THE "LA VETA" REVISITED

Below is a more accurate rendition of the La Veta. The first drawing used standard D&RG library blocks I have created and have on file.

This new drawing has the correct trucks and corrected windows and window trim. Also included are the air hoses and the remaining paint trim.

This will probably remain the final version unless I find new and more accurate data.

INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ANYWHERE

I was thumbing through Forney's "THE RAILROAD CAR BUILDERS PICTORIAL DICTIONARY" and ran across the below advertisement for the Billmeyer & Small Company, a late 1800's railroad car builder.

A close look shows this car to be named "La Veta" and was built for the Denver & Rio Grande.



Since all the drawings in my D&RG Folio 6 (1904 issue) has cars built from 1880 and onward, this advertisement with the date of 1876 indicates to me the La Veta was manufactured at least four years before the folio 6 entries were made.

At any rate, it had enough detail for me to draw the below rendition.


I'm presently searching for more information on this car so I can include it in my projected book of drawings. (someday)

THOSE DANG 4-4-0's...

While I frustratingly fish around for more information on the earliest 4-4-0's, the 1876 builds, I can at least post this unfinished drawing of the Ptarmigan, which will be re-posted later when it's finished. Pipes are unconnected, levers go nowhere, the brake system is not yet added and some other known details are missing.

left click to enlarge

The Ptarmigan, built in 1880 and numbered #88, was named after someone or something in the Steamboat Springs, Colorado, area.

The only things I can find named that today near Steamboat Springs are three motels.

MORE POTHOLES IN THE ROAD

The next drawing is/was to be of the D&RG's first 4-4-0's nos. 16-18, but the amount of available data out there on these locomotives is astounding in it's inaccuracy and just plain wrong guesswork.

So... It may take me awhile to come up with even a close approximation of what these locomotives were like.

D&RG's FIRST... Part seven

No locomotives were purchased in 1875, primarily a result of the financial panic which started in 1873.

Four new Baldwin Class 40 2-6-0's were ordered in 1876, #13, #14, #15, and #19. They were again slightly larger than the previous 2-6-0's, but did not have the second steam dome.

left click to enlarge

These locomotives were the first to come with two-truck, eight-wheeled tenders.

Names were still being applied to motive power:

#13: "Santa Clara"
#14: "Chicosa"
#15: "Raton"
#19: "Monte Cristo"

None of these drawings are in any way finished. I anticipate upgrading and correcting them often as more information is gathered.

If anyone has photos, drawings, sketches, or measurements on any of these locomotives and does not mind sharing, make a comment indicating so and I'll forward you my e-mail address.

Keep in mind any information offered may be presented publicly in this blog and possibly later publications. Credit for information will be given to whomever offered it. I will update these drawings with any new information that is usable, an easy task for computer-generated drawings.

My intention is to compile and present the most accurate information possible before we all bite the dust and take whatever knowledge of these mountain railroads we have with us.

Too many fantastic lifelong collections of photographs and memorabilia have been carelessly tossed away by unknowing or disinterested family members who thought that Dad's collection of train junk was just that... Junk.

In my view, it is the information that is important, not who had it stashed away.

D&RG's FIRST... Part six

The D&RW wandered afar for this next locomotive, an English-built 0-4-4-0T Vulcan Farlie. Originally used to pull coal trains from South Pueblo to Divide, it was re-assigned to La Veta Pass as a helper. The very limited quantities of coal and water it could carry is most likely the reason the D&RG did not buy more than one of these units.

left click to enlarge

When the conventional numbering system overtook the number 101, the number was changed to 1001.

The locomotive underwent many modifications. One headlamp and one bell was removed. The steps near the engines were removed. The cab was "winterized" with several of the windows boarded up and doors installed. An additional and higher capacity water transfer pipe was added between the two tanks. Two coal bunkers were added, both going across the entire top of the tanks and boilers.


left click to enlarge

Imagine having to shovel coal from one of those bunkers in the middle of winter on La Veta Pass.

If ever there was a locomotive the D&RG should have saved for prosperity, this would have been it.

D&RG's FIRST... Part five

Double steam domes... #11, "Cucharas", and #12, "Las Animas".

These two Baldwin locomotives were the last of the Class 35 2-6-0's. They both sported a second steam dome just to the rear of the stack. The idea behind such a forward-mounted dome was that a much shorter throttle pipe would increase efficiency. One must assume that it didn't pan out very well. Perhaps the savings created by the increased efficiency - if any - were not enough to justify the cost of the additional dome.

