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 Post subject: Re: Southern Railway 4501 Update
PostPosted: Wed Nov 21, 2012 7:51 pm 

Joined: Fri Mar 26, 2010 11:28 am
Posts: 135
Mark,

Thank you for posting the pictures on here for us all to see. It really helps build excitement...as if you needed much help.

That being said...POST MORE! Bring the rain!

Thanks for all the great technical information too. I probably have Aspergers Syndrome...just can't stop watching all the trinkets, gears, wheels, rods, etc moving.

Enjoying the history and operation of steam locomotives is a disease I tell you!


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 Post subject: Re: Southern Railway 4501 Update
PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 12:09 pm 

Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:47 pm
Posts: 486
Alexander D. Mitchell IV wrote:
I've yet to see a GPS unit that tells me to "add more coal", "add more water" or "take the siding 500 feet ahead"......

On the other hand, I have personally driven GPS programs into conniptions when chasing trains, especially when driving/riding Jeeps "cross-country" over roads that may or may not exist yet while chasing the Grand Canyon, Apache, and Verde Canyon Railroads...... We keep joking that the winner is the one that turns the voice from "Off route--recalculating..." to "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!?"


But a GPS can show elevation, at which point a fireman would know when to adjust water levels, increase coal, etc. A GPS would eliminate the guesswork. A GPS also gives ETA, which can be relayed to various destinations, once again eliminating the guesswork.

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 Post subject: Re: Southern Railway 4501 Update
PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 12:22 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 7:19 am
Posts: 6399
Location: southeastern USA
It's all always a constant series of reactions to momentary conditions tempered with knowledge of what's up ahead.......no GPS can provide you with enough information as having been there before as boots on the ground will to allow you to do your best job. It could lead to a false sense of security, however.

They are marginally useful as speedometers if you don't have a second hand on your watch or decent mileposts.

dave

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“God, the beautiful racket of it all: the sighing and hissing, the rattle and clack of the cars over the rails. These were the sounds that made America the greatest country on earth." Jonathan Evison


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 Post subject: Re: Southern Railway 4501 Update
PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 4:47 pm 

Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:40 pm
Posts: 840
wrg113 wrote:
I thought the GPS tracking feature that was offered this year on the 765 was truly ground-breaking. It proved invaluable to those who wanted to chase in a safe manner. I hope they consider something similar for this and other engines as well.



Hardly. UP has had that feature for 4 or 5 years now.


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 Post subject: Re: Southern Railway 4501 Update
PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 4:50 pm 

Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:40 pm
Posts: 840
Dave wrote:
It's all always a constant series of reactions to momentary conditions tempered with knowledge of what's up ahead.......no GPS can provide you with enough information as having been there before as boots on the ground will to allow you to do your best job. It could lead to a false sense of security, however.

They are marginally useful as speedometers if you don't have a second hand on your watch or decent mileposts.

dave


Exactly. How about looking out the front window occasionally, or asking the engineer/pilot what's up ahead?


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 Post subject: Re: Southern Railway 4501 Update
PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 5:59 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 3:37 pm
Posts: 1275
Location: Pacific, MO
Maybe we need a GPS/Autopilot that would take over the car so you ddn't have to watch anything and just take pictures.
I hope I die quietly in in my sleep like my Grandpa instead of screaming in terror like the other three people in the car.


Last edited by Frisco1522 on Thu Nov 22, 2012 8:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Southern Railway 4501 Update
PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 6:36 pm 

Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:41 am
Posts: 3911
Location: Inwood, W.Va.
"Maybe we need a GPS/Autopilot that would take over the car so you ddn't have to watch anything and just take pictures."

Google has been working on self-driving cars for some years now, and these vehicles can now be licensed in one or two states. They still require a licensed driver, though.

Personally, I'm not sure I like the idea. It has advantages of you not having to drive, and that can be a real relief on long trips, but if I am on such a trip--and I do have to make them with some regularity on my job--I would rather be riding a train!

If I have a reason to use a car, I want to DRIVE it, not have it drive me!


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 Post subject: Re: Southern Railway 4501 Update
PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 7:49 pm 

Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:10 pm
Posts: 181
Location: TN
As off topic as we've gotten now, I know from experience behind the scoop of 630 that, even if the GPS was utilized that way, you really would have no time to look at that. Understanding that with the stoker on the 4501 this will be much different, but all I got to see while I was firing was the pressure gauge, sight glass, coal scoop, and, barely out of the corner of my eyes, the pilot's arm indicating up, down, or level. And that really was it, there's too much going on, at least with 630, to deal with something silly like a GPS (and I'm all for technology being one in the under-20 crowd, just not in this application). But we really have strayed far from the 4501's restoration talking about GPS.


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 Post subject: Re: Southern Railway 4501 Update
PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 8:35 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 7:19 am
Posts: 6399
Location: southeastern USA
SR6900 wrote:
But we really have strayed far from the 4501's restoration talking about GPS.


I'm relieved. I kind of like using some tech to keep an eye on bearing temps and so on, and to help in some mechanical functions, but leave the driving to the pros.

dave

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“God, the beautiful racket of it all: the sighing and hissing, the rattle and clack of the cars over the rails. These were the sounds that made America the greatest country on earth." Jonathan Evison


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 Post subject: Re: Southern Railway 4501 Update
PostPosted: Thu Nov 22, 2012 11:35 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 9:34 am
Posts: 382
The 630 has plenty of electronic gear on it - bearing temperature read-outs, global positioning system, a radar sending unit from an SD-50 for speed indication, and a sophisticated radio. The 4501 will have this and more. We having to add two additional dynamos to the 4501 for the additional equipment. We're going to hide the additional dynamos and they'll only be used when needed.

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