Steam Locomotive – A Mechanical Masterpiece
Steamtown, PA
I dedicate this blog to my cousin Ralph Schorno who had two major operations within the last three weeks in Switzerland. As long as I know him, he has always wanted to visit Steamtown, PA. His life has been dedicated to trains and steam engines.
Back in the mid 80s, Ralph travelled to Vietnam in search of a Swiss steam engine which was sold to the Vietnamese in 1947. During the Vietnam war the train line was destroyed and therefore stopped running. Swiss enthusiasts like Ralph tried to get the engine back. Thanks to Ralph and others, today this steam engine runs again at the Furka in Switzerland.
Walking into Steamtown brings you back in history. Steamtown is a National Park inside the town of Scranton in Pennsylvania. The smell of steam, hot oil, and smoke dominates. The only sound you hear is the whistling of engines or the bell of a trolley. You can walk around and cross the tracks in Zigzag fashion. At the entrance there is a sign “be aware trains might move”.
With my camera, I wait for the next train pulling out of track 12 at the turntable. I hear the clanging of the engine bell, followed by the chuff noise of the steam, released from the cylinder at the end of the stroke. Then comes the rumbling and chugging sound from the locomotive. The sounds and the smell are very nostalgic for me.
I spent seven years of my childhood (from the young age of seven to fourteen) living in the train-station building in Erstfeld, Switzerland. My father was station manager of what was once considered one of the most important railway stations in Switzerland. I would spend hours watching trains arriving from Sicily or Amsterdam. Would watch freight trains moving in and out of the station while cars were rearranged to different trains. Later in the day I would practice all of this with my model train layout. At night with the window open I heard the sound of the passing trains.
Steam Engines are much bigger in the States and Canada than they are in Switzerland.
The biggest steam locomotives ever built are the Union Pacific (UP) Big Boys built prior and during WWII. The sizes of these engines are gigantic. They are powered by coal and water. Imagine living off nothing but coal and water and still having enough energy to run at over 100 mph (160km/h) pulling dozens of heavy freight train cars! That’s exactly what a steam locomotive does.
Check out UP4012 (Big Boy 4012) – the dimensions are mind boggling.
- UP4012 reaches a speed of eighty miles per hour (130km/h)
- The #4012 is 133’ long (40m) and with loaded tender weighs 1,189,500 pounds or 540,550 Tonnen.
- In service it carries twenty-eight tons of coal (25,500kg) and 24,000 gallons of water or 91,000 Liter.
UP4014 is currently being completed overhauled in Cheyenne, WY. It is scheduled to be under steam again in 2019. Personally, I think this is worth a trip to witness this locomotive under steam.
Steam engines rank with cars, airplanes, telephones, radio and televisions among the greatest inventions of all time. They are marvels of machinery and excellent examples of engineering.
Haven’t had enough on Steam engines? Here are four steam engine milestones:
- 1807: American engineer Robert Fulton(1765–1815) runs the first steamboat service along the Hudson River.
- 1819: Steam-powered ocean ship Savannahcrosses the Atlantic from New York to Liverpool in only 27 days.
- 1825: English engineer George Stephenson(1781–1848) builds the world’s first steam railway between the towns of Stockton and Darlington. To begin with, steam locomotives pull only heavy coal trucks, while passengers are ferried in e horse-drawn carriages.
- 1830: The Liverpool and Manchester Railway becomes the first to use steam power for hauling both passengers and freight.
After inhaling the atmosphere for a full day, it was time to explore Scranton. After a fine dinner at the Peculiar Slurp Shop, it was too early to go back to the hotel. Dog walkers make friends by talking to other dog walkers. What to do when you are alone in a city? I don’t go to bars any longer because people just sit and stare at their phones. Not very interesting.
But when I passed a cigar shop (Steamtown Cigar Club), I knew this was a place to go and talk to people. So, I went in, sat with some guys and within minutes, I was one of them. I had a great time and learned so much about the life in earlier days in Scranton, what it is now and what I should visit. As well, it turned out that two of them are train fans and one was a collector of Rolex watches. It was a happy evening for me.
Steamtown is a great National Park. If you have children, I promise they won’t get bored. The introduction movie is as good as the detailed and informative museum. I now understand how incredible the train system once was in the United States. Since I ride the Long Island Railroad every day, I don’t see any of this greatness.
Go and visit Steamboat in Scranton and you’ll see what I mean. And have fun!
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