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Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Steam locomotives were the semi tractors of the 19th century.

I recently took a vacation trip to Colorado and New Mexico. I shot these short videos of one of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad trains leaving New Mexico and heading north into Colorado.

The first video is of the train leaving the yard in Chama, NM.

Cumbres & Toltec #484 leaving Chama, NM

The second video is the same train a little further north in Colorado. The grade to the top of the pass is about 4%.

Cumbres & Toltec #484 in Colorado

Sorry the quality of these videos aren't first-rate. I wasn't really expecting to make these, just happened to be there when the train was loading passengers. Think of these locomotives as the semi tractors of the 19th century. They also resemble trucks in that although large and heavy-duty, their design was intricate and ingenious. Check out this site on different valve gear used to control the steam to the cylinders and you will have some idea how much development went into later designs.

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/appliances/valvegear.php

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