Steam Locomotive Controls: The Backhead

Running a steam locomotive requires much more than knowing what part does what, but it’s a necessary first step. Learn what each control does on the backhead of the steam locomotive and why it’s important.

Up for inspection is an OIL fired 2-6-2, the RVRy’s #7. The layout of the controls is for the most part identical to how a full sized locomotive operates, and ALL the controls present on the full sized locos are displayed here.

To see a larger version of this photograph, go here: http://www.weatheringman.com/Backhead_Detail_.html

Okay, follow from “A to Z” to learn about each part:

A- Atomizer- atomizes fuel oil and sprays it into the firebox to ignite and keep the fire going

B- Blower- manages the draft of air flowing from the back of the boiler through the tubes and out the stack, helps complete combustion of the fuel by supplying oxygen.

C- Throttle Lever- Does the obvious.

D- Independant Brake Lever, which is used to apply brakes to the drivers and tender trucks to stop the locomotive

E- Train Brake Lever, if all the cars were equipped for airbrakes it would apply the brakes on all the cars behind the locomotive.

F- Firebox Door- used to access the firebox prior to steam up, a lever on the side manages the draft on the bottom of the firebox, inspection hole is used to manage the color of the fire, which tells you how complete your combustion is and how efficient you’re running your locomotive. Idealy it should be a bright golden orange.

G- – Gauge Glass Valve- Used to flush out gauge glass to measure how much water is in the boiler.

H- Water Check Valves- If the gauge glass is broken you can quickly check where your water level is by quickly turning the top or bottom valve for less than a second so you don’t scald your fingers.

I- Gauge Glass- Measures water level in the boiler to make sure you’re making steam, but also operating safely with enough water to prevent damage to the crown sheet. 1/4 or 1/2 the height of the glass is ideal.

J- Oil Firing Levers- Used to finely control the amount of oil being sent to the atomizer to be burnt as fuel.

K- Left side blowdown valve- used to blow crud out of the cylinders and the boiler to keep it from becoming a gunky mess.

L-Oil shutoff valve- the master on/off switch for the fuel.

M-Headlight toggle switches

N- Air Pump Lubricator- Keeps the Airpump lubricated and (hopefully) working smoothly.

O- Left Side Water Injector- Injects water from the tender into the boiler, performs same task as “S”

P- Steam Air Pump Lubricator Valve- For the most part it turns on a small supply of steam to turn the lubricator on and get the pump started.

Q- Shop Air Valve- To gain pressure more quickly, we hook the boiler up to an air compressor, turning on this valve and plugging in the air hose is all this is for.

R- Turret Valve & Main Steam Pressure Gauge- Measures the PSI (Poundsfor Square Inch) of steam pressure in the boiler and the turret valve controls the movement of all steam to te controls in the cab.

S- Right Side Water Injector- Injects water from the tender into the boiler, performs same task as “O”

T- Independant Brake Pressure Gauge- Tells you how many pounds of pressure you have in the airtanks that the steam air pump compressed for you to apply your airbrakes with.

U- Train Brake Pressure Gauge- Same as above, but for the entire train.

V- Right Side Blowdown Valve- Does the same thing as left side.

W- Cylinder Cock Lever- Drains sitting water out of cylinders, typically done before and as the locomotive begins to move, that’s why you always see jets of steam shoot out of the cylinders as a steamer pulls away from the station or a stop and not too long after it ceases as the engineer decides the water has been drained.

X- Reverser/Johnson Bar- Controls the valve gear which determines the direction in which the siderods, motion and drivers travel.

Y- Whistle Cord

Z- Fore and Aft sanding levers put sand on the rails in front or behind the drivers for traction.

I hope you learned something new, it’s a complex machine to operate but it’s quite a specticale.

The Beauty of O Scale Brass.

I thought I’d share some astoundly painted, superdetailed and weathered steam locomotives owned by a gentleman located in the south bay area.

I would love to revisit his layout and perhaps cover it in a full article here at some point, can you identify the man behind this layout? (E-mail me with the details, I lost his card accidentally a couple of months back.)

Visit a Prototype Modeler’s Meet.

There’s one facet of the hobby that’s surprisingly fun and definately informative and impressive. It’s your local prototype modeler’s meet. Here you’ll find beautifully detailed models in a casual, friendly atomsphere where you can really appreciate and enjoy them. You’ll often find the true “master modelers” at these conventions, often people you might be familar with through the Model Railroad press.

