Dynamo Productions explores a wide variety of railroads through our RU-vid videos and DVD’s. Our footage is shot in stunning high definition with spectacular surround sound and stellar editing and cinematography. We also provide railfans, photographers, and videographers a unique opportunity to experience living railroad history at the photo charters we host throughout the year at various heritage railroads. We strive to provide a world-class experience at an affordable price. 2024 and 2025 event announcements coming soon.
Our Crew: Everett Meehling, Michael Hostetter, Jonathan Eau Claire, Daniel Day, Brian McDonnell, Andrew DeSabatino, Hunter Lohse, Jason Fields, Nick Martin, Hammer Lehmann
The train at 12:11 was going really fast for a steamer, and it takes a lot of work to get a steamer to go really fast (points off for the diesel assist). For those who don't know, hot fire pit + insufficient water in the boiler = KABOOM! Too much water in the boiler also = KABOOM! Making a steamer go fast means lots of watching gauges and making adjustments to prevent KABOOM! That should tell you what kind of job engineers and firemen had back then. Not too mention the maintenance crews who work to prevent more kabooms. Despite how idealized steam trains are, those smokestacks belching those plumes of black smoke were a major reason why they were replaced with diesels. It's especially bad going through tunnels. lots of train workers probably died of black lung disease. And the reason why they wore those coveralls was because they'd get dirty with soot. Kids' stories always make diesels the bad guys, but it's more because of how many workers they put out of work than anything "evil." The firemen and those maintenance crews had their jobs made obsolete, but overall, we live in a better place now. Nevertheless, steam trains built America hence why there's so much of a fascination for them, especially when you know what goes into operating them.
I rode this train with my grandsons back before the COVID crisis...We rode in one of the restored passenger cars and it was an experience I'll cherish forever!
Pretty much the only standard gauge steam loco that I’ve scene in person, the Baldwin, Porter, Shay and Histlier. I’ve attended Railroad Days in 2018. There are only 2 standard gauge steam locomotive in New Hampshire that run on a regular basis. That being WMCR Climax 6 and ex-Canadian national 7470 at the Conway Scenic Railroad. (Neither The COG Railway, Storyland, Santa’s Village nor Canobie Lake Park count as they are narrow gauge and the cog does not count either because it’s not standard gauge)
Strasburg Railroad Thomas the Tank Engine (A.K.A Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal #15) operating at the Henry Ford Museum over at Green Field Village.
“We need to get the kids attention more! What do we do?” “I know let’s just add some stupid bubbles on the side!” But for real, it’s nice seeing strasburg Thomas venture out to other places.
To be honest if Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 5632 was never scrapped at all it would’ve been displayed at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois to this day. I would’ve also been able to see it there if this did happened.
@@DynamoProductions-trains two more questions, the steam trains appear to have incandescent lamps on the front so: 1. Trains from the late 1800s had electric lights? 2. How is the electricity generated?
@@therealhardrock Steam locomotives in the 1800s commonly had headlights where an oil was burned to make a flame to produce the light, however in the late 1800s and into the 1900s, steam locomotives began to use steam driven turbines, known as a dynamo (Latin word for power - and the appliance on steam engines we derive our name from). The dynamo produces electricity which powers the headlight. Many steam engines now use the dynamo to power the in-cab radio as well.
@@DynamoProductions-trains Was the Mallet a freight train only? Also, steam trains wouldn't have had diesels helping them when they were in common use, so how did they deal with grades back then?
It was designed for slow speed freight. Today it’s suitable for the slower speeds of a tourist railroad. In the steam era labor was cheaper and the railroads had no viable alternative to steam power, so they rostered bigger engines and more engines, so multiple steam engines would be used. The WM for instance would use one H-9 type 2-8-0 for every 10 loaded hoppers on the Black Fork Grade, running 90 car coal drags with 9 locomotives to tackle that grade. Its not exactly ecomonical for tourist railroads to do the same, which is why most cases you find a diesel helper, rather than more steam engines.
@@DynamoProductions-trains How would they coordinate the use of multiple steam engines back then? You need all the locomotives working properly in tandem for maximum efficiency. Today it's easy, simply having computers that link the locomotives together electronically and automatically control the acceleration and braking accordingly, but back then, this would have had to have been done manually. Every loco would have to have its own engineer and fireman shoveling coal, plus they would all need to communicate with each other (and radios didn't exist for most of steam's history). All the engineers in all of the locos would have to make adjustments on the fly. Sounds like a logistical nightmare.
Pretty Cool But, The Noise And Smoke? I Imagine That Coal Burning Smoke Would Get Into Everything! Driving Back To Seattle From Alaska In The 60's The Dirt From The Road Got Into Everything Even Our Luggage!
I love this video! By the way, do you happen to have any footage you might make a video of about the early days of Union Pacific 844 such as its regular service life in the 1940s and 50s its time as a snow plow in the winter of 1960 and its very first fan trip excursions in the early 1960s
