Rich Melvin posted:The term “spun out “ was never used to describe this event.
"Spun Out" is used to describe when Rich Melvin's heavy right foot causes his HEMI power 'grocery getter' to swap ends. <snicker>
Rich Melvin posted:As a point of continuing education...
Geysergazer, when a locomotive loses traction and spins the wheels, it is called a “slip.” The term “spun out “ was never used to describe this event.
Rich, thanks. Be that as it may, 
the description I think my fuzzy brain remembers from that many-years-ago Trains article was that, when a T1 slipped it was more like a Detroit Diesel running-off with the governor stuck. Hence my use of a non-authentic term. 
That Wiki pic is of the prototype T1 and IIRC it was especially prone to wheel slip because suspension equalization geometry wasn't quite right, a problem they rectified for the production run. The picture really fits.
Thanks for sharing the pics and stories, looked like it would have been a fun time.
Paul
geysergazer posted:Rich Melvin posted:As a point of continuing education...
Geysergazer, when a locomotive loses traction and spins the wheels, it is called a “slip.” The term “spun out “ was never used to describe this event.
Rich, thanks. Be that as it may,
That Wiki pic is of the prototype T1 and IIRC it was especially prone to wheel slip because suspension equalization geometry wasn't quite right, a problem they rectified for the production run. The picture really fits.
A lot, and I mean A LOT, of misinformation about the PRR T-1 locomotives, has published over the years. One of the most often repeated has been the "tendency to slip". However, the REAL fact was primarily the Engineer's fault, as the PRR never properly trained their Engineers on the PROPER use of a high pressure, VERY high horsepower steam locomotive equipped with an American Multiple Valve Front End Throttle. The "rare" really good Engineers didn't seem to have such issues.
Great pics! Thanks so much for sharing!
-Greg
Hot Water posted:geysergazer posted:Rich Melvin posted:As a point of continuing education...
Geysergazer, when a locomotive loses traction and spins the wheels, it is called a “slip.” The term “spun out “ was never used to describe this event.
Rich, thanks. Be that as it may,
That Wiki pic is of the prototype T1 and IIRC it was especially prone to wheel slip because suspension equalization geometry wasn't quite right, a problem they rectified for the production run. The picture really fits.
A lot, and I mean A LOT, of misinformation about the PRR T-1 locomotives, has published over the years. One of the most often repeated has been the "tendency to slip". However, the REAL fact was primarily the Engineer's fault, as the PRR never properly trained their Engineers on the PROPER use of a high pressure, VERY high horsepower steam locomotive equipped with an American Multiple Valve Front End Throttle. The "rare" really good Engineers didn't seem to have such issues.
Indeed, yes. Been covered. 
I'm quoting me earlier in this topic:
It is my understanding that much or even most of the poor performance was because of poor training. Those things would produce 6,000HP and would go into wheel-slip at nearly any speed if the throttle was not handled correctly.
The dating of the picture possibly can be pinpointed just a bit by the coonskin cap you were wearing. The craze of kids wearing those was a result of the popular Fess Parker Davey Crockett episodes on the Walt Disney TV series, which aired from December 1954 until February 1955. It is likely the picture dated from sometime after those shows ended and production of the caps began and became popular, maybe something like April 1955-August 1955 (just a guess). I and my brothers wore those caps, too, including to school!
Breezinup, I thought the same thing when I first saw Lew's photograph, though I missed the craze being born in 1956. I do recall Fess Parker on the Daniel Boone series a few years later which was one of my favorites.
Ah, the world changes. Someday, maybe we'll even wonder what a gas station was. Except when needed for those vehicles which are primarily designed to feed mosquitos.
Gerry
breezinup posted:The dating of the picture possibly can be pinpointed just a bit by the coonskin cap you were wearing. The craze of kids wearing those was a result of the popular Fess Parker Davey Crockett episodes on the Walt Disney TV series, which aired from December 1954 until February 1955. It is likely the picture dated from sometime after those shows ended and production of the caps began and became popular, maybe something like April 1955-August 1955 (just a guess). I and my brothers wore those caps, too, including to school!
Breezinup, Eggcellent sleuthing! 
That would make me 5 ½ in the pic. I look taller in the pic climbing the cab ladder so maybe '57:
The Wiki entry stated that the last group "went west" to be scrapped in '56, which also fits.
I look younger in this pic so maybe '54:
So this scrapper worked for several years scrapping T1s. Maybe he torched all 50?
Attachments
An interesting project. Underfunded, but they are chipping away at building a loco. They really lucked out with the long haul tender, so the 34% includes about 20% credit for the tender. i know a couple of folks that did some CAD design for them, some really good work there. They really need a couple of multimillion $ grants from large industry or governments to move this forward. And hopefully the design will be tweaked to overcome the shortcomings of the original locos. Modern diesel locomotives have speed sensors that match traction motor speeds to forward movement and prevent wheel slip. By doing this, one 4000HP loco can do the work of 2 older generation 3000 HP locos. Same would happen in steam flow to the cylinders was controlled in a similar manner. I had read that the forward drivers would slip under acceleration, so balancing the weight and suspension would help put all wheels on equal footing.
Hopefully I'm still alive when and if they get it running.
Jim
Lew, that photo coming out of Chicago is one of those majestic type photos for the reason I love steam so much. There are those rare photos that take your breath away and to me this is one of them. God, I wish there were more like that that I haven't seen.
