A.T.& S.F. 3751

[oleblu72]

3751 getting out on the interstate with the 4-wheelers. This was 8 years ago, but it just popped up on my Utube page so here it is. In this day and age, It would be pretty rare experience to get to run with one of these great beast's while driving done the highway, pretty darn cool and what a awesome spectacle. 

Mark

 

[skipxt4]

Very Kool, Mark.

 

[Greg Reimer]

I was on that train that day from Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal to San Bernardino. It causes a near riot on that stretch from about Cal State Los Ageless to El Monte where it leaves the freeway center median and goes on mostly single track separate right of way on the Metrolink trackage. Did you notice the blue 3 door Suburban pacing us on the freeway about halfway through the video? Right past the grade crossing scene is a large softball field complex, and there were several games going on. We had to stop because we were ahead of schedule and there was oncoming Metrolink trains headed westbound. We had to stop for about 10 minutes next to the softball field, and we totally disrupted several games as coaches, dads, lots of teen aged girl ball players and spectators left their posts and came up to the fence to see the locomotive as we waited. It sure got an ovation when the signal went green and we took off to resume the trip. Didn't mean to disrupt a softball tournament, but this disruption was pretty well liked.

 

[Greg Reimer]

I've been fortunate to have ridden behind mainline steam several times, once between San Jose and Sacramento and return behind SP Daylight 4449 in 1992, Santa Fe 3751 to San Bernardino three or four times, 3751 to the Grand Canyon in Arizona,then once to San Diego from LA on a Saturday day trip with my wife. Nothing like the near riot it causes along freeways, neighborhoods, passing through urban centers and along the ocean at speed. The San Diego trip is on Amtrak trackage, and the usual speed is 80 MPH. It had no problem maintaining track speed. The last steam trip I went on with my wife was between Union Pacific 4014 from Colton to Barstow uphill through Cajon Pass about three years ago. That big monster mastodon had no problem hauling over 20 passenger cars, two extra water tenders and a couple of modern diesels for dynamic braking when descending the pass. Lots of Youtube videos on all three of those locomotives. It's neat to see the past relived like that.

 

[rsavage]

I don't see any smoke. Was the locomotive being pushed by a diesel?

 

[Greg Reimer]

They run that engine on some kind of fuel oil, not like the bunker crude of 80-90 years ago when these engines were new. Due to air pollution concerns plus the baneful existence of little liberal snitches that would call the air quality management people and beef about smoke, they do all they cn to prevent smoke emissions around any urban areas. Like a car engine that makes black smoke from being too rich, it won't make maximum horsepower if it is losing heat out the stack in the form of unburned fuel. One of the railroads that still has a few steam locomotives got some flack for running an excursion to Los Angeles Union Station and making some black smoke. That would have been unburned hydrocarbons whereas coal fired engines make boiler soot and a lot of sulfur that is contained in the coal. That also wastes heat energy, a nice thing to have if you are firing a boiler to make steam.I don't think that railroad will be in any hurry to run any steam excursions into LA County any time soon. It seems that some steam excursions contain what's called a photo runby where the train stops to let off the passenger in a scenic location, backs up a few miles, then full throttle barrels by the drop off site with billowing clouds of smoke for effect. It takes quite a bit of subsequent running afterwards on a rather lean setting to clear the soot out of the boiler flues and firebox after that.That run to San Bernardino that day didn't need any form of assistance from a diesel helper, the Metrolink engine behind the tender was there just to provide dynamic braking as necessary for a safety requirement.