To my knowledge, these two were the only 2-6-0's the forward steam dome concept was applied to. However, the D&RG tried this forward steam dome idea on it's first three 4-4-0's in 1876.

left click to enlarge

If you look on page 18 of Robert A. LeMassena's "Rio Grande... to the Pacific!", you will see one of these locomotives and how those larger steam domes were polished to a mirror finish.

Both of these locomotives were rebuilt into Class 39 0-6-0T's, #11 Mar 1885 and #12 Mar 1884.

Since the Class designation generally indicated the tractive effort of a locomotive, upgrading the class of these units from Class 35 to Class 39 indicates - to me- more tractive effort.

To do that, they had to either:

1- Increase operating steam pressure... very risky,
2- Install larger engines... very expensive, or:
3- Improve the HP-to-weight ratio... very simple

I vote for #3. Eliminating the pilot, pilot truck and the tender would improve the HP-to-weight ratio, increasing the Class designation. But that's just a guess, since the weight of the new water tank would be substantial.

D&RG's FIRST... Part four

The first Tank locomotives.

The D&RG built three tank locomotives from the Class 35 2-6-0's. In the process they lost their "names", and were referred to only by their number, which remained the same.

left click to enlarge

This drawing is largely a collection of assumptions. I have only one photo of a D&RG tank loco, and it may not even be of the first three, but of tank number 20 or 21.

I do have a copy of the Baldwin 1877 locomotive catalog, and some details in that book may be close enough to use. Maybe not.

This is a drawing where I really can use some information from anyone that has some.

D&RG's FIRST... Part three

These next three locomotives #8,#9 and #10, had larger fireboxes and wheelbases then the previous 2-6-0's. Note the rear drivers are placed further back than on locomotives #2,#3 and #5. They were still considered as Class 35 locomotives, since the boiler and the engines were still identical.

A larger firebox only meant that these locomotives could generate steam faster, and that they would be less likely to literally "run out of steam" on hard pulls.

These three, built in 1872, were #8, the "Arkansas", #9, the "Huerfano" and # 10, the "San Carlos".

left click to enlarge

The tenders were now larger, and the rear pedestal-mounted wheels have been replaced with a standard pivoting four-wheel truck.

Although the D&RG had purchased Westinghouse air brake assemblies during this time, I have no information about which locomotives were so equipped.

If anybody out there knows, I would appreciate the information so the appropriate drawings can be updated.

D&RG's FIRST... Part two

The D&RG Railway Company's locomotive roster for the first year of operation consisted of seven units. Four were the 2-4-0's shown further below, and three were 2-6-0's, shown immediately below.
left click to enlarge

The three 2-6-0's were #2 "Tabawachi", #3 "Shou-Wa-No", and #5 Ouray".

These units had no air brakes... No air pump, no air storage tank or piping, no brake shoes. None of that started happening until the following year, 1872, when the D&RG started purchasing air-brake systems directly from Westinghouse.

All seven of these locomotives sported a minuscule four-wheeled tender which lacked such basics as rear boarding steps, handgrabs, tender ladders and back-up lights.

But they were painted up really fancy.

D&RG's FIRST... Part one

The Denver and Rio Grande Railway Company started operations in 1871 with 76 miles of track running between Denver and Colorado Springs.

Their first locomotive was a Baldwin 2-4-0 sporting a four-wheeled tender.

(left click to enlarge)

Locomotive #1 was named the "Montezuma".

The D%RG purchased four of these locomotives, #1 "Montezuma", #4 "Cortez", #6 "Ute", and #7 "Del Norte". None survived the D&RG after 1888.

The above rendition is almost complete, most details having been gathered from multiple sources, so don't go thinking that it is a 100% accurate drawing. Drawings of this nature will always be a collection of assumptions based on whatever information I can get my hands on.

But it's probably pretty close.

If I ever do batch together that book of drawings I keep yammering about, it will include a front elevation and top view.

THE "GENERAL" OF THE GREAT LOCOMOTIVE CHASE


Did you know that the General, built in December of 1855, was originally a tank locomotive, a 4-4-0-T, no tender?*

It's original stack was a Radley and Hunter balloon type designed for burning wood.

A bit of technical info:

Original cost $8,850.

Empty weight 50,300 lbs.

130 flues, each 11' long, 2" diameter.

The leading truck had a rigid center.

Original cylinders 15" diameter, 22" stroke.

Driving wheels 60" diameter.

Horsepower was betwween 220 and 254 HP, depending on steam pressure.

It had no water injectors. Instead, it had ram type pumps powered by the crossheads.

The below photograph is of engine #3, Serial #631, built by Rogers, Ketchun & Grosvenor, but certainly not a builders photo, since it sports an added-on tender.


Where - and how - was the water tank and wood bunker installed originally? I have found no detailed information yet of the locomotive in its original configuration.

