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How many Of You Have Actually Ridden A Steam Train ?

14K views 81 replies 48 participants last post by  T-Man 
#1 ·
I come from a small town in upstate New York. We had our local railroad, you may have heard about it "New York Central", I had the opportunity to ride several times in the late 50's, and into the early 60's. from LaGuardia Airport to Oneida, Took 11 hours, longer than the flight from California to New York City, BTW, the Flight was On a Lockheed Constellation.
Then into the 60's, I rode the Steam train from Utica to Lake Placid, several times during the summers I spent in Beaver River at my Aunt and Uncles Cabin. The only way there was Train, Boat, or Helicopter. The Rails have since been torn up.
The smells and feelings standing next to a steam locomotive, is beyond compare. As is the raw power of the Constellation with 3 foot long Blue flames coming out of the exhaust headers, and the Vibrations and power are amazing.

Dan
 
#5 ·
I rode on a number of the when I was growing up with relatives working on both the Milwaukee Road and the Northern Pacific.

Whenever we travel, if we are going to be anywhere near an operating steam railroad, we will try if at all possible to visit. Here's the Virginia and Truck in Virginia City, NV we visited while attending a bowling tournament in Reno.



 
#7 ·
My grandfather took me on my very first train ride back in 1954, when I was 5 years old. We took Union Pacific's Yellowstone Express, between my hometown of Rexburg, in eastern Idaho, to Rigby, about 15 miles to the south. The train was pulled by a light Pacific 4-6-2 with a Vandy tender, and consisted of a baggage car, and 3 passenger coaches.

The next year, the UP discontinued that train. I have never forgotten the experience and it's probably what originated my interest in trains. The next year, UP dieselized the line which was its Yellowstone Branch, replacing all steam locomotives with diesel GP-7s, then GP-9s.

I've also ridden a couple of tourist trains, the Heber Creeper from Heber City, UT down to Vivian Park in the Provo Canyon in the 1980s, and the Durango-Silverton train in Colorado, in 2007.

Steam was and is awesome!
 
#11 ·
Steam Train Trips

I've been lucky enough to ride behind these steam locomotives in the last few years:

Cass Scenic Railroad
Land vehicle Locomotive Vehicle Transport Railway


Transport Steam engine Locomotive Railway Train


Durbin & Greenbriar Railroad
Transport Steam engine Steam Train Locomotive


Strasburg Railroad
Transport Train Locomotive Railway Steam engine


Essex Steam Train & Riverboat (Essex, Ct.)
Transport Steam engine Locomotive Train Railway


Property Tree House River Park


Norfolk & Western 4-8-4 #611
Transport Railway Train Rolling stock Locomotive


Nickel Plate Road #765
Transport Locomotive Steam engine Train Railway


New Hope & Ivyland Railroad
Transport Steam engine Locomotive Train Vehicle


Steam Into History (On the former Northern Central Railway)
Land vehicle Vehicle Transport Locomotive Train


Transport Locomotive Train Steam engine Railway


Steamtown National Historic Site Excursion
Transport Railway Locomotive Train Rolling stock
 
#12 ·
Mom had two brothers, both of whom lived in Westchester County, Thornwood and Pleasantville. Since we lived way up in the real upper Manhattan, above 135th street, we'd catch the Brewster local at New York Central's 125th street station. This was in the very early fifties.

Apparently I was already a bit train crazy and had made my feelings known, so when the train got to North White Plains and the electric motor from Grand Central got swapped out for a steam engine, Dad would take us off the train to observe the changeover. As I recall, the steamer was a filthy beater 4-6-2 that had seen better days. Didn't matter. It was alive . . . ALIVE! Probably rode behind one of those a dozen or so times before an Alco RS-? got substituted, which was a horrible disappointment to me.

Also, around 1950 or so Dad wanted to take me out to Montauk at the Eastern end of Long Island. We rode a Long Island Railroad "name" train called "The Fisherman's Special." Didn't get to see the locomotive changeover but it was obvious from the smoke and cinders flying by the coach windows as we raced (and I mean raced)out to the end of the island that the train was steam powered. All's I remember is when we got off at Montauk the loco had what I later learned was a Belpaire firebox.

