[Jeroen]

Quite a few members appear to also be (model) steam train Affectionados!

See https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...in-driver.html (Steam locomotive models | Every little boy wants to be a train driver!)

Today we went from model steam locomotives to real steam locomotives!

This weekend saw the annual Steam Day of the Steam train depot in Rotterdam (https://www.stoomstichting.nl). The steam depot is a society that restores and maintains old steam locomotives. They focus on locomotives that have been in use by the various Dutch railroad companies in the days of steam. They have their well-equipped workshop and an army of volunteers. Many former and current railroad men and women, who enjoy doing this in their spare time.

Once every year, they get to use the track between Rotterdam and Gouda. They fire up several locomotives and have two steam locomotives each pulling some 6-7 vintage carriages back and forth. And there is a lot more to see and do.

As I mentioned in the model steam locomotive thread, our grandson Ben is crazy about trains. And both his parents, Luc and Maloeke too. Grandad makes four.

We met at 10.00 o'clock at the entrance to the depot, got our tickets and went inside.

This was the first thing we saw; a huge train play area. This is a Thomas the Tank Engine set. But with lots and I mean lots of track, engines, carriage and a whole bunch more.



Ben thought he was in seventh heaven and would have been perfectly happy to spend the whole day playing with it.



There was also a huge Lego track. They build these Dutch Railroad locomotives. Very impressive.





But this is what we came for!!





These are massive steam locomotives. And several of them were under steam! So they huff and they puff, they spit out steam, water, condensation, there is soot in the air! It is utterly brilliant!!

Luc and Ben taking a look at a "hot" boilerplate!



A lot of TLC goes into keeping these massive machines in tip-top condition. Endless polishing.



This was a slightly smaller locomotive, still impressive. It was not fired up.



Look at this wheel. Notice that pipe in front of the wheel pointing towards the track? The engineer could pull a lever and that would enable sand to spill out of this pipe onto the track. It was used if the track was slippery. Steam engines provide enormous torque and wheel spin is something that happens frequently!



Time for a video. I only shot a few videos but I think they do give a good impression of these mighty machines and the atmosphere at the depot!

Check out the main drive wheels at around 0.18 min. You can see wheel slip happening!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iow6...ature=youtu.be

Next to several steam locomotives the depot also has a few diesel locomotives. These were all used for shunting and or short-haul freight.





This is one of the latest additions to their collection. Still needs a lot of work done before it can be fired up and driven I guess.



We had a cup of coffee and a fizzy drink for Ben inside the depot.

The catering was set up in between the numerous work benches, lathes, drills and so on.



They had several market stalls, selling stuff and or demonstrating various things. Of course, the guys with the steam models were out in force on an event like this.





Of course, several vendors sell model railway stuff too



One of the locomotives taking on water. These steam engines use a load of coal and water. They need replenishment a lot.



I like electronic controls on my cars, planes, and boats. But a footplate of a steam locomotive is, no arguments here, so much cooler! Only figuratively, as it is a very hot and dirty place to work.



There was also a vintage fire engine. This is a steam-powered fire pump. It was drawn by horses. It is from a fire engine museum in Gorinchem, only about 6 kilometres from where we live.

[Jeroen]

One of the coolest features of the depot is they have a proper working turntable. And it was in constant use. The depot is a dead-end track. So they used the turntable to turn around the incoming locomotives.



How cool is this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v77h9HjQ7WU

There is a fantastic railroad museum in Utrecht. It has a turntable and they do demos. But they have a diesel locomotive parked on it permanently. Not the same at all.

The last time I saw a steam locomotive on a turntable was about 50 years ago. In those days, these large steam locomotives were still in use in Germany. There was a massive depot just across the border, with dozens of steam locomotives and two turn tables.

All the time we were walking around the depot yard, there were steam locomotives shuttling back and forth.



There were a number of people in period dress as well. Mrs D. is into period dress-making and would have been present, but she had a period dance class. However, these are two friends of her.



The journey to Gouda takes about 20 minutes. About the same time as the regular Dutch railroad train.



I bought a train conductor set for Ben. He was very happy with it and spent a long time punching holes in everybody's tickets!



We got off, walked into Gouda and had a nice lunch. About an hour and a half we were back at Gouda station for our journey back to the depot in Rotterdam. Different steam locomotive and different carriages.



We got aboard our train. Every half hour a train would depart to Gouda.



All aboard!! And off we went. Lots of steam whistling. Lots of people along the track waving and taking pictures. Very happy day!



Ben taking a peek outside!



This was pretty cool too. I just happen to have my camera ready. Two different Dutch Railroad trains on the adjacent track thundering the other way!



