The Atlantic & Southern Saturday Report

Started by Judge, January 05, 2019, 03:59:09 PM

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ReadingBob

These wonderful stories sure do add another layer of realism to the A&S.  Keep up the great work!
Bob Butts
robertbutts1@att.net

There's a fine line between Hobby and Mental Illness.

GPdemayo

It was a very sad day when steam engines were replaced by diesels, better for the bottom line, but no soul.....another good one Bill.  8)
Gregory P. DeMayo
General Construction Superintendent Emeritus
St. Louis & Denver Railroad
Longwood, FL

jimmillho

Wonderful, Wonderful.  Great Story Bill.

Jim

Judge

I want to thank all of my loyal followers who visit my Saturday Reports each weekend.  I have a lot of fun coming up with the stories and I  feel like I am getting to really know some of the characters.  That is probably because some of them are modeled after people I have known, especially the criminal types.  Let me know how I'm doing.


Raymo

It's good that the A&S has some adult supervision to keep everyone inline!😀

ACL1504

I love the stories, but then I live them every Saturday.
"If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."
Thomas Jefferson

Tom Langford
telsr1@aol.com

jimmillho


postalkarl


Judge

#383
September 28, 2019 Atlantic & Southern Saturday Report

    Problem with photos solved itself.  Go figure.

    The Board of Directors met this morning at 0830 and, after a Coke and a Diet Pepsi there was a a sad discussion about Bill Cutler's Pennsy being scheduled for dismantling.  Bill is a good friend and we wish him the best, but we will miss his layout.
    There was a discussion about the installation of the newly arrived TCS bass speakers.  We have installed one of them in an ACL E7A and cannot see an appreciable difference between it and the factory-installed speaker.  Tom is going to install another one in one of our PFM USRA Pacifics this week and we will give it a test next Saturday.
    We decided to run some locos that haven't had a recent move so we started out with a Southern Passenger train.  The E6 diesel is really duded up with a fancy paint scheme.  The E6A has an E6B unit but it is a non-functional-but-pleasing-consist-enhancer which is without a prime mover.  The consist had an REA car and nine Budd streamlined passenger cars in tow and it walked up the ovalix to the Midlands and then to Summit without even a hint of a problem.  Then it took "the big trip" back to the bottoms. 
                                                             
                                                                       

    Next, we brought the Gulf Breeze Zepher up to Summit and ran it through its paces.  The Gulf Breeze Zepher is a complete train that was purchased from the CB&Q along with an ABA lash-up of F2 CB&Q diesels and an ABA lash-up of D&RGW F3's.  It travels from Jacksonville to New Orleans three times a week during the season and provides needed revenue for the A&S.

                                                                 

                                                                 

                                                                   These Photos were taken at Summit just after the Z exited the Ovalix.

    Lunch was at Smokey Bones as usual.
     The morning train run was a total success.  Not a single derail except for a few switches thrown the wrong way.  We need to get rid of that new brakeman, Newt Fisher. 

   This week's story involves a lesson on firing an old burning steam locomotive. 

                                                                                                            SANDING THE FLUES

    Oil burning locomotives like A&S Number 7, a Sierra type 2-6-6-2, are plagued with problems involving soot clogging up the boiler flues.  Clogged flues tend to reduce the boiler pressure and that is a fireman's nightmare.  The problem is solved through the process of sanding the flues.
    A sandbox containing the same kind of sand used in the sand dome is located on the front side of the tender next to the apron between the tender and the cab of the engine.  A small shovel is provided to facilitate the sanding operation by the fireman.
    When the engine is at track speed and working steam, a significant draft is created.  Every ten miles or so, the fireman inserts a scoop or two of sand through the "peephole" in the firebox door.  The draft sucks the sand into the flues and the soot is blown out the stack, along with a generous amount of black smoke and cinders. 
    Speaking of Number 7, one fine morning in the late summer, just as the oppressive heat and humidity of August in a Florida swamp began to lift, Uncle Henry O'Leary drew the pulpwood run to Piney Woods as the engineer on A&S Number 7.  His fireman that day was John Tanner, who had recently been promoted from being a brakeman and who had scant experience firing an oil-burning locomotive.  When John climbed into the cab, Uncle Henry asked him about his experience and suggested he get acquainted with the sandbox located on the floor in front of the tender.  "She'll need her flues sanded every ten miles or so," he said, and John said he understood. 
    Uncle Henry manhandled the reversing lever and set it in the back corner.  Then he cracked the throttle and Ole Number 7 slowly backed down the service track past the coaling tower, her cylinders making the uneven exhausts articulated engines make along with rod clank and escaping steam. 
    Number 7 coupled onto a caboose and proceeded on the mainline past the Sanlando Station and around Eaton's Curve and over the Great Divide, heading for Piney Woods.  On the way, Uncle Henry turned to his fireman and said, "Boy!  My teeth!"  John turned towards the engineer and saw he was holding his false teeth, covered with tobacco juice, in his outstretched hand.  "Wash them," he demanded.  John took the teeth and washed them with water from the water jug located on a shelf in the front of the tender.  Uncle Henry returned the teeth to his mouth and bit off a new chaw of tobacco.
    Soon, Number 7 approached Piney Woods and John took his shovel and inserted sand through the peephole in the firebox door to sand the flues.  Unfortunately, no one told him that it was a bad idea to sand the flues in a forest area.  The sand dislodged the soot from the flues and soot, cinders, and sparks belched out of the stack.  The sparks set several of the pine trees on fire.  Uncle Henry applied the air and the engine stopped.  John grabbed the water hose and squirted the fire with feed water from the tender, putting it out.  But the fire had done its work and evidence of the fire is still present in Piney Woods. (See Photos)  Lesson learned.

                                                                         
                                   

                                                                             


PRR Modeler

Curt Webb
The Late Great Pennsylvania Railroad
Freelanced PRR Bellevue Subdivision

GPdemayo

Gregory P. DeMayo
General Construction Superintendent Emeritus
St. Louis & Denver Railroad
Longwood, FL

ReadingBob

Bob Butts
robertbutts1@att.net

There's a fine line between Hobby and Mental Illness.

jimmillho


Judge

Well, the photos are up.  I hope this problem, whatever it was, will not happen again. 

jerryrbeach

Judge,

Considering Tom's reputation with fire I'm a little surprised the damage wasn't more extensive.
Jerry

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