Thanks guys, glad you liked the photos!
Apparently, Katie uses so much coal and water because she was built to somewhat more generic US Army Transportation Command standards whereas number 70 “Cinderella” was constructed specifically for the steep grades and tight turns of the White Pass and Yukon. Katie has a longer frame, lower pressure boiler and larger diameter drivers, as well as being somewhat lighter than Cinderella. She has to operate at full throttle to climb the grade and avoid stalling, then a complex series of maneuvers occur in the cab to bleed off speed, refill the boiler and ride the brakes back down the 5-6% grade to the station. It takes a heck of a skill set for this crew to make it all run so smoothly and I really enjoyed and appreciated the trips I made that day!
I want to move there and buy a season pass so I can ride the trains all the time! Furthermore, I would love to take a rare trip behind sister engine number 73, which is the same configuration as number 70 and still runs on the White Pass. While I’ve got steam train fever, a more likely excursion would be to ride the Durango and Silverton and neighboring Cumbres and Toltec which are also narrow gauge and also run Mikados along a stretch of the former Denver and Rio Grande Western.
My son and I are currently planning a Plarail version of the Dollywood Express with D51s and enclosed coaches acting as the motive power and rolling stock. Unfortunately, we’re hampered by that dreaded “IRL” and we both have nasty sinus infections. YAY!
Apparently, Katie uses so much coal and water because she was built to somewhat more generic US Army Transportation Command standards whereas number 70 “Cinderella” was constructed specifically for the steep grades and tight turns of the White Pass and Yukon. Katie has a longer frame, lower pressure boiler and larger diameter drivers, as well as being somewhat lighter than Cinderella. She has to operate at full throttle to climb the grade and avoid stalling, then a complex series of maneuvers occur in the cab to bleed off speed, refill the boiler and ride the brakes back down the 5-6% grade to the station. It takes a heck of a skill set for this crew to make it all run so smoothly and I really enjoyed and appreciated the trips I made that day!
I want to move there and buy a season pass so I can ride the trains all the time! Furthermore, I would love to take a rare trip behind sister engine number 73, which is the same configuration as number 70 and still runs on the White Pass. While I’ve got steam train fever, a more likely excursion would be to ride the Durango and Silverton and neighboring Cumbres and Toltec which are also narrow gauge and also run Mikados along a stretch of the former Denver and Rio Grande Western.
My son and I are currently planning a Plarail version of the Dollywood Express with D51s and enclosed coaches acting as the motive power and rolling stock. Unfortunately, we’re hampered by that dreaded “IRL” and we both have nasty sinus infections. YAY!
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