Steam & Excursion > Grand Canyon Railway Steam

Last week I attended Pete Lerro's Grand Canyon charter.  We had both steam locomotives operating: 2-8-0 #29 and 2-8-2 #4960.  The first day had #29 pulling a 4-car train.  The second day had #4960 pulling a 5-car train in the morning, and then doubleheading with #29 in the afternoon.  Here's a short sampling of the 2-day trip.

-James
http://www.steamtrainvideos.com

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James, your videos are always the best (I have several and were on C&TS trips when you filmed them).
But what I want to know is does the stack exhaust smell like hamburgers or french fries?!

Excellent camera work and composition. It's so nice to see smooth zooms and pans.

Beautiful video.
Back in her Burlington days, 4960 had more of a "woofing" exhaust, but its nice and sharp now.
I asked Robert Franzen if he had any influence from the 1522's appearance after seeing the 4960 done up in her new livery.  Their engines are kind of reminiscent of Frisco in appearance.

Superb video! Thanks for sharing!

Really nicely done.   Smooooooooth.   I appreciate the lack of gratuitous whistling.  Only downside is all of the empty coach seats in the last run-by. 

Nice video!  Chuckled over how you made the photo line not stand out like a sore thumb!

Another great video which we have come to expect from you, James.  And the photo line was so much better behaved than those of the 2002 NRHS Convention there at GCRy.

Super!  Enjoyed this video immensely.
Steve B.

Great job, James. I feel like I was there watching it... again!


Looking forward to more!

/Mitch

Posted from Android

That's one of the best videos I've ever watched on TO.  Thanks for sharing your excellent work.

Cumbresfan Wrote:
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> But what I want to know is does the stack exhaust
> smell like hamburgers or french fries?!

Every once in awhile you got a whiff of the vegetable oil, though I didn't think it smelled entirely like french fries.  Interestingly, on the long downgrades when the engines were coasting the stack would emit a light blue haze (like when a car engine burns oil).  The blue haze had a terrible smell, and it was like no other steam locomotive (coal or oil burning) I've experienced.  I imagine the fuel wasn't being properly combusted while drifting and it has something to do with the properties of waste vegetable oil (flash point, fire point, etc.).  I'd be interested to hear the opinion of someone more knowledgeable than myself.

-James
http://www.steamtrainvideos.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/17 20:24 by typebangin.

REAL good!

May I join the chorus? This is all just wonderful. The last bit, in particular, had me shouting at friends to come see, but the whole thing is spectacular. I thank you, too, as this is the first I'd heard of these photo tours. I see none are scheduled right now, but I'll keep checking back. An indiscreet question: are they one of those, "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" deals? Again, my sincere thanks for this truly wonderful video. d

WOW ! THANKS FOR SHARING ! :):):)

Excellent work James!

Steve Mitchell
yardgoatimages.com 

Great Video.....It doesn't get any better!.  Thanks.

C.C.C.&St.L.Ry.

Wow!

Were we really that well behaved and silent on the photo lines, or do you just have really high quality directional microphones?  I detect almost no photo line noise: no clicking cameras, nobody shifting position, and no wind noise. Excellent video!

As for French fry odors, this was a new experience for me. A previous visit to Mt Washington had shown that their exhaust really did smell like fries. Not so at GCRR.   My perception was that while working hard, the smell was what you got when you turned your steak on a grill.  Pleasant overall, if not really railroady. While drifting, as noted above, the smells were more diverse and less pleasant. At a few points, I got the distinct smell of naphthalene, making it smell almost like a coal burner. But this moment we're brief, and the overall effect while drifting was mildly off-putting. 

Not it to make a big deal here:  I organized my winter Railfan trip around this event, and would do so again in a heartbeat. Bravo to you for the video, and to Mr Lerro for making it possible. 

Simply the BEST !!!
Thanks for sharing. 

march_hare Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow!
>
> Were we really that well behaved and silent on
> the photo lines, or do you just have really high
> quality directional microphones?  I detect almost
> no photo line noise: no clicking cameras, nobody
> shifting position, and no wind noise. Excellent
> video!

I have a directional mic and it helps.  So does getting away from the main photo line.

-James



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/17 14:20 by typebangin.