Incredibly cool photos of trains

[generationx]

Poisson96 said:

Probably the best place for this but had the privilege of popping to Germany the other day for some train and rollercoaster based silliness

Wuppertal? There have been some interesting, er, incidents on that system.
The main line travels parallel for a few kms, it is quite cool!

[CooperD]

Took this one of an old Italian Railcar in a siding in Lecce on a recent Italian holiday.

[CooperD]

Had a day recently on the North Norfolk Railway.

[couzens]

Managed to catch Britania at Dawlish by chance this morning. What a sight and sound!

[demic]

All put to bed for the night

[2ZZ Top]

That's one for the itchy teeth thread.

[RDMcG]

The Union Pacific 4014 still makes summer long distance runs in the US. Amazing, vast locomotive.

Some video here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYYzhjUzCOU&t=335s

[generationx]

RDMcG said:

The Union Pacific 4014 still makes summer long distance runs in the US. Amazing, vast locomotive.

Some video here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYYzhjUzCOU&t=335s

Is that the last running “Big Boy”? Those things are awesome, some great documentaries on YouTube.

[FourWheelDrift]

Poisson96 said:

Probably the best place for this but had the privilege of popping to Germany the other day for some train and rollercoaster based silliness

120 years ago - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQs5VxNPhzk

[RDMcG]

generationx said:

Is that the last running “Big Boy”? Those things are awesome, some great documentaries on YouTube.

I believe it is the last one, but there are plenty of big steam trains in the US that run periodically.

[RDMcG]

[RDMcG]

A shot I took in the AZ desert:

[DodgyGeezer]

FourWheelDrift said:

Poisson96 said:

Probably the best place for this but had the privilege of popping to Germany the other day for some train and rollercoaster based silliness

120 years ago - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQs5VxNPhzk

awesome bit of video footage there

[pingu393]

DodgyGeezer said:

FourWheelDrift said:

Poisson96 said:

Probably the best place for this but had the privilege of popping to Germany the other day for some train and rollercoaster based silliness

120 years ago - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQs5VxNPhzk

awesome bit of video footage there

That was absolutely incredible. The level of detail that the restoration has revealed is remarkable.

[Yertis]

RDMcG said:

You could fill this whole thread with Winston Link pictures

[RichB]

RDMcG said:

The Union Pacific 4014 still makes summer long distance runs in the US. Amazing, vast locomotive.

I've never been into US locomotives but just the sheer size of that thing must make it an operational nightmare? Presumably they built triangles to turn them at the end of the line and the minimum curve radius must be measured in miles not chains!

[RDMcG]

Yertis said:

You could fill this whole thread with Winston Link pictures

Absolutely....best railroad photographer ever.

[CooperD]

One from the Worth Valley Railway

[2xChevrons]

RichB said:

I've never been into US locomotives but just the sheer size of that thing must make it an operational nightmare? Presumably they built triangles to turn them at the end of the line and the minimum curve radius must be measured in miles not chains!

American railroads are indeed well-furnished with triangles ('wyes', as they call them) but remember that the giants like Big Boy operated out in the deserts of Utah and the high plains of Wyoming where there is, if anything, too much empty space. So they just built very big roundhouses and 140ft turntables, mechanised coal hopper towers and high-capacity water towers to turn and service them.

And don't forget that's an articulated locomotive - the front 'engine' (the front bogie and the first set of drivers) is on a swivelling frame and the four trailing wheels are on a pivoting truck. The front pair of axles on the 'centipede' tender were also carried on a bogie. So the fixed wheelbase is actually not a great deal longer than a conventional eight-coupled steam locomotive. 'Big Boy' could negotiate 10-degree curves in traffic and 20-degree curves at very low speeds in yards.

https://youtu.be/fXcD6ZdPR9k?t=693

That's a good demonstration of 'Big Boy's' flexibility. The whole video is a good watch, but the timestamp should start it at the right point (11:33 in if it doesn't).

[CooperD]