For the steam junkies.......

A northbound coal-train passes a waiting southbound pusher returning to Williamsport, PA. (Photo by Jim Shaughnessy©.)

—Some of my constant-readers, like me, are railfans enamored of steam-locomotives.
You could say I’m a railfan because of steam-locomotives. In the late ‘40s Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines in south Jersey, where I first watched trains, was still using steam-locomotives.
Many railroads were dieselizing by then, even railroads partial to coal-fired steam-locomotion. But PRSL used locomotives assigned by its co-owners, Pennsy and Reading. Both railroads were partial to coal-fired steam-locomotives. They assigned some of their steamers to PRSL.
Steam-locomotives have drama. Diesel-locomotives don’t. Steamers put it out there for all to see — and hear. Forward motion is to a noisy cadence of chuff-chuff-chuff-chuff! Often the chuff-chuff is explosive, and is accompanied by a blast of coal-smoke and steam skyward. Diesels just hum along.
With side-rod steam-locomotives the driver-wheels are connected by heavy steel rods. Those rods attach to pistons that propel the train.
Back-and-forth, up-and-down, around-and-around the side-rods go, timed to the chuff-chuff-chuff. Exhaust-steam and coal-smoke blast skyward to the rigid cadence of flashing rods and rotating wheels.
Diesels don’t have that. Usually they’re diesel-electric. The giant diesel-engine generates electricity for traction-motors down in the wheels.
Full fuel-delivery on a diesel-locomotive is loud, but with a steamer it’s mind-blowing!
With that in mind, the January 2020 entry of my Audio-Visual Designs black-and-white All-Pennsy Calendar is a photograph of two Pennsy steamers, a pusher stopped on siding for a northbound coal-train to clear.
Northbound is loaded, so it’s throttle-to-the-roof!
Earlier this month I blogged the December 2019 entry of this calendar. It was a giant Pennsy steam-locomotive climbing Horseshoe Curve
It got predictable reaction. My steams-lovers were thrilled.
Herewith, more Pennsy steamers, but not the fabulous steamer depicted weeks ago.
The engines are Pennsy’s Decapod, 2-10-0, developed in the late teens. The steamer depicted for December 2019 is more modern, Pennsy’s war-baby (WWII).
By WWII Pennsy’s Decapods were antique and tired. But they were still big and heavy. Pennsy crewmen call ‘em “Hippos.”
They also were extremely powerful when developed. They were well-suited for the service depicted: delivering PA coal up to Lake Ontario for coal-ships.
The railroad they were on is the old Northern Central up to Sodus Bay in NY on Lake Ontario. It’s hilly with torturous curves = perfect for the Deks.
The photographer is Jim Shaughnessy, who died last year. Many of Shaughnessy’s photos of Deks on this line ran in this calendar.
Shaughnessy is not why this calendar began. That was Don Wood, who died some time ago, and had many photos of Pennsy steam.
But Shaughnessy had many too, and as the years rolled by, my Audio-Visual Designs black-and-white All-Pennsy Calendar used many of his photos. Some are classic.
So for all you steam-junkies out there......

And here’s the December 2019 entry. (Photo by Bert Pennypacker©.)

• RE: “throttle-to-the roof.....” —Steam-locomotives have at least two ways to control the amount of steam working the pistons. One is a throttle to control the amount of steam from the boiler to the piston-valves. Usually a large lever controls the throttle; it’s hinged to the cab-roof. Throttle closed is that lever hanging perpendicular to the cab-roof. Full-throttle is that lever pulled back all the way so it hits the cab-roof. Full-throttle is “throttle-to-the-roof!”