theRoundhouse

The Official Newsletter

of the Montreal Live Steamers

Corporation

• AUTUMN 2002 • $2.00 • OPERATING TRACKS AT LES CÈDRES, QUÉBEC •

Another Annual Meet…I am always amazed at the transformation of our

property outside the sleepy village of Cedars frommodest field to bustling railroad town. Literallyovernight there is a transient hobo camp of tents andtrailers, cars and trucks, locomotives of all sizes androlling stock of all colours where just a day before therewere just grass and trees.

License plates from Ontario, Pennsylvania, NewYork, Massachusetts, Maine and Rhode Island fill theparking spots. Familiar voices and rolling laughter

announced to steady arrival of fellow live steamers.Conversations seem to take up where they were left offat the last meet at some other club with hardly a pause.

More and more children of live steamers areattending and they soon take off to explore and playwhile the adults settle in.

Take a look at the following photos of ourtemporary hobo “jungle” and the wonderfullocomotives that came to run on our tracks. Don’thesitate because these gypsies are in town for long! 1

Above: It was good tosee John Pasquence andfamily back in Mon-treal. His Thomas TheTank Engine and othersare popular with thepublic again this year asusual.

Our International Meet!Hot Times At Les Cèdres

PAUL

PED

ECEL

LI 2002 Meet… pg 4

In ThisIssue:2002 Int’l Meet...

pg. 1

The President’sMessage...pg. 2

Cylinder Test...pg. 2

Steam Basics... pg. 3

M.L.S.Club News... pg. 8

Valve Gear... pg. 9

Summer Steam... pg. 10

M.L.S. NoticeBoard... pg. 12

CN Day... pg. 13

Safety News... pg. 14

Hi-Line News... pg. 16

Valve Gear... pg. 9

Moonville... pg. 20

For Sale Page... pg. 24

2

Dear Members,One more summer

has gone by… too fast inmy opinion! With the twomajor ongoing projectsthe season should havelasted a few extra months.

Being President onlysince last April and look-ing back I can only admireour voluntary workerswho by their work, initia-tive and dedication havemade the season a goodone after all !

We can all be proud ofthe progress realized bythese small groups.Whether at the parking orat the transportation,from maintenance to con-struction.No one being anexpert in his duty, we shallnot believe that one is less

important than the other.They are all necessary tothe good operation of theClub and deserve respectand appreciation for theirefforts.

Once again thanks toall of you. Come and jointhem, you can have somefun while contributing tothe Club’s well-being. Wedesperately need help onall committees!

Let me use this mes-sage to send my best sea-son’s wishes and may Godbring you HEALTH, HAP-PINESS and SUCCESS.

Jean-Roch BeauvaisPresident450-451-5919beauvaissr@sympatico.ca

President’s

MessageM.L.S. Committee Chairs

Structures:Bill Bastian ☎ 514-683-4698

✉ b.bastian@sympatico.caFood Services:Jocelyne Beauvais ☎ 450-451-5919

✉ beauvaissr@sympatico.caLise Charlesbois ☎ 450-452-0738International Meet:Vacant ☎ 000-000-0000Kiosk Manager:Vacant ☎ 000-000-0000Landscaping:Connie De Melo ☎ 450-672-6666

✉ gardener000@sympatico.caLise Charlesbois ☎ 450-452-0738Marketing & Web Site:Jim Leggett ☎ 450-672-6666

✉ jleggett@sympatico.caMembership:Bill Evans ☎ 514-636-8206

✉ wwevans@colba.netRoundhouse Editor:Jim Leggett ☎ 450-672-6666

✉ jleggett@sympatico.caCaboose Editor:Paul Brunet ☎ 450-665-7371

✉ pbrunet@hotmail.com

Translator:Maurice Gervais ☎ 514-337-6471

✉ crhasec@aei.caPhone Chain:Bev Shaver ☎ 514-697-1768

✉ BevShaver@aol.comSafety :Joseph-Jean Paques ☎ 514-488-3604

✉ blaispa@videotron.caSpecial Events:Ken Power ☎ 450-692-29717-1/4” Track Foreman:Keith Motton ☎ 514-766-8595

✉ jiquay@canada.comElevated Track Foreman:François Desaulniers ☎ 450-473-7899

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

M.L.S. Club Information

Membership Dues: Full Member $75.00Associate Member $30.00Junior Member $20.00

Mailing Address: Montreal Live SteamersP.O. Box 5102, Station BMontreal, QC, H3B 4B5

Newsletter: The Roundhouse287 Alexandra Ave.,St. Lambert, QC, J4R 1Y7

Web Site: www.trainweb.org/mls

Track Site: 1396 Chemin du Fleuve,Les Cèdres, QC

THE

ROUNDHOUSE©2002 Montreal Live Steamers Corp.

