FA+
Shop
1422
Views
Views
7
Favorites
Favorites
Category
Photography / Miscellaneous
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1280 x 960
File Size 982.8 kB
Report this content
More from rabbitfangs
This is in the roundhouse at Jamestown State Historical Park in Jamestown, California. I toured the roundhouse. Was allowed up into two of the engines to see the controls and engineer's seats. Two were of the shaft or rod driven variety and one was gear driven...the farthest one from us. The gear driven ones are called 'monkey engines' or something similar because they have so many exposed parts that move quite fast and in several different directions. I have a pic of a gear driven one which I will post next.
Category Photography / Miscellaneous
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1280 x 960px
File Size 982.8 kB
Did you know that steam locos were also known as night creepers by roundhouse crews? On those roads that kept its engines in the roundhouse at the end of the day's work, if the engineer (or fireman) didn't leave the Johnson bar (which controlled direction) at the dead neutral position when they signed their engine over, over the course of the overnight steam would gradually build in the still-hot boiler, and eventually the pressure would reach the point where it would actually start turning the drivers, thus causing the loco to slowly creep forward or backwards on its own!
Hadn't heard that term yet. Though it doesn't surprise me.
What DID surprise me was when I heard the term Johnson Bar. As smartass kids we used to point beneath cars going by and yell 'HEY! Your Johnson Rod is about to fall off'. Every now and then a sucker would pull over to look to see what we were talking about.
What DID surprise me was when I heard the term Johnson Bar. As smartass kids we used to point beneath cars going by and yell 'HEY! Your Johnson Rod is about to fall off'. Every now and then a sucker would pull over to look to see what we were talking about.
Comments