*I have found only one article describing engine #3 as a tank engine, so this may be incorrect.

COMPUTER CRASH

Had a computer crash awhile back and am just now getting to the Iron Horse and restoring it to something similar to what it was.

The DRGW Ring info at the bottom is giving me fits, unless this is the new look Holmes wants.

Anywho, work on drawings has continued. Below is my rendition(unfinished) of the Baker Passenger Car heater, which will be in the "Car interior" section of the upcoming book, along with its associated piping layout throughout the car.

leftclick to enlarge

3-D DRAWINGS, AND WHY THINGS SLOW TO A CRAWL

This is a 3-D wireframe drawing of a K-36 front pilot frame.

(left click to enlarge)

Not shown is the Bissell post, the snow plow assembly, springs, wheels and axle, and a host of other detail items.

Like most locomotives, the K-36 has few 90 degree angles to contend with. Most everything is designed with arcs and curves.

Arcs and curves are things computer 3-D drawing programs do not like.

The more points of reference that are identified on any arc or circle, the more memory it takes to store those points. It also takes more time to display it.. Refreshing or regenerating a view port can slow to a crawl when the drawings get large enough.

As an example, a straight line from point A to point B, regardless of length, takes only 2 data points, each having an X, Y and Z reference. however, a circle, regardless of size, having a point of reference every degree, has 360 data points, each having an X, Y, and Z co-ordinate. If it's a sphere, it's the square of that number, or 129,600 X, Y, and Z co-ordinates. They all have to be stored in memory.

But that's not my real problem... today's incredible computers can handle all that data easily. Look at the above wireframe. Every one of the circles and arcs have a center, a place where its radius is measured from. That center has its own X, Y, and Z co-ordinates, but this time, I have to know and label these points. They are identified using what is known as the UCS system, the Universal Co-ordinate System. The USC can be moved any place on the drawing and it can be pointed in any direction relative to the World Co-ordinate System, which is a fixed X, Y and Z used as a master reference.

When you get enough of these UCS points, it can become a nightmare just to remember them, and figuring a unique name for each one. And 3-D locomotive drawings are really just a massive collection of arcs and circles, with an occasional straight line here and there.

If you are a computer game player and play say, World of Warcraft, you will see there are no true 3-D circles or structures. They are all constructed of several straight sections, joined in such a way as to form the appearance of a "round" structure, generally using around sixteen sections. If Blizzard had used 360 sections to show the appearance of a true circle, the game would never move faster than a crawl. Don't confuse a 2-D circle drawn on the face of a 3-d structure.

I generally use 40 reference points - or isoframes - for each 90 degree segment of a circle. That's good enough to display a fairly reasonable rendition of an arc or circle. Each one of those points are shown as a straight line across the Z-axis of the arc or curve.

THE SANTA FE RR M190

The Santa Fe Railroad's Belen, New Mexico roundhouse has/had quite of few relics from it's past tucked away inside. Included was the M190, a two-car unit often referred to as the "doodlebug".

The reason I say "has/had" is because I have not re-visited this place for over thirty years, so I have no idea if The SF RR scrapped this de facto museum and its contents, or if it still exists.

In the seventies, the New Mexico Railroad Commission Director, who happened to be a member of our local railroad club, arranged for the Santa Fe to pull the M190 out of its roundhouse stall so we could get some photos and measurements of the unit. the task took most of a whole day.
Some of the photos:

Look at that pilot... Straight off an old steamer.


This unit had the "War Bonnet" paint scheme found on all of the Santa Fe's crack streamliners.


That's the rear unit of the M190 just below the center support of the turntable. Beyond it you can see the GP unit that was used to pull the doodle bug out.


The catwalk on the front unit. The small structure down and to the left is the turntable operators shanty. In the background, you can see a portion of the turntable's concrete pit wall.

These a just a few of the photos I have. These photos - and the measurements taken - resulted in 1/4" to the foot scale drawings, ultimately used by an overseas brass modeling firm that manufactured an HO brass model of this unique and one-of-a-kind locomotive.

The factory-painted HO model was fantastic.

SPEAKING OF THROTTLES...

Originally a throttle valve was a plain slide valve that moved upon a seat in which were ports similar in operation to the steam ports in the valve chests, just smaller in size.

The problem with that kind of valve was that the pressure of the steam on it when closed made it very difficult to open the throttle gradually, or to regulate or adjust it while open.

These difficulties were solved with the invention of the double poppet valve, seen below.



The valve J, has two circular disks, J1 and J2, which cover two corresponding openings in the upper and lower portions of the valve body, which is attached to the dry pipe L.