To check one of these out for Interacting with Miniature Railroading, I brought some of my weathered and kitbashed models to the event to see what reaction I’d get and also to see how easy or difficult it is to fit into these events.

I visited the Bay Area Prototype Modeler’s Meet in Richmond, Calif. (BAPM for short) last saturday and was extremely impressed. Tucked away in the cafeteria of a Catholic School in Richmond Heights, the well lit room lent itself to really being able to see the models in natural light.

FOR A FULL GALLERY OF PHOTOGRAPHS COVERING EVERY MODEL IN THE EVENT, CLICK ON THIS PBASE GALLERY BY HARRY WONG.

When I arrived at 11:45 a DCC clinic featuring the new SPROG II computer-to-track programmer (which runs on JMRI) was just wrapping up. I paid $10 to get in the door, which wasn’t any problem for me, considering what and who I’d find inside. I also bought 2 Raffle tickets.

The room was mostly filled up, three rows of tables down a 75X30 foot cafeteria, with more than 100 models on display. About 90% of the models were HO, the rest were various narrow gauge scales, including my On30 2-6-0. It is no wonder why HO was represented so heavily as the sheer amount of aftermarket detail parts available is staggering. I asked where to set up, and a friendly member just told me to set up on any empty table, which I found quite refreshing in comparison to handling the insanity of getting a table at a train show.

I was met with pleasant remarks after setting up, and it felt good to finally have a group of modelers that are supportive instead of arrogant, close minded, overly eccentric individuals I often see at train shows. The prototype modeler group is not only nice, but extremely intelligent and informed on their particular area of intrest.

It was time to explore the rest of the tables during the lunch hour. I wasn’t disappointed.

The really neat thing about these prototype modeler’s meets is not only do you see the ‘finished’ models but you also get to enjoy the models in progress as well. Elizabeth Allen’s impressive model of a Southern Pacific SDP45 has been impressing people for the couple of years she’s been constructing it, and just look at the attention to detail!

All the gray parts on the locomotive are from the well-known modeling detail parts supplier Cannon & Company. The current owner was out to display his equally spectacular freight car models and talk with the prototype modelers to get ideas for his next products.

Next to the “in-progress” models all the tables were of course the fleet of beautifully painted and detailed complete models. This Southern Pacific “torpedo boat” GP9 is an excellent example. (The nickname torpedo boat comes from the airtanks on the roof, which are usually behind the fuel tank under the frame, but the fuel tank was enlarged to extend the locomotive’s range, and they had to go somewhere.)

Not only were there plenty of Western US power, there was an excellent display of Brazilian meter and standard gauge equipment by Edson Yamazaki. All of these models were heavily kitbashed and superdetailed.

The most impressive model I saw was a Brazilian DDM45 which is an SD45 built to run on Meter (3′6″ gauge) rails and has 8 axles featuring the classic DD40AX sideframes.

In addition to the Freight Cars& Diesels, there was a good turnout of steam era equipment and passenger cars, all nicely detailed.

You should find and attend the next prototype modeler’s meet in your area, there should be at least one annual event in your NMRA region (although it’s not affiliated with the NMRA in any way) check with other local modelers to find out about these exquisite events! For those willing to travel the Western Prototype Modeler’s meet is in San Bernardino’s beautiful mission-revival style AT&SF depot in Septemer.

SVLS Spring Meet 2009

From 5/16/09 – 5/17/09 RailfanHunter’s club, the Sacramento Valley Live Steamers (SVLS, had the annual spring meet. This year was one of the rare occasions that the steam locomotives actually outnumbered the diesels! I also had my first steam locomotive operating experience when I got to opertate a 9-car Southern Pacific Daylight consist. I spent most of my time operating the club’s SW1500, it is my favorite locomotive on the club’s roster. I would say I spent a good 6 hours operating the SW1500, over the 2-day period. Of course you still need time to BS with the other guys, and I did that too. one of the funnest things that I have ever done at the club also occured during this meet, when I and three other people operated a 26-car train, and each of us worked a different part of it. I got to work the end of the train. When almost everybody went home, I had the task of collecting all of the club owned freight cars, and switched tham back into storage.

All and all it was a very fun weekend, and I can’t wait for the fall meet.

