Bristol to Knoxville

[thpbears]

I can't find the link so does anyone know what time the NS Steam will depart Bristol en route to Knoxville ? The date is July 8th.

[chipallen16]

I don't know if anyone does- 630 had a major bearing failure this morning and is being ferried back to Roanoke.

-Chip 

[Badhorse79]

Wow more bearing issues ...can't this lil loco catch a break. Hope wick ain't double checkin himself

[GP30Rider]

I have been told (take this with a grain of salt) that the bearing that is giving problems is one that has not been converted to oil.  I have also been told that the ones that have been converted to oil are working fine.  I am sure that if they are then the one giving problems will be converted as soon as the engine is sitting still long enough to do the conversion.  My impression is that it is not a five minute job to get it converted. 

[chipallen16]

If that was directed to me, I don't work for NS, so I can't answer any of your questions. I was just passing news along...

-Chip

[Badhorse79]

Hey now he said he was just passing the news! !!! RELAX!!!

[thpbears]

I second that Badhorse. We are all on here cause we like NS and looking at trains. I learned along time ago in the Marine Corps the (News) changes often. Lets all get along and get to what we really enjoy on here.

[GP30Rider]

Not to get into a game of semantics but I think what etalcos was trying to drive home was the word "major" was false information and I would tend to agree that spreading such things that are not true does not cast a very professional image whether you are 16 or 66 years old.  "Major" is very much a matter of your perspective.  I fix things in the railroad business everyday that might have been big deal 25 years ago.  Nowadays..............."draft gear is pushed half-way under the car???  Fine......get the welder and the torches out and let me know who to send the bill to."

This brings to mind a story that I will share that might lighten to mood a little.  Several years ago I was working with a client on a passenger car in Florida.  This was his first car and he was as nervous as an expectant mother.  I was working on air brakes and he was torching on something under the car.  It wasn't long before he had the car on fire. While he ran around in a panic getting the water hose and putting out the fire, I kept working on air brakes.  That night at dinner he cleared his throat and said he couldn't help but notice that while he was having a four alarm panic attack over the fire, I just kept working.  I let him know that I had set dozens of passenger cars on fire before and it was part of the job.  I told him I would let him know when it was time to panic.

Point here is that there are probably only three or four people that could say for sure whether the problems
that 630 is having are major or minor and I am not aware that any of them are on this board.  While I talk to some of them from time to time I am not going to repeat what they say without their permission.  Trainkid16 certainly has a right to report the news but I for one am going to withhold speculation about the severity of the problem until the guys that are currently crawled underneath the 630 tell me it's time to panic.  If nothing else, my knowledge of steam is not sufficient to say one way or another.

[chipallen16]

I literally only passed on what I knew about the situation. To me, a major failure is one that can take an engine out of service, such as this one. Being 16 years old, I'm not familiar with steam, though I'm enjoying every step of learning. I'm sorry for not clarifying, but now we all know my sense of the word "major." Also, thank you for your insults.

-Chip 

[JHood4501]

While misinformed, I have to give him credit for being willing to start on the learning curve to a different kind of railfanning. I think we all need to calm down here and at least be thankful that information was made available to the rest of this wonderful  group.

Jordan

[chipallen16]

To all of you, I apologize for clogging up this thread. This issue is being handled in a private manner. Thank you, and have a nice day.

-Chip 

[GP30Rider]

I literally only passed on what I knew about the situation. To me, a major failure is one that can take an engine out of service, such as this one. Being 16 years old, I'm not familiar with steam, though I'm enjoying every step of learning. I'm sorry for not clarifying, but now we all know my sense of the word "major." Also, thank you for your insults.

-Chip 

Here's a little education for you.......added with respect and in NO way trying to be insulting........  Most railroaders would tell you that as long as things are still on the track and there is not a rod through the side of the engine block then things are not a "major" problem.  About anything else just rolls off our backs and we get the wrenches or the torches or whatever out and get busy fixing the problem.  A car or engine set out like 630 was might be in the process of having some sort of major problem but was caught in time by a member of the crew or in some cases a wayside detector or maybe a car inspector in the yard.  Usually the only person that has anything "major" happening in these instances is the dispatcher who gets his railroad tied up or backed up and has to deal with a traffic jam.  That usually results in a major cuss fit followed by a major bar tab after his shift is over. ;D

[chipallen16]

Hah, I can see where a rod through an engine may be a problem!

-Chip 

[GP30Rider]

Hah, I can see where a rod through an engine may be a problem!

-Chip 

And sometime the "majority" of a problem depends on who is paying to fix it and how much money they have but that's another subject entirely.

[Ponce de Leon]

They intend to drop that driver at Roanoke, ship it to TVRM for repairs, return it, and hopefully have the 630 back up and running in time to ferry it to Knoxville for the trips there. If it turns out that way, you'll have the steam engine, a couple of cars of coal, the tool car, and I think a coach that had an AC problem earlier. In short, a mixed train (!).

My info, by the way, came from senior NS and TVRM management (I spoke to several of them while I was at the Spencer event). As with everything, we'll hope things work out for the best.

Is NS (Wick) having second thoughts about the renewed steam program. NO!!!! Is this a "major" problem with the engine? No, it's the reality of operating steam, particularly in today's world. Had this happened 50 years ago, repairs could have been effected in a day or two at the local roundhouse. Piece of cake...

[Conductor]

If you like seeing Steam on the mainline, you might want to consider not embellishing the facts.  Your sense of major is not what matters.  How the rest of the world views the term major is what matters.  Saying that it was "major" makes the situation seem much worse than it was or is.  Words mean things.

Sorry you find this insulting.

Good grief, let it go.  We get it.  No need to post it over and over, smashing on a kid.  You sound like one of those "we do it for foamers so we can rub it in to the foamers".