CHAIN ON ENGINE QUESTION

In the rare case that a complete drawbar/coupler is completely broken or pulled out of one end of a car, the chain can be used to pull the damaged car to a siding. At which point the car could then be carefully pushed into that siding, out of the way of the main line.

Is that the same reason there were chains on the tender trucks of steam engines?

Depends on which chains you are looking at. Most steam locomotive tenders had safety chains to keep the trucks attached to the tender frame in the event of a derailment.

Many tenders also carried the wood pole and towing chains for either "poling cars" or towing damaged cars.

In the December issue of CTT, Bob Keller reviews an MTH PRR S2 turbine. He incorrectly calls the tender safety chains brake chains so that the crew could manually operate the tender brakes!! I emailed a correction to him.

Apparently the folks at CTT don't know much about real steam locomotives, unlike OGR! 

quote:

 I emailed a correction to him.

I bet that one went swoooosh like a Sabre Jet, right over Bob's head.

quote:

Apparently the folks at CTT don't know much about real steam locomotives, unlike OGR!

Shows you how much Hot Water reads George Brown's reviews!

Hey Hot Water, become a Premium Member and you can check it out on the archives.

Originally Posted by mtnhi7:

In the December issue of CTT, Bob Keller reviews an MTH PRR S2 turbine. He incorrectly calls the tender safety chains brake chains so that the crew could manually operate the tender brakes!! ...

MTH PRR S2 turbine tender truck with chains

That's way too much chain for blocking wheels, although it could be used for that.  Usually, chains used to block the wheels of disabled locomotives or cars in set-out tracks are shorter.

Chains of this length are typically used for chaining a car with a broken coupler on the "wrong" end, to pull it to the nearest set-out track.

Other solutions, such as drawbar straps are coming into use, but a chain will still do the job.

The chains shown on the MTH tender above are not wheel blocking chains. They are safety chains and their purpose is to keep the trucks in some semblance of longitudinal alignment in the event of a derailment. Many passenger cars were equipped with such truck safety chains, too. A chain used to block a wheel is short, generally no more than 4 ft. long so it can be easily handled, and it is placed in front of and behind a wheel. The chain on the CSX engine could be used to block wheels, or it could be used for pulling, as Number 90 pointed out. Thanks, Ace, for posting the photo.

This was Bob Keller's reply:

I've been making that comment for, maybe, 10 years when reviewing a tender with chains placed in that location and you're the first person to point it out as an error!

Thanks, if nobody points out mistakes, they get repeated!

Wonder if that is an indication that NO scale modelers read CTT?

I thought CTT was published by the same conpany which does TRAINS!

They are. But each magazine published by Kalmbach, i.e. Trains, CTT, Classic Trains, Garden Railroads, etc., all have separate and independent editorial staffs.