Railroad Forums
LIRR and The World's Largest Locomotive ???
- Discussion of the past and present operations of the Long Island Rail Road.
Moderator: Liquidcamphor
by Paul
AlcochaserYou would not have the nerve to work for a railroad back in 1939, or, they wouldnt have you. Sorry, no push buttons and engineer in a week programs back then.
Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:53 am Post subject:
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I dont think you could have payed me enough to have been on the crew that ran that over the Hudson on that bridge..... *cringe*
The thing was soo long that it was banished to "Lines West" and used especially for the Chicago IL to Crestline OHLike many one of a kind PRR locomotives, they were not an ends to a means. They were experimental and perhaps not developed fully but ideas used on other types of equipment. Don't forget along side the GG-1 4899 was the R-1 4800. The GG-1's slightly better tracking qualities observed during the Claymont test gave the GG1 go ahead for production? Does that mean the R-1 was a failure? by no means and she was used up to 1963.
Dont forget the DD-2 5800 of 1938.
The S-1 was built for developing future classes of power. The K-4 pacific was developed from the K-28 (Alco, 1911) and not the K-2 or K-3. I am sure the very competant mechanical engineers at Alco, Baldwin and Altoona (all had ideas in the S-1) realised how big she really was before she was on the drawing board wich is why the turn table at Crestline was enlarged before the S-1 arrived.
I am sure if the S-1 had as many derailments and mishaps as you describe, then she would have been retired long before she ever saw her tenth birthday.
BTW, I notice a MA&N C-425 as your avitar. Please send Pete Gores my best wishes.
Paul
"We are all here because we are not all there."
"We are all here because we are not all there."
by Alcochaser
The turntable was enlargened for other larger locomotives, but the S1 would still not fit it. The enlargened turntable was 110foot.
It did derail a lot.
10 years service life is TERRIBLY short for any locomotive.
But dont take my words on it. Read for yourself on this website. These are ancedotes from people who RAN the S1
http://crestlineprr.com/duplexexperimentals.html#s1
I will even quote the ancedote from the page.
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Turning the S1 here in Crestline was obviously not done on the turntable. It was turned on the "wye" which was just west of the roundhouse and one leg of it crossed Bucyrus St. During the War, Crestline was one of several facilities that were used to train military railroad personnel. One day a clerk was relieved from duty early and was "railfanning" near the roundhouse and came upon the S1. Its hostler saw him and asked if he could throw switches so he could get the S1 to the wye and then into stall #30. After an affirmative response, he climbed up into the cab and went for a smooth ride, throwing switches where necessary. When it first entered the wye, the S1 slipped badly and came to a stop. The hostler is reputed to have said, "Soldier, if this stiff-legged, blank, expletive, blankity blank is on the ground!" The soldier got down to take a look, and sure enough, the rear set of drivers were on the ties. This brought on some more blue language from the hostler. After he cooled down, he said, "Soldier, go tell the house foreman this animal is on the ground again." I've read somewhere that when the S1 was to be turned on the wye, some people from town would go down to the roundhouse to watch the event. If it did happen to come off the rails, it must surely have added to the excitement.
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15 of the 30 stalls would be extended on the turntable end. They were stalls #2-11, and #25-29. Extending stalls #25-29 gave the T1s access to the drop pit. Stall #30 had already been lengthened on the outside to accommodate the S1. So the type of locomotives serviced here had a profound impact on the roundhouse, which was originally built in 1920, for among other reasons, to accommodate the locomotives of its day as well, namely the N1s and L1. I don't know the exact date, but during this same time period, the turntable, originally 100', was increased to 110', which was just long enough to turn all these big engines except the S1.
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In short the S1 was simply TOO big.
Simply put, Its a a stiff frame locomotive as long as all the large Articulateds.
It did derail a lot.
10 years service life is TERRIBLY short for any locomotive.
But dont take my words on it. Read for yourself on this website. These are ancedotes from people who RAN the S1
http://crestlineprr.com/duplexexperimentals.html#s1
I will even quote the ancedote from the page.
--------------------------
Turning the S1 here in Crestline was obviously not done on the turntable. It was turned on the "wye" which was just west of the roundhouse and one leg of it crossed Bucyrus St. During the War, Crestline was one of several facilities that were used to train military railroad personnel. One day a clerk was relieved from duty early and was "railfanning" near the roundhouse and came upon the S1. Its hostler saw him and asked if he could throw switches so he could get the S1 to the wye and then into stall #30. After an affirmative response, he climbed up into the cab and went for a smooth ride, throwing switches where necessary. When it first entered the wye, the S1 slipped badly and came to a stop. The hostler is reputed to have said, "Soldier, if this stiff-legged, blank, expletive, blankity blank is on the ground!" The soldier got down to take a look, and sure enough, the rear set of drivers were on the ties. This brought on some more blue language from the hostler. After he cooled down, he said, "Soldier, go tell the house foreman this animal is on the ground again." I've read somewhere that when the S1 was to be turned on the wye, some people from town would go down to the roundhouse to watch the event. If it did happen to come off the rails, it must surely have added to the excitement.
-------------------------
15 of the 30 stalls would be extended on the turntable end. They were stalls #2-11, and #25-29. Extending stalls #25-29 gave the T1s access to the drop pit. Stall #30 had already been lengthened on the outside to accommodate the S1. So the type of locomotives serviced here had a profound impact on the roundhouse, which was originally built in 1920, for among other reasons, to accommodate the locomotives of its day as well, namely the N1s and L1. I don't know the exact date, but during this same time period, the turntable, originally 100', was increased to 110', which was just long enough to turn all these big engines except the S1.
-------------------------
In short the S1 was simply TOO big.
Simply put, Its a a stiff frame locomotive as long as all the large Articulateds.