In retrospect it's fascinating to me that these were not "excursion/preservation" engines, just hard working locos doing their jobs every day. Glad I got in on that.

Pete
 
#15 · (Edited)
When I was in HS one of our summer excursions was to ride behind any steam train in Pa. That included the Strasburg, Everett, East Broadtop, and several others. More recently I have ridden the steam train at Williams Grove Pa. And in 1976 the Chessie steam special came to Rockwood Pa. and my parents were offered two tickets for the return trip to Pittsburgh. I told them to get on the train and my Brother, who lived in Pittsburgh, picked them up and brought them home. I took their truck and trailer back to their house and waited for them. FYI, a native of Rockwood drove the engine on that trip.
 
#17 ·
Since I was born in the early 1940s, I have ridden behind MANY Jersey Central and PRR steam locomotive hauled passenger trains. I began "learning" on and around steam locomotives in the mid 1950s, and began working on steam locomotives in 1962 (Buffalo Creek & Gauley RR, in West Virginia). I also tried some hand firing on Kentucky and Tennessee 2-8-2 #12, now known as Southern Rwy #4501.

In excursion service, I've ridden behind PRR K4sa #612, Reading #2124, Southern Rwy. #4501, Frisco #1522, MIL #261, N&W 611, N&W 1218, Clinchfield #1, NKP #765, UP #844, and UP #3985.

As a crew member (Fireman, Engineer, maintenance crewman), I have worked on NKP 765, SP 4449, T&P 610, Canadian Pacific #2860, UP 844, and UP 3985.
 
#21 ·
I was born in the early 50s. Too late (I think) to have ridden behind a revenue steamer. But excursion/tourist lines…sure.

New Hope and Ivyland
Black River and Western 60
NKP 765
Reading and Northern 425
Wilmington and Western 58
Western Maryland 734
Strasburg 89, 475
 
#22 ·
I once got into an argument with an individual who claimed that most Shays were 3 truck when I said most were 2 truck. The confusion arose because the organizations that preserve these engines will pick a 3 truck engine to preserve, because if you have a 3 truck you automatically have a 2 truck. There were 2,166 2 truck Shays built, 582 3 truck, and 20 4 truck. So clearly the 2 truck Shays dominated. This individual also claimed that a square rigged ship couldn't tack, which is wrong, and that a hammer was an implement of destruction and he wouldn't have one in his tool box. I guess my question is, why do I have to meet all the loonies.
 
#25 ·
I enjoyed the steam powered L & N between Louisville and St. Louis, dinner on the diner
and all. Something you may not think of, your train is pulled by a
2 cylinder locomotive. You can actually feel the 'pull' of the pistons when
the train starts out. I also got to ride the 'hello Dolly' Train in
Straussburg, Pennsylvania, ans the beautiful Norfolk Southern 1954 steamer pulling
a fan train.

Don
 
#26 ·
Sometime in the late 40's (1948?) my parents took me on the Pierre Marquette from Grand Rapids MI to the Henry Ford museum in Detroit and then back. I was too young to remember much about the engine, but I do recall being impressed by the whole dining car thing. I also recall being a little wary of all the noise and motion going through the passageway from car to car.
 
#28 ·
I have ridden the following, I'm sure there are a few others that I can't remember right now:


LRR #110
• BLW 4-6-2 "Pacific"


NKP #587
• BLW 2-8-2 "Mikado"


CPLERR #44 Judy K.
• VIW 0-4-0T converted to 2-4-0

CPLERR #22 Myron H.
• VIW 0-4-0T converted to 2-4-0


KIMVRR #12 (Tecumseh) Kenny Van Meter
• CMP 4-4-0

KIMVRR #19 (Simon Kenton) Lew Brown
• CMP 4-4-0


WDWRR #1 Walter E. Disney
• BLW 4-6-0 "Ten-Wheeler"

WDWRR #2 Lilly Belle
• BLW 2-6-0 "Mogul"

WDWRR #3 Roger E. Broggie
• BLW 4-6-0 "Ten-Wheeler"

WDWRR #4 Roy O. Disney
• BLW 4-4-0 "American"
 
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