A Railfan Report Special Edition: 5/12/09

On National Train Day (5/9/09) I visited the California State Railroad Museum for their special celebration. Locomotives usually hidden off in the SP Sacramento Shops were pulled out for display. Handcar rides were also given, and in the museum itself there was an Amtrak California coach on display and open for touring, as well as seven tables of railroad themed giveaways, which is always a pleasure to find.

Locomotives on outdoor display:

Southern Pacific E9A 6051

Union Pacific 0-6-0 4466 blowing its whistle on compressed air

Sacramento Northern SW1 402
Sacramento Southern GE44Ton 1240
Sacramento Southern SW8 2030

Union Pacific Motor Coach

…and of course the Granite Rock 0-6-0T was out to pull the Sacramento Southern passenger specials.

The weather was perfect and made for a very enjoyable day.

Blueprints: Gas-Electric Doodlebug for the CWR&N

Here’s a set of blueprints I recently purchased of California Western Railway & Navigation Company’s M-100 motorcar, dated 1935. If you’d like to have a paper copy of these blueprints, e-mail me and we’ll work out a way to send them to you. If you want to purchase the original copy I have here, make me an offer.

Here’s the original blueprint below, the top photo was inverted into white-on-black line drawing in Photoshop.

It’s a neat piece of history at any rate and it’s interesting to see such unusual artifacts still floating around, I’m just glad that I was able to find them.

Should You Buy a Brass Locomotive?

There’s always that one part of any well stocked hobby shop, it’s probably a glass case behind the cashier’s register, or perhaps it’s a commercial fishtank sized glass case with row upon row of gleaming brass locomotives. Some are unpainted with their meserizing golden-brass hue, some with their meticulously researched and accurately applied paintjobs. What they match in their high detail and impeccable craftsmanship is a price tag that will scare off any sane penny-pinching modeler, but should you be scared off by a high pricetag?

In the Defense of Brass Locomotion

Brass models can provide many things that plastic models have yet to achieve in the 60 years they have inhabited the same part of the hobbyshop. Only recently have plastic models begun to provide affordable, well detailed and accurate competition to brass models, but there are just some things the major manufacturer’s won’t ever make in plastic, and that’s where brass has always held an edge.

For instance, the extremely obscure railroad of the Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District Railway owned a locomotive identical to the one pictured above, it was apparently built in their shops in 1901, or so the builder’s plate reads. It’s a small and light 2-6-2, and I’d bet the pony and trailing trucks aren’t to distribute firebox weight, but to deal with poor trackwork. The sloped tender suggests a local or switcher locomotive, it ran on coal and sports Carbon-Arc or Kerosene lamps fore and aft. The attractive boiler tube pilot is similar to a road locomotive, but it’s modest footboards at the rear suggest otherwise. This tiny locomotive of an equally tiny and obscure road that barely made ends meet in the quarter century of it’s existance certianly was overshadowed by such fabled neighboring roads as the quixotic Colorado Midland and the much revered DRGW. The only reason this model was produced was probably due to the plans for this little loco being run in a 1974 issue of Model Railroader. The CS&CCD Ry’s story having been enshrined in HO scale brass is one of the reasons why brass is an interesting way to build model locomotives, there’s no chance that would ever be made in plastic by any manufacturer with any degree of sanity.

Because brass locomotives don’t have to worry about the high return on investment that plastic models always have to strive for (think of why in the last 50 years there has been over a dozen models of the Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 big boy, yet there remains only a handful of well-detailed plastic 2-6-0’s 2-6-2’s 2-8-0’s 4-4-0’s and other small steam.) more unique models have been produced to fill in niche markets.

Logging prototypes in both narrow gauge and standard gauge have always been popular brass models. Westside shays and heislers, Uintah 2-6-6-2’s, Baldwin logging 2-8-2T’s, 2-8-2, 2-6-2’s and the wide variety of oddities like the Vulcan duplex, Willamette geared steamer, gypsy winch 0-4-0’s, and the Climax A, B & C models are often found on some of the more involved model railroader’s layouts.

Famous prototypes have also been popular. Southern Pacific Cab Forwards, NYC hudsons, and almost every streamlined locomotive has been produced in brass at one time or another. Smaller locomotives of the larger roads have been popular too, like CB&Q pacifics and Wabash moguls.