As we came into the depot I noticed these two electric engines parked outside the depot. Not sure if they belong to the depot? Both are models that have been used by the Dutch railroads. So maybe they are moving into electric engines too?



A nice little shunter. If you look at the fourth image in this thread, you will see a Lego model of this small shunter engine.



An overview of the yard











The kids could also go on one of these push-carts. You move a lever up and down and the cart goes forward along the track.



Some details on these huge machines. I find steam locomotives incredible pieces of engineering. Very functional, but beautifully made. And if you start to realise what kind of tooling and machine facilities they had in those days, it becomes even more incredible.

Look at this:





We had a lovely and very interesting time! It is a great thing, that we have societies like this who can keep this memory of past times alive!

We also liked the very relaxed atmosphere. You could wander around the yard to your heart's content. Plenty of volunteers at hand to answer all your questions. No stupid signs "watch your step" or "be aware of flying soot". The Dutch are very pragmatic when it comes to these sorts of things. You are going to visit an old steam locomotive shed, better not go in your Sunday best. And yes, you will need to watch your steps and everybody knows you should not touch a fired-up locomotive. You get very dirty at a minimum, possibly burned. If you are stupid, ignorant or both, that is always your own problem, never anybody else's.

There used to be, maybe still is, a pretty good steam locomotive engine shed not too far from Delhi. The Rewari Heritage Steam Shed. I visited it several times. It too has a large collection of steam locomotives, several were still working and were used to pull trains across parts of India.



Of course, there is also a railroad museum in Delhi, worth a visit. But it is all static display.

Nothing beats a fired up steam locomotive!
Jeroen

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[V.Narayan]

Jeroen, Thank you for this thread. "I don't want to be an engine driver," said no boy. :-)

Lovely thread. The huffing and puffing of a steam locomotive beats all forms of transport. A steam locomotive makes you convinced it is working very hard to get you from A to B. It seems like a living thing.

[Swapnil4585]

Superb thread! Especially the photos of train merging on the main line from the loop line, the photos of track switches.

Just a question - Why is a turntable needed for these locos on dead ends? Can't they be driven in the LHF mode?

[theqca]

This is lovely! Thank you for sharing! I enjoyed reading the write up as well as viewing the photos

I recollect travelling by trains with steam engines when I was a kid. While Bombay didn't have them in the early 80s they were prevalent in other states and then slowly phased out.

During a school trip we had stopped for a few hours at some railroad station to change trains because at that time in India we had broad gauge / meter gauge tracks etc

The most memorable part of that 10 day school trip was the a ride I had with the engine driver of steam engine which was being used for shunting purposes. We just asked him if you could come in and he was like yeah hop on if you have about an hour to kill.

They were called chittaranjan das engines if I remember correctly.

In the UK, the flying Scotsman was another interesting train ride - the engine was quite huge compared to the ones I remember from my school days in India.

[sandeepmohan]

Beautiful photos.

Its nice that The Netherlands has a large fan following for rail. Helps that you also have a significant amount of a working rail system. People recognize it is an efficient and fast way to get around the country and even neighboring countries.

We get a few heritage Steam Haul runs in Wellington, New Zealand during the Spring and Summer months. I've taken my family on a few. These are almost full day trips covering up to 350km in some cases. Old Steam locomotives and carriage stock. Beautifully restored and maintained as close to original. Steam Incorporated

We have a narrow 3 foot 6 inch gauge. This was chosen due to the difficult terrain. The roof and exhaust stack of locomotives had to be modified as the tunnels had just the right amount of clearance. The locomotive driver can't rest their hand on the edge of the drivers window due to the risk of getting brushed by the tunnel walls. They had to redirect the air intake on diesel locomotives to the floor board as the original design resulted in the air intake sucking in exhaust fumes resulting in starvation and poor combustion. Rail was alive >50 years ago. Passenger rail is surviving on commuter metro services which I don't care for much. Good old locomotive up front pulling a rake are far and few in between. Hardly any freight. The South Island has more freight traffic.

Most people have taken to the road in their cars and trucks move most of our freight. If you ask someone about trains, they'll wonder what you're on about. A lot of the rail system is long gone. A few enthusiast groups keep the old era alive. I was fortunate to meet a fine Gentleman at our sons riffle training. He introduced me to a lot of New Zealand rail history, having retired as a welder. The system has seen far better days.

