Steam & Excursion > TBT - 4449-844 Double Header - 2007

Not the best quality, but interesting none the less.  4449 and 844 double header heading north towards Tacoma in May 2007.  The train has just come out of Winlock and is heading up the Napavine hill.  Quite the sight seeing these two working together - and without any diesel help.

Enjoy.

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gsnyder Wrote:
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> Not the best quality, but interesting none the
> less.  4449 and 844 double header heading north
> towards Tacoma in May 2007.  The train has just
> come out of Winlock and is heading up the Napavine
> hill.  Quite the sight seeing these two working
> together - and without any diesel help.
>
> Enjoy.

Pretty nice, except for the external chatter. Also, no diesel needed what with over 10,000 horsepower handling that train. In fact, Steve Lee asked me, as Fireman on 844, "Just when do we get to this big hill you to;d me about?".

Cool video. Thanks for sharing it.

That's nice!

John.

That's a NICE video!  Wish I had been there!   Two of my
all-time favorite locomotive, double-heading.  What's not
to love and be amazed at?  Those were, indeed, GOOD days!

HotWater --
The 844 certainly coulda handled that train all by herself -
no doubt about it!  (I was recently reading Kratville's
excellent book, "The Mighty 800" (1967), and learned
that, in 1947, the AAR tested different steam locomotives
from different railroads, and the 837 had the test train up
to 110 mph -- with a back pressure of only 8 psi!  She
could easily have gone even faster, but the UP officials
ordererd the crew not to go any faster.  Darn!  Now
we will never know how fast an 800 cdould really go.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/16 21:17 by Margaret_SP_fan.

Nice video my man!

an excellent example of never say never and things can happen if the right people want them to happen....yes a great and most enjoyable trip.  thanks for the video.  Arlen

Margaret,
This is undocumented evidence but I had an engineer tell me (I was his fireman) that he had an eastbound mail train with an 800 and that the crews would stall around Cheyenne in order to leave late and get into Sidney, Nebraska on time. He said he got the 800 class locomotive up to about 125mph down near Jacinto.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Bob ---
THANK you VERY much for that wonderful story!
Sure seems as though it could have been fact.  An
800 giong 125 mph is quite believable.  (I wonder
what the ride quality was like?)

I had a friend --now deceased -- who was a Milwaukee
Road steam-era fireman, who regular ran their 84-inch-
drivered "F-7" Hudsons.  He said his personal best was
127.6 mph!   Yes, also undocumented, but I think it may
have actually happened.  He did say it took them about
15 miles to get up to 120+ mph.  And that there was a
100-mph speed restriction at Rondout, Illinois.  (That
was the area he ran in.)  He also said they regularly ran
at around 120 mph.  All, of course, undocumented -- but
may have been fact. 

I am no expert whatsoever on these things.   I just want
to learn what really happened Back Then.

What steam locomotives could do was incredible -- both in
terms of speed and how much weight they could successfully
pull. 

Amazing.....



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/16 17:55 by Margaret_SP_fan.

I rode behind #844 across Wyoming at 100+ mph.  I can't be the only one left alive that remembers.  !961 or 62.  Cheyenne to Ogden.

Ed

Wonder how hard it was to MU those engines? Ya know, one has an Alco throttle and the other a Lima.

MarkMeoff Wrote:
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> Wonder how hard it was to MU those engines? Ya
> know, one has an Alco throttle and the other a
> Lima.

Stupid!  One can NOT "MU" steam locomotives together. It is called "Doubleheading"!

Plus, you are wrong about the throttles,i.e BOTH have American Front end Throttles.

HotWater Wrote:
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> Stupid!  One can NOT "MU" steam locomotives
> together. It is called "Doubleheading"!
>
> Plus, you are wrong about the throttles,i.e BOTH
> have American Front end Throttles.

That was probably a gullibility check.  I wonder how many buckets of steam it took to get those engines up to full pressure?  ;)