Brass is the only way to get some diesels that are too obscure to ever be produced in plastic, like the beautiful Fairbanks-Morse H-20-44’s or the Early EMD TA’s, Baldwin “babyface” cab units, or even small industrial diesels like whitcomb and porter models. SP SD-40T-2’s were popular models in brass for many years until the recent Athearn RTR offering eclipsed the detail of many previous brass offerings. I’m imagining that SD70ACe models are selling quite well as nobody has released one in HO yet.

The quality of the running gear found on the “average” brass locomotive varies wildly so this is where it gets tricky. Some companies were all about the looks and only put a “token” drive inside thinking that the collectors of brass would never run such a highly detailed locomotive as it may hurt the value. These clumsy arrangements often had underpowered open-frame motors flimsily attached with shrink tubing to a poorly built worm-gear assembly like the AT&SF 1950 class locomotive pictured above. This was the most mass-produced brass locomotive ever made, and although the detail is acceptable, it ran terrible. Early Ken Kidder mallets had only the rear set of drivers powered, making them gutless locomotives barely capable of hauling their own weight. Some of the gearing was so poor that it would only be able to attain ridiculously high speeds thanks to a lack of reduction gears. Although not a total loss, they would be worth sending off to an experienced rebuilder of brass like master machinist at DTA Models . (no commercial affilation, but I’m quite impressed with his work.) It seems a great deal of early Japanese brass is like this.

On the other side of the spectrum is the newer Korean brass, like my CS&CCD 2-6-2. It’s built by Ajin precision of Korea and has a fantastic drive train. Featuring a sagami can motor, it has solid driveshafts linked to sturdy machined metal gears with the gear tower solidly attached to the frame. It runs silky smooth. NWSL (NorthWestShortLine) brass has been revered for decades for it’s rock-solid dependable drives and adequate detail. Don’t forget that brass locomotives are heavier and if the drive is solid, they pull much better than a plastic locomotive, especially if the locomotive is small to begin with.

So, should you buy a brass locomotive?

-Yes you should, IF: You’re modeling a really specific prototype or if you absolutely must have an accurate and highly detailed model of a steam or diesel locomotive that would be too difficult to kitbash or scrathbuild. Always comparison shop though, as most brass is expensive, usually more than $300.00 now, with most brass well exceeding this price.

-No you shouldn’t IF: there’s a nice offering in plastic of the same model. It would be a waste of your money. A good example would be a Brass GP7 or SW1500 model, nice detail but unless it was severly modified by the home road (e.g. a unique chopnose like on the WM GP9’s) the Atlas, Proto 2000 or Athearn offering are quite adequate.

Look Beyond the Docksider: 0-4-0’s.

The following is quoted verbatim from a Baldwin Sales Catalogue:

Four couplerd locomotives have all the weight on the driving wheels, and are suitable for contractor’s’ or industrial service, and also for light switching work on railroad yards and terminals. These engines have short wheel bases, and they can be safely operated on sharp curves and switches. The smaller classes can easily traverse curves of fifty feet radius. For short runs, or for switching service eherre a large fuel and water supply are not required, saddle or side tanks can be used and the fuel carried in the cab or on a rear extention of the engine frames. For longer runs, a seperate tender should be employed. If desired, the tender tank is made with a slopin back, this giving the engineman a better view when backing up. A seperate tender is also an advantage on exceptionally narrow track, as it admist of a lower center of gravity than if the tank were placed on the boiler.
In tank-frame locomotives, as illustrated (below) the frames consist of steel plates, between which the water tank is place. This construction lowers the center of gravity; an important featur where the gauge is unusually narrow. These engines are fitted with a simple design of Marshall Valve gear, having all it’s parts outside the wheels where they are easily accessible. This style had a through trial on light industrial locomotives operating under the most severe conditions.

Here’s a pretty extensive gallery of what these little locomotives looked like. Most modelers know of the dozens of (usually crude) models in various scales that have been produced with the 0-4-0 wheel arrangement. This gallery will hopefully give you some different and fun ideas for kitbashing a more unique looking locomotive.

It’s the perfect power for a really modest shortline operation, like the Indiana Northern.

If you don’t want it operable, it makes excellent shop clutter in a detailed interior scene.

Some were used by larger industries to handle cars around their plants.

Mines used them to switch cars around the loading tipples.

They’re a very down-and-dirty workaday locomotive, this small scale railroad operation would be easy to model and fun too.

They were the “trackmobile” of many industries from the 1860’s through the 1960’s.

