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KB2VXA > TRAINS 20.02.11 17:04l 67 Lines 3370 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 64581_VK6ZRT
Read: GUEST
Subj: Re: VE3WBZ > Puffing Billy, etc.
Path: DB0FHN<DB0MRW<DB0ERF<OK0NAG<OK0PPL<DB0RES<ON0BEL<ZS0MEE<VE3UIL<VK6ZRT
Sent: 110220/1432Z @:VK6ZRT.#BUN.#WA.AUS.OC #:64581 [Boyanup] $:64581_VK6ZRT
From: KB2VXA@VK6ZRT.#BUN.#WA.AUS.OC
To : TRAINS@WW
Hi Pete and all,
So it WAS Puffing Billy at Beemish your aunt drew pictures of! Not all
that surprising she being from Yorkshire and not Queensland but I suppose
my being way over this side of the pond it took me a while to catch on
being the tourist track in QLD is more well known around the world.
Yup, there were all kinds of early steam powered conveyances and with
roads already there it was far easier to build a carriage than a whole
railroad. Well yeah, a real steam loco fire and all at a mine would only
operate above ground hauling stuff around the property, underground it
would kill people. (;->) Far more common was the donkey engine that
powered the hoist while live donkeys hauled carts underground, even today
those electric engines are called mules. Take it a step farther to
canals, still the big ones like Suez and Panama call those locomotives
mules.
Oh yeah, I've seen pictures of the aftermath of steam explosions and
there isn't much left of the locomotive. The worst was in Pennsylvania
(details are sketchy) Altoona methinks where plates weighing many tons
were found miles away and a big chunk of boiler barely missed a farmer
sitting on his porch. My memory really sucks raw eggs, I wish I could
remember the plate in the boiler that extends over the firebox. Most all
explosions happened when the fireman wasn't watching the water level and
allowed that plate to become uncovered, under those conditions heat
becomes extreme and one little splash flashes water to steam and WHAM!
Hmmm, the railroad near you became a tramway? That would be quite
difficult here since the NJT North Jersey Coast line connects with
Amtrak's North East Corridor at Rahway where they share the tracks
between New York and Philadelphia plus going tyo the hub in Hoboken from
where they go all over the state. Oh, in addition to heavy rail they have
light rail up north, they reopened several old tramways which makes
everybody breathe easier with less Diesel fumes to contend with.
Tell you what, check out You Tube for Metro's Greatest Hits if you want
great laughs set to Wagner's Flight Of The Valkyri. Heh, idiots who turn
left in front of a moving tram deserve just what they get. (;->)
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73 de Warren
Station powered by JCP&L atomic energy, operator powered by natural gas.
Message timed by NIST: 09:12 on 2011-Feb-20 GMT
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