When the valve is opened, steam flows around the edges of both J1 and J2 equally into the dry pipe, balancing the forces acting on the valve.

Steam pressure from the boiler acts equally on the top of disk J1 and on the bottom of disk J2, making the valve a balanced valve, tending to keep the valve in whatever position the engineer placed it in, open, closed, or any position in between. This made the valve very easy to operate.

However, disk J1 was made slightly larger than disk J2, since - during the assembly of the valve - disk J2 had to be inserted through the opening for disk J1. As a result, there was a bit more pressure on the slightly larger top surface of disk J1 than on the bottom surface of disk J2. This tended to keep the valve closed when the locomotive was not moving. This was a good thing... No engineerless locomotives drifting off down the tracks slowly gathering speed.

The throttle rod K, passed through the rear of the boiler head through assembly K1, called a steam-tight stuffing box, then attached by various linkage to the throttle lever in the locomotive cab.

THE K-36 BOILER, FIREBOX AND SMOKEBOX


This is about as far as I can go with what information I have been able to gather. Info on the cyclone and petticoat has been most difficult since just about all photos the the smokebox interior have been taken after those items were removed, like the photo below. There must be hundreds just like it.


While on a Chama visit some time ago, I had received permission from the main office to look through some erection prints they had on file, but the man in charge of those prints was just too busy that day to give me a bit of his time, and during other times I had visited Chama, no K-36 had an open smokebox with it's petticoat and cyclone still in place.

So the drawing shows them in size and position - as near as I can surmise - from two photos taken by Carlos Llama he had posted on his site.

Being the tickler for accuracy that I am, this print - with it's obvious inaccuracies - will be going into the dead file.

A few throttle details

The below drawing of the firebox is incomplete since the dimensions of the ashpan and the wheel well are only approximated. The one time I had been informed that a K-36 had it's rear truck out and available for photos and dimension taking was an opportunity that didn't pan out, since it took me three days to get there. By that time the truck had been re-installed.
I have discovered while attempting to complete this documentation project - no matter how many trips, photos and measurements one takes - It's not enough.

And if there's anything I have learned over the years, it's that narrow gauge modelers and affectionados will go into low earth orbit over a dimension off by a sixteenth of an inch.

No need adding fuel to that fire.

I recall that I started this documentation project of the K-36 because as an award-winning NMRA contest modeller, I had wanted to scratch-build an O-gauge K-36, and any useful information on the locomotive was practically non-existent. Information that had been gathered by professional model builders - the ones that sell us those brass and plastic models - was held tighter to the vest than the crown jewels of England were. It's easy to see why... Getting that information - accurately - takes incredible time and effort, and at 72, I'm running out of time.

BUSINESS CARDS

Following are a few samples of Railroad Business cards I have stashed away here and there. Many - in fact most - of the cards in the collection are those of individuals from railroads that no longer exist.

As usual, you can left-click on any image to enlarge it.

This first one was handed out by a delegate to the Brotherhood Of Railroad Trainmen Convention (BRT) in Buffalo, 1905



This next one, distributed by J. A. Kinder, neglects to mention whether he belonged to a railroad or a Union.



Below, Mr. Schilla shows us he worked for the Illinois Central Railroad. He further tells us that the 1905 Buffalo Convention was the 7th biennial convention of the BRT.



On the below card, Mr. Wm. Brennan indicates that perhaps his wife did not trust him out of town for any period of time. Seeings how he did not bother to print her name, maybe she wasn't his wife after all.



Mt. R. L. Willis believed in brevity. No wasted ink on this card.



Note the very early herald on this card for the Union Pacific. It called itself "The Overland Route", and claimed of heady title of "World's Pictorial Line".



Another one of those "let's not waste any ink" cards:



This last card, although a part of the collection, doesn't appear to be a railroad card. But it can make the claim of being a part of America's first "Hooters". I wonder if Waldo was a waiter.



It's was a bit difficult to pick a few out of so many. The one card I will not post is the one with the names of two ladies and their room number... They may have descendents.

It was, after all, a convention.

THE GALVESTON HURRICANE DISASTER

I didn't realize Galveston had any kind of tracks in 1900. That looks like a two-unit trolley. The first car has a lot of windows still in good shape, although it looks like both cars were blown of the tracks (up on the trestle) and landed in the sand.

COAL BREAKER, CIRCA 1908



There is no information as to where this breaker was. Somewhere near Sabina, Ohio, one must assume. Or perhaps Leesburg, wherever that is, the writer mentions that. But then again, the writer also mentions spending Thanksgiving in Washington. Apparently quite the traveler.

This card was so heavily modified during it's colorization process that its a bit difficult to establish if it originally was a photograph. Probably was, but most of the detail has been washed out.