluminum cabs, vestibule cabs, slotted dry-pipe ( no ‘steam dome’), front-end throttle - 5 poppets, etc.

They should get many years of good service out of this engine.

W.

Posted from iPhone

The 1238 was still in Virginia on Jack Showalter's Alleghany Central when the Chessie Steam Special passed through Covington where the former Hot Springs branch diverged from the Chessie (former C&O) mainline. Arrangements were made for Showalter's two ex-Canadian Pacific G5s to be photographed with the Steam Special's ex-Reading No. 2101. No. 1238 is in the middle. In those days, to have three live steam locomotives together in one location was not a common occurence!

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All nice photos and memories.  I too rode the double header steam powered train with the 1286 leading and the 1238 trailing from Baltimore's Penn Station in 1969.  There is more to this story as both of these engines did have problems that day.  Going up the former Pennsylvania R.R. "Port Road" was a great memory, but as we proceeded up the line, whoever was running those engines had problems as the fireman allowed the grate in the fire box of the 1286 to burn through and drop into the ash pan.  This crippled the engine, then before long, a piston packing blew on the 1238.  Trust me, this train limped into Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that day.  Then after the railroad inspected both of the locomotives, on the return trip to Baltimore via the Northern Central Railroad (which was now owned by Penn Central), the railroad put a diesel engine in the lead as the two steamers coasted back to Baltimore.  I just wanted to set the record straight about these two engines.  At this time, both of these engines were either owned or leased to the Red Clay Valley Group and the photos that I have attached show both of the engines in a yard along the Delaware River in Wilmington, Delaware, out of service in 1971. I think that it was sometime later that the late Jack Showalter purchased these engines.  Photos from Shelley Hopkins, Baltimore Chapter, NRHS, now in my collection.
John in White Marsh, Maryland

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Number one Rule about firing a coal burner.
NEVER GET HOT COALS UNDER THE GRATES !!

Always dump ASHES with ground folks to push the 
dead/dying ashes into ash hopper and into proper ash disposal.

The problem with amateurs is that their focus is on burning coal.
The bigger, more successful approach is burn the oxygen!

If you're focus is on oxygen supply, you' ll soon discover the success 
of being an excellent firemyn.  

What happened here, obviously, was he got too much green coal on the fire,
and as a double-header, the draft was very light.  Then we he saw he had too much coal,
he rocked the grates, while travelling down the road.  The burned-out, cast iron grate tables 
crumbled and fell into the ash pan---- Now, all he gets is cold air, putting the fire OUT!

A NKP engineer gave me a 5 minute lesson, to understanding firebeds.
Hold your scoop up horizontal in front of you.
Examine its shape: deep round corners either side, at the back of the shovel
A raised area, where the handle attaches, and a broad, thin flat major area.
Build & maintain your fire to resemble the shape of the scoop.

Few realize that the air flow through the grates is restricted
by the open gas-flow area between the top of the fire-brick arch and 
the crown sheet of the firebox.  That area is typically 50% of the grate area.
 
The brick arch affects the air-flow through the grates.   The air flow has the brick-wall
obstruction at the rear of the firebox,  There is crowding of the burning gases,
over the firebed, as they are burning over "the 80%" of the grate &  the 'thin' part of the fire.
Crowding slows down the air flow through the thin portion of your fire.

Because the brick arch crowds the burning gasses, the back grate area has a much
easier air path through grates, up the back sheet ( 'door sheet') of the firebox,
and directly into the firetubes and flues.

That rapid, unrestricted air flow means that coal at the back of the grate area
burns 3 to 4 times quicker, than the coal over 80% of the grate.  
You must control the air flow to be MORE EVEN, across the entire grate area.
With the rapid burn rate,  the coal turns to ash in seconds, and allows cold
air up the door sheet, and into the flues.  The rear area of the grates soon becomes
bare as the light,  dead ashes are sucked out the stack... 


What would you do to ensure proper air-flow & high firebox temperatures?

​W.

 

CPR is a short line in GA, Canadian Pacific is CP or CPRS

Distribute the coal onto the grates to resemble “the scoop”.

I loved Gary Bensman’s narrative in the FWRHS video when he mentioned you by name, Wes. U told him that an NKP Berk runs best with a “thin” fire. One that dances when the throttle is open and nearly goes out when the throttle is closed. Gary goes on to mention that on a 1980 run from Lima, Ohio to The Fort, based on your advice, he kept telling himself, “don’t over fire, don’t over fire”. Before he knew it they were at track speed making time.

Sounds like similar advice in this post? At least as far as a Berk goes. Love reading your wisdom.

Mark V.
The Fort in Indiana

Posted from iPhone

NSDTK Wrote:
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> CPR is a short line in GA, Canadian Pacific is CP
> or CPRS

But in 1948 Canadian Pacific Railway was typically abbreviated CPR, they went away from the 3 fold name with the CP Rail rebranding.

Posted from Android

Darren Boes
Lethbridge, AB
Southern Alberta Railfan

wcamp1472 Wrote:
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> They’re products of 1948, hardly been used.

The 1238 was a 1946 (not 1948) graduate of MLW. 1286 was built in ‘48 by CLC.

Posted from iPhone