Steam & Excursion > dropping a car into a siding with a steam loco

my question could be rephrased as "which responds more quickly, throttle or independent?"
hypothetically, a steam loco has run cab hop to the siding where a large pickup (that will become the train) awaits.
cutting the caboose off on the main clear of the heading in switch, then running up the main to the other end of the siding and shoving the whole outfit back on to the main against the caboose is too much work for this crackerjack old-head crew.
they choose to drop the caboose into the siding against the pickup.
the crux of the matter is how to get pin slack to uncouple the caboose from the locomotive: (1) reduce the throttle, then widen on it or (2) leave the throttle open and set and release just enough independent to get the pin slack?
thanks for info!

Not to be a "boo-bird", because I like exciting railroading, but as a retired Conductor, how about leave the caboose and the brakeman on the main and shove back to get the caboose. Dropping cars, though I have done it, is a last resort method of switching, especially with todays less experienced work force, but to be fair, you did mention we were back in the glorious days of steam ! LOL So' I have never run a steam engine, don't know how responsive they might be, but I would think, nibble on the independent, let the brakeman pull the pin, then go like hell?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/23/25 19:36 by wpdude.

We used to do drops every day on the Ventura county Rwy. Not with a steam engine, but they worked well 99% of the time. The 1% was when the brakeman at the switch would look at something other than what he was supposed to do and line the switch under a car which resulted in it getting all kinds of sideways. We would also do the kick and drop move which was a lot of fun.

wpdude Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not to be a "boo-bird", because I like exciting
> railroading, but as a retired Conductor, how about
> leave the caboose and the brakeman on the main and
> shove back to get the caboose. Dropping cars,
> though I have done it, is a last resort method of
> switching, especially with todays less experienced
> work force, but to be fair, you did mention we
> were back in the glorious days of steam ! LOL So'
> I have never run a steam engine, don't know how
> responsive they might be, but I would think,
> nibble on the independent, let the brakeman pull
> the pin, then go like hell?

I am guessing that steam locomotives might have varied from one to another and from one class to another as to how quickly they responded to throttle inputs, and that would likely be the determing factor.  I participated in a number of drops during my brief SCL employment in the early 1970s.  If we had an RS3 or a pair of RS3s it was piece of cake, as those units loaded up very quickly.  If we had a U36B/MATE set, it was a dicey proposition, as they loaded up slower than molasses.

mike woodruff
north platte ne

Have done it with the ex GTW 4070 on a Class II railroad mainline, with a retired road foreman at the throttle, when I was firing about 50 years ago, on a positioning move from winter storage to a summer operating site.  Didn't expect anything out of the ordinary on a simple move from A to B, but it was a veteran crew but we had at least one freight car along for the ride, and they pulled off like clock work.  Don't think they told the train-master or dispatcher how they did it, though....  Great memories.

There was an industrial switch engine job on the Southern Pacific in Stockton, Calif. When we got back to the yard we made a drop into the yard every day. The power was always an SW1500 which was a great engine for making drops!

I've made drops with both steam and diesel. No matter - either can do a fine job with a crew that knows what they're doin', and everyone has a clear understanding of their role.

I also was involved in a drop that didn't go well. Resulted in a big dust cloud and a scrapped caboose.

-LD