Nostalgia & History > 3751 Caliente to Cliff

3751 climbing out of Caliente towards Cliff. After steam cleaning tunnel 5, those 2 diesels really needed a bath. Camera lens fogged up at the beginning, but cleared up.

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

Enjoyable. Thanks for sharing. --Kelly

There are those who would quibble over the exposure etc of the start of this video, but my take is; something is better than nothing! 
Thanks for posting.  And yes, those FP45's could have used a bath after clearing Tunnel #5, and maybe before,  and they probably
got one in Barstow!  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

I can't believe that the engineer, having two diesels behind him would choose to blast 50 years of "diesel snot" off of the tunnel roof.  In my opinion, there was no reason for that.   That stuff is horrible to clean off equipment, so why cause it if you don't need to?

This event is well documented. Before pointing fingers about how awful this event was I suggest you read the coverage at the time. I do believe there was steam over that area after the end of steam. For those who hate diesel helpers this does show the mess a steam locomotive can make of a well coated tunnel.

Dreamer

Posted from Android

Those guys had serious guts or were bat-sh*t crazy to blast through those tunnels wide open like that.  I admittedly could get into the "we're lifting this train up the hill by ourselves....." attitude though. Note when 3751 comes out the first tunnel she breaks into a wild slip.

This reminds me of the first time we took SP 1744 through the tunnels up the 3% east side of La Veta pass on the SLRG.  We had a full tonnage train and no diesel assist.  All we could do was close the windows and doors, turn on the sand to avoid a slip, suck in a big gulp of air, put your head down and wait for it to be over.... Not only did we do a great job of steam cleaning 50 years of diesel gunk off the roof we knocked a couple of fist-sized rocks out of the ceiling that landed on the cab roof with big BANG. 

Man, was that great!

Frisco1522 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I can't believe that the engineer, having two
> diesels behind him would choose to blast 50 years
> of "diesel snot" off of the tunnel roof.  In my
> opinion, there was no reason for that.   That
> stuff is horrible to clean off equipment, so why
> cause it if you don't need to?

Well, you all can thank Vince Cepola for that stellar performance! Also, note how long it took for him to recover the wheel slip upon exiting the tunnel. The idiot tried to reach for the sander valve, but luckily one of the 3751 crew members in the cab, slapped hes hand away, and he eventually/finally got the throttle closed. Had he actually applied sand while she was slipping that violently, it would have caused serious damage to 3751, i.e. slipping a tire or maybe even stripping the side rods off. The AT&SF managers were REALLY pissed at him for that mess.

There is a lubricator outside the tunnel, and I wonder if the guy running away was just heading for his vehicle or had a handful of stcik and grease. Either way, things were done incorrectly.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/20 23:37 by SP4360.

What an awesome video! In the pre-internet dark ages I had no idea that 3751 was coming to Bakersfield while we were there visiting my grandpa. Couldn’t believe it when I saw an article in one of the railman mags a few months later. That was quite the event, and your video sure captures it nicely.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

I have a couple of still photos taken from the train of the 3751 and the two helpers covered with soot.  They need to be re-scanned before I can post them.  The crews did a magical job of cleaning all of them off during the overnight in Bakersfield.

I could not help but notice; the stack was quite clear except for when it came out of the tunnel that did the dirty deed.  When it exits, it is putting out a huge amount of oily black smoke, as if it was getting way too much oil!  

Kimball Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I could not help but notice; the stack was quite
> clear except for when it came out of the tunnel
> that did the dirty deed. 

No, not really. The "dirty deed" was the "Engineer" never easing off the throttle on 3751, and thus steam cleaning all the years of diesel exhaust snot off the inside of the tunnel!

When it exits, it is
> putting out a huge amount of oily black smoke, as
> if it was getting way too much oil!  

The Fireman eased off on the oil firing valve so as not to produce heavy smoke inside the tunnels. Upon exiting the tunnel, he increased the firing valve in order to regain steam pressure.

There were also two tunnels between Caliente and Bealville.  It appears to me that the diesels were progressively coated with soot throughout the climb from Caliente to Cliff.  So, while the last tunnel appears to be the major contributor, it seems to me that the other 3 certainly added to the mess.

Then, I suppose all of the passengers and trackside railfans would have complained bitterly if the train had climbed most of the grade with the steam locomotive in "idle".

chakk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There were also two tunnels between Caliente and
> Bealville.  It appears to me that the diesels
> were progressively coated with soot throughout the
> climb from Caliente to Cliff.  So, while the last
> tunnel appears to be the major contributor, it
> seems to me that the other 3 certainly added to
> the mess.

Yes. The "engineer" didn't NOT ease off on the throttle at all.

> Then, I suppose all of the passengers and
> trackside railfans would have complained bitterly
> if the train had climbed most of the grade with
> the steam locomotive in "idle".

No. The steam engine could have remained at full throttle whenever NOT IN A TUNNEL! Having been through many, MANY tunnels with SP 4449, UP 844, and UP 3985, when the diesel assist unit/units were properly used, and no snot was blasted off the inside of the tunnel. Then there were those few occasions when the diesel assist unit shot craps, and the steam locomotive was forced to operate at full throttle through a tunnel. WHAT AFRIGGEN MESS!!!!!!!!