M.L.S. founded in 1934

TwoCylinder

LocomotivesTesting Valves For Leakage

With the locomotive in steam:1. Close the regulator.2. Open the draincocks.3. Place the reverser into mid-gear.4. Set the piston of the cylinder to be test-ed on mid-stroke(In this position the valve covers bothfront and back ports).5. If the locomotive has brakes applythem. If not, ensure that the locomotivewill not move if the regulator is opened.6. Crack the regulator open. If steamissues from the front draincock then thevalve front is leaking steam. If steamissues from the back drain cock then thevalve back is leaking steam. If both draincocks issue steam then the whole valveseating is faulty. No steam from eithercock indicates that the valve is perfect.

Testing PistonsRepeat steps 1, 3, 4, 5 from ‘Testing Valves’above (This time the draincocks areclosed)* Crack the regulator open and move thereverser slowly towards full forward gear.(The valve will gradually admit steam tothe piston)* If an increasing blow is heard at thechimney, but which ceases as the reverseris restored to mid-gear, then a blow pastthe piston is indicated.* Repeat the whole sequence for theopposite cylinder

From the British Columbia Society of ModelEngineers’ web site located at http://bcsme.org

WWW

M.L.S. Directors

President:Jean-Roch Beauvais ☎ 450-451-5919

✉ beauvaissr@sympatico.caVice-President:Ken Power ☎ 450-692-2971Director:Frank Desaulniers ☎ 514-695-9959Director:Jim Leggett ☎ 450-672-6666

✉ jleggett@sympatico.caDirector:Jim Scott ☎ 514-626-4196

✉ keburrows@sympatico.caSecretary:Karen Burrows ☎ 514-626-4196

✉ keburrows@sympatico.caTreasurer:Robert Nantel ☎ 450-653-0468

✉ nantel@colba.net

List of

Club Directors

Club Info

The steam locomotiveappears to be a strangeand mysterious machine,even to those of us whohave run miniature ver-sions of them for ten ortwenty years or more. Byunderstanding the physicsof the different systems inservice, we can betterunderstand what eachaction we are doing in thecab will have on the over-all performance of theengine. We can also seesome modifications thatwe may want to make toour hardware or to ourtechnique to improve thatperformance in future.

A locomotive hasthree separate systems inaction at the same time,and, while they are inter-related, they can be con-sidered separately. Thereis the fire, which is con-verting chemical energyinto heat. There is theboiler, transferring thatheat to water, to makesteam and pressure.Thereis the engine, which trans-fers that pressure intomechanical movement.

FIRE

A fire requires threethings in order for its’chemical reactions andmagic to take place. Ittakes fuel (in our case,coal;) oxygen (in our case,air;) and heat. It gives offthree things too: heat, andlots of it, smoke and ash.The heat is what we want,but we must provide forall six of these materialsto be handled in order tobe able to use the one wewant. Several things hap-pen as we burn coal. Firstoff, it has an ignition tem-perature of nearly 700degrees C., so we need toheat it to that temperaturebefore we can get any-thing out of it. This is whywe must start our engineson charcoal or wood,because we can never getthat kind of temperature

directly out of a match.This is also why it is bestNOT to add greatamounts of coal at once,because you must heat all

that coal up before it startsto give any heat. Our reg-ular coals are called softcoal, not due to their tex-ture, but because they giveoff a sticky tar as thisheating takes place. Thistar will cause a lump ofcoal to stick to its “cold”neighbour, and this “coke”must be broken up or itwill react later as a singlelump of coal, as we willsoon see. Breaking up

these lumps of coke is theonly reason we need thepoker. Hard coals, such asWelsh coal or anthracite,do not coke up. If we canspread the fresh, or green,coal over the entire fire-box, so that no two lumpsare touching one another,that tar will have nothingto cling to, and, again, we

do not need the poker.Once the coal is

heated to its ignitionpoint, it begins to burn,giving off its’ energy. Toburn, it requires air, whichwe pull in through thegrates. If the ashpan isfull, no air can be drawn,and the fire goes out.Onceit starts to burn, its tem-perature reaches the whiteheat of about 1300degrees C, which is also

hot enough to melt downeven iron or stainless steelgrates if cooling air is notbeing drawn throughthem. Both these require-ments are met by thesame practice: keep theashpan empty.

