Re: R711 (and other WCR stuff)

[steam4me@enternet.com.au (Yuri J Sos/Melbourne AUS)]

sthyer@anatomy.unimelb.edu.au (Stuart Thyer) wrote, and I selectively
quote:

>Oil firing traditionally is very hard on boilers, the on/off nature of oil has
>a dramatic effect in terms of temperature fluctuations, which in turn, can
>lead to problems with boilers cracking etc.  

So Maldon's J549 would appear to be a candidate for early failure,
given the short line nature of the line and the frequent stop/starts?
AFAIK, western US railroads (SP, AT&SF, UP) used oil as fuel for their
steam locos.  It couldn't have been that bad a fuel.

>As for Steamrail, we have the other consideration too of having to install
>new facilities to deal with fuel oil handling, and this could not be
>justified when all the other engines are coal burning.  

>We would need fuel on site plus some way of providing fuel on 
>any longer tours.

A few points here. 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I though oilies had a much better range
than their equivalent coal burning colleagues.  A tank car behind the
tender would make for a huge range and little/no handling en route (as
opposed to the front end loaders re-coaling out of VOAF 9 as at
present).  

In addition, refuelling with diesoline from a road tanker (as done by
graders, bulldozers, etc in road construction and mining) would seem
to be an easy (easier than front-end loaders) way of providing fuel
both "on site" and on longer tours.  You've surely seen these tankers
ranging up in size from little "mini mixer"-like trucks running around
town, filling a variety of on-site machinery.  Given the competitive
nature of the petroleum industry, I would imagine prices to be keener
than hiring a front-end loader, and *no* capital investment in new
fuel handling facilities.

R711- oil, Y112 - coal, J536 - oil, D3 688(have I got the right #?)
coal..... WCR don't seem fazed by more than one fuel type.

Plus the opportunity to use cheap waste oil most of the trip and top
up with diesoline only if required saves money and adds versatility.

Regards

Yuri
--  

"Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else."