Where possible and when time permits, I try and make a trip when they have excursions. We once stayed at a long retired from service railway station. Ormondville. The entire station is yours for 60 Euro per night! Not a busy rail line. At the most, 5 trains pass in 24 hours! Was an absolutely amazing experience. Its isolated and quite remote. At night its dead quiet. When a train passes, the ground shakes. Our son who was 7 back then got quite spooked out. Every piece of station history exists on site. There is so much reading material, Station Master log books in the station building that you'll never run out of things to see/read. I need to make another trip.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

- Why is a turntable needed for these locos on dead ends? Can't they be driven in the LHF mode?

They can of course drive in reverse as well. In fact, as they don’t have a turntable in Gouda, the locomotive would be uncoupled and would shunt to the other end of the carriages and pull them backwards in reverse.

There are several reasons why steam locomotives prefer to be driven in the normal orientation. Some locomotives just don’t ride so well going in reverse. Some engines produce less power going in reverse. Another important one is that these sort of steam locomotives have only one set of controls. So the driver sits on one side of the cabin, where he/she can also see the signals along the track.

When they are reversing they need to face the track and signals, sitting on the wrong side of the cabin and are also rear facing their controls.

On the diesel(electric) locomotives there are two sets of controls on opposite sides of the cabin. One set is always facing forward and on the correct side of the locomotives so the driver can see the signals.

Jeroen

[Pynummoottil]

Wow Jeroen, enjoyed the nostalgic trip. I still remember traveling by train pulled by steam locomotives when I was a boy. By the end of an overnight journey, one clothes are covered in coal particles.

BTW, always loved Gouda cheese.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

There used to be, maybe still is, a pretty good steam locomotive engine shed not too far from Delhi. The Rewari Heritage Steam Shed. I visited it several times. It too has a large collection of steam locomotives, several were still working and were used to pull trains across parts of India.

Attachment 2663947

Of course, there is also a railroad museum in Delhi, worth a visit. But it is all static display.

Nothing beats a fired up steam locomotive!
Jeroen

There is something mildly erotic about Steam Locomotives that no other piece of machinery is able to conjure. Thanks for sharing all the pics and descriptions! This would've been such a delightful trip.

Too bad and too sad that the Rail museum in Delhi has such a superb collection of locomotives and passenger cars, ... and turntables but sadly none of it is functional
Thanks for giving a pointer towards Rewari Heritage steam shed.

The only working memories of running steam trains in India for me were in the 80s; diesel engines were everywhere and electrification had started big way. Most of my journeys were on the Delhi Howrah line which was more or less electrified. However, some trains used to take a slight detour going via Tundla-Agra-Mathura-Delhi instead of Tunda-Aligarh-Delhi. That section (Tundla-Agra) was un-electrified, and we used to experience steam engines on some of those trains along with a healthy deposit of dust and soot on face and collars! (Udyan abha toofan express would be one of those, if I recollect correctly - it used to stop at every station and I never could fathom why it was an express and why would someone name it "toofan=stormy wind"). As I grew up those trains got diesel locomotives; and I believe now would be completely on electric.


Enough of derailing the thread (sorry couldn't help bringing those 40 years old memories back!)
By the way, what purpose do these "horse blinkers" serve attached on the front side of the steam boiler?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by alpha1

By the way, what purpose do these "horse blinkers" serve attached on the front side of the steam boiler?

I recently found this:

They’re called smoke lifters (or smoke deflectors, or smoke baffles), and they’re a brilliantly simple solution to a unique problem.

Almost all steam locomotives have the smokestack at the front and the cab at the back. On fast locomotives, this creates a problem when the train is moving at speed, since the smoke blows right back into the cab. The crew can shut the windows to keep it out, but it still obscures their view ahead.

Hence, smoke lifters. When the train is moving at high speed, the vertical panels guide the airflow around the boiler to push the smoke up and over the cab, thus keeping the view ahead clear.

Jeroen

[sukhbirST]

Thanks for sharing and it makes me nostalgic, for I had used only this train, which went till my town/village. The pain was micro coal pieces which caused major discomfort in eyes when you looked in the direction of the travel through the window. Long distance trains had to fill lot of water at major junctions.

[fhdowntheline]

@Jeroen- you stirred up a topic close to my heart and my family. My maternal grandpa was Loco pilot in the Indian Railways, earned his rail chops on the Steam locos during the pre and post Independence era until early 60s. He moved on to the equally well heralded WDM diesel locos from that point onwards, but his true love remained the good old "choo-choo". From silly speeds (our lingo) to sabotage, he saw 'em all.

[Kkumar]

A nostalgic drive to the past. A well documented article with beautiful photos. Nice to see that The Netherlands has volunteer groups who are steam engine aficionados. Thank you for sharing.