Not all of them looked good, here’s a locomotive nothing short of hideous.

Looks like this one worked on some noticeable grades…look at the size of that sand dome!

This unusual side-bunker 0-4-0T would be an interesting thing to model, presumably coal or wood was loaded in through the sides of the cab, rather than the rear.

Most operations kept them running on bubble gum and bailing wire, here’s a good example, note the odd oil tank cobbled together from scrap parts.

Working large industries like quarries helped these little locos earn their keep….

…until trucks took over the jobs that the venerable 0-4-0T used to handle. Caterpillar, Euclid and other off-road trucks took over duties at the construction contractors, mines and quarries in the 1950’s and 1960’s, while other industries purchased tractor-trailer trucks to handle their freight or bought a small diesel switcher or trackmobile to handle their rail traffic. The 1960’s was the last decade to see these little locomotives in north america, they were either saved to operate in a tourist railroad, or stuffed and mounted in a park, but thousands of these workaday locomotives met the scrapper’s tourch, perhaps to be turned into truck parts!

Sacramento Valley Live Steamers Public Run 3/15/09

On Sunday, the Sacramento Valley Live Steamers (SVLS) ran their 2nd public run for the 2009 season. Our club steam locomotive has been down for several months now, and probably won’t return to service for a while because it needs a new boiler. I had the chance to operate three locomotives, SLVS’ own RS-3, and their GP40, and a fellow members’ GP9. An interesting note about the GP40, although the locomotive as built is a GP40, its number is in the Union Pacific’s GP38 numbering system. Two members brought their private trains, and I ran one of them, a Western Pacific GP9. I spent most of the morning pulling weeds on a few sidings, and that took about and hour and a half, I had 2 1/2 buckets worth of weeds when I was done. We also talked about reballasting a few tracks, which will probably be done on the next work day. All and all it was a good day, I look forward to the next.

In Depth: Redwood Valley Railway’s #2

The #2 is pictured on the bridge just railroad east of Army camp.

The #2 is our only internal combustion engined locomotive on the property. It’s powered by an old, rare Hercules 30hp Gasoline engine, and is powered by a hydraulic drive. It’s cooled with an old Samson radiator. Because it was rebuilt many times in it’s life, not offical blueprints or plans exist for this locomotive.

It’s a very useful little locomotive, and can pull the entire worktrain of 9-10 cars around the railroad, although it does have to double the grade out of the workshed to get all the cars up to the mainline.

IT was recently rebuilt from the frame up in late 2008. The 70 year old hercules engine has been rebuilt, cleaned and runs great. The cab finally has gauges galore and the locomotive has been equipped with airbrakes. (Air pressure is gauged in the brass gauge) To control the locomotive you must raise the throttle to build up hydraulic pressure, then move forward after engaging the reverser and using the hyrdaulic lever as the official throttle, you roll off in your chosen direction. It is incapable of pulling revenue trains due to it’s lack of tractive effort, which is in a way an unoffical “safety assurance” that we won’t get lazy and disappoint our customers with anything less than steam powered passenger service.

The suspension is fully functional and it works well as a track inspection locomotive, being able to feel out the kinks and bumps on it’s 0-4-0 chassis, it’s only a rough ride if the trackwork isn’t perfect.
As you might guess the tender is absolutely necessary for hauling around the engineer and work crew. Inside the tender, tools and extra work items are stored for the convience of the work crew. In a pinch you can haul 6 people on the tender and locomotive. When it was first constructed from available parts over 45 years ago, the engineer sat on an apple crate behind the locomotive on a small flatcar. The Juniper has been rebuilt numerous times, each time taking on a completely different cosmetic appearance. It used to be dark forest green many years ago (in the apple crate era). They also experimented with eliminating the flatcar tender entirely by squeezing the engineer in the cramped, oily cab. “That got old really fast” one employee remarked. Since then the tender has carried the engineer and crew while the cab interior slowly filled with levers and gauges.

Like all other locomotives on the Redwood Valley railroad, it’s named for a native plant in the coast range of California. The #2 carries the name “Juniper” of which it only very recently was bestowed the honor of having it’s dulux gold and name exquisitely handpainted by the offical artist and CEO of the railroad. It’s never looked better. For you Gn15 or On30 modelers out there, this would make an excellent kitbash. Come visit the Redwood Valley in the hills above Berkeley and Oakland, Ca in Tilden Regional Park to see it up close.