Okay, so we have gotthe fire burning. The coalis hot enough to burn

down everything that is init, including all clinker,ash, and so on, providedwe do not cool it toomuch. Holes in the firecaused by coal burning offtoo fast or by that pokeragain, would cool the firedown and cause clinkersto form. What are clink-ers? All coal containsimpurities, such as silicaand ceramic, and thesewill come together in any

cold spots to form a hardclinker, which gives off noheat, occupies space in thefirebox, and blocks airfrom entering. They grow,because they become aself-expanding cold spotin the fire. The only coalthat should be liable toform clinker and ash isthe bottom 3 millimetres

of the fire, and the clink-ers formed here shouldremain small enough todrop through the grates.The purpose of that bit offire is to preheat the air forthe upper coal to get a realgood combustion rate, toprovide maximum energyout of the coal. If the fireis too thick, all the oxygenwill be burned out of theair before it gets to all thecoal, and the fire will

smother.Unfortunately, not

enough air will be drawnthrough the fire to burnALL the flammable mate-rials in the coal. If you pullopen the firedoor and youhear and see a POP offlame, it means that thereis a layer of gas wanting toburn, if only it had someair.Adding secondary air,through holes in the fire-door, is the way to solvethis problem. Each coalrequires differentamounts of secondary air,so you want to put adamper on those holes, orprovide some other way ofsealing them off. This airwill also reduce theamount of smoke beinggiven off. An arch in thefirebox, just in front of thetubes, forces the gases tospend more time in theheat of the box before theyhit the tubes, and so letsthe smoke get burnedeven more.

Smoke and heat aredrawn through the fire-tubes of the boiler to thesmokebox, and blown upthe stack by the blast noz-zle or blower. We needthese because the firerequires more air than willpass through it naturally.By using a venturi effectin the stack, we pull a vac-uum in the smokebox,which pulls air in fromanywhere it can - throughthe tubes, or through anyleak in the smokeboxdoor. From the upper levelof the firebox, hopefullythe only spot the air canget in is either up throughthe grates and fire, orthrough the vent holes inthe firebox door. Remem-ber that all the time spentwith the firebox dooropen cools things off inseveral ways: it sends coldair directly into the boilerplates, and it reduces theair being drawn throughthe fire so that the firebedcools down.

BOILER

So much for the fire.We now have 1300degrees of gas, and whatare we going to do with it?

Steam Basics

A Matter ofFire & Water

Feeding The Hungry Beast! This is Joe, the fireman on the Western Maryland Scenic railroad’s beefy Consol-idation. Note that the locomotive has been retrofitted with a stoker but he still likes to hand fire at times. The prin-ciples apply to full size and models alike. You rarely see a poker here though, it’s considered bad form.

3

JIM

LEGG

ETT

Cont’d pg 15

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Top left: Eric Motton,President of RHLS, vis-ited with this 1” scalesidetank engine.Top right: DonavanLewis was there withhis dapper Royal Scot.Above left: Dick Tracyenjoyed running hisRaritan 2-4-0.Above Robert Nanteltakes a break from hisduties as club treasurerto earn some revenuewith his recentlyacquired CP diesel.Left: Joe Fothergillbrought his beautifullydetailed Consolidationand coaches down fromArnprior, Ontario. Hisfellow OVLSME had agrand time puttingsome miles on this finerunning locomotive.

PAUL

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2002 Meet…

Top: Peter Bramah givesa young visitor a seatupon the “Grey Ghost”.Above: It was good tosee ALS President, DickHosmer, back in Mon-treal with his Mogul.Above right: JohnBortz of HuntingdonValley, Pennsylvanniabrought his CamelbackAtlantic. With a trueWooten firebox, thisengine steamed all day.Right: Are we havingfun yet? You bet, withthe “Pickle Barrel” run-ning for hours withmany engineers. Thistime around it’s Jim andBernie having a go.

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Top: Warren and Johnathon Hockaday brought theirbeefy 2-8-0 up from the Adirondacks.Above left: Alan Henry of Rhode Island had just fin-ished resurrecting this old LE American and was try-ing her on our rails.Above Fern Poulin’s big Northern .Left: Jim Leggett has a turn at running MikeBoucher’s B&M Pacific. This locomotive was origi-nally built by George Dimond.

PAUL

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A“Nutty”Wedding

Story!On Friday, September 13, 2002 our friendsDonna Walther and Skip Densing (membersof the Adirondack Live Steamers) weremarried on a beautiful, sunny and warm day.Let me tell you about it from a bridesmaid’spoint of view.

The day started out smoothly (for about10 minutes) then the running started, don’tforget this, bring that, etc. Husbands (BernieGrow and my brother Charlie Harper) pacinglike nervous fathers (they’ve been ready forhours!). We have an hour and a half drive tothe ceremony at 10:00a.m in Stephentown,NY and it is past 8:00 a.m. already! We finallyget out on the road and get stuck in a trafficjam; well what else do you do while you aresitting in traffic? Why, