Dubbed sound

(Epson 10000 XL.)

For the past few days I’ve been viewing “Above 3751 to San Diego,” a train-video DVD from Pentrex.
3751 is one of the few operable steam locomotives left.
It’s one of Santa Fe’s fabulous 3700-series 4-8-4s, designed essentially by the railroad, but built by Baldwin Locomotive Company.
But it’s an oil-burner; endemic to Santa Fe’s operating conditions.
A coal-burner would spew burning embers and start lineside fires.
Santa Fe was out where lineside fires started easily, and were hard to control.
Many western railroads used oil-burning steam locomotives.
In fact, were it not for oil-burning, Southern Pacific could not have built cab-forward locomotives; turning the boiler and firebox and cab 180°.
No way could they have gotten coal up front to a firebox from a tender behind.
But fuel-oil can be pumped forward.
But 3751 isn’t a cab-forward.
It looks very standard.
Were it not for knowing it burned oil, ya’d think it burned coal.
3751 was upgraded in 1938, essentially what we see here. Increased boiler-pressure, larger steam passages, and 80-inch boxpok (“box-poke”) drivers. —Also roller bearings in a lotta places in the drive.
A lot of the footage is shot from way overhead from a helicopter.
It’s dramatic, but far enough away to lose the sound.
So Pentrex resorts to the old dubbed sound cheap shot.
“Chuf-chuf-chuf-chuf!” Sorry, but the spinning rods tell me it’s working a lot faster than that.
Once-in-a-while they’re close enough to actually capture the sound.
“Roar;” 30-40 mph. “Chuf-chuf-chuf-chuf,” is 10 mph.
The engine whistles for grade-crossings, emitting a visible plume of steam from 3751’s whistle.
At this point Pentrex dubs in the whistle sound; it’s actually 3751’s whistle.
Another sound is the locomotive’s bell.
It’s not an automatic bell ringer.
The locomotive’s bell is atop the smokebox front, and is rung by a long rope from the cab that swings the bell.
“Ker-clang; ker-clang; ker-clang; ker-clang!”
NICE; automatic bell-ringers can be irksome.
Pentrex dubs in the “ker-clang” when the bell is swinging. Sometimes it doesn’t. We’re far above, but I can see that bell a-swinging. (No “ker-clang.”)
3751 is being helped by an Amtrak Genesis unit, in reverse behind the steam-engine.
Something about having to use that Genesis unit to pull the train back to Los Angeles.
Help from diesels always partially negates the use of a steam-engine, but 3751 is over 70 years old. It could cripple.
3751 was capable of 100 mph; a lot of locomotive for that speed. I doubt it was run that fast to San Diego, but probably exceeded 50.
I once rode a railfan excursion behind restored Nickel Plate Berkshire (2-8-4) steam-engine #765, and I will never forget it.
That thing was exceeding 70 mph!

“Pentrex” has been making railfan videos for years. —I have many.

Atchison, Topeka & “Santa Fe” (“Santa-FAY”) Railroad, Chicago to Los Angeles; no longer in existence. Merged with Burlington Northern Railroad to become Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF).

“Baldwin Locomotive Company,” near Philadelphia, PA, was one of the two main constructors of railroad steam-locomotives. The other was American Locomotive Company in Schenectady, NY. Neither exist any longer. —A third (but smaller) was Lima (“LYE-mah” not “LEE-mah”) Locomotive Works in Lima, OH. All are out of the locomotive business, and began failing when railroads began switching over to diesel power; mainly from General Motors’ ElectroMotive Division (“EMD”).

“Southern Pacific” Railroad, mainly in California. Southern Pacific no longer exists; it was taken over by Union Pacific Railroad.

“Cab-forward” locomotives ran 180° from standard practice; cab ahead, followed by the firebox, and then the boiler. All SP cab-forwards had two driver-sets; articulateds. —An “articulated” has one driver-set hinged to the other, so the locomotive can bend through sharp turns (e.g. crossover switches). One driver-set is attached to the boiler, but the other is hinged, so it can angle off-center.

“Boxpok drivers” are essentially unspoked driving wheels. They have large holes in the center wheel-casting to reduce weight.

The driving-wheels of a steam-locomotive are all connected by drive-“rods.” The piston is only driving the second or third driver-set. The others are driven by the connecting-rods (“drive-rods”). They all swing up-and-down as the wheels rotate.

The “Amtrak ‘Genesis’ unit” is the standard Amtrak passenger engine nowadays; the General-Electric P40 and P42. It was a ground-up design; not an adapted freight locomotive. They had to make it less likely to catch fire.

“765” is a restored, and operable, steam locomotive. It’s the best. It gets run like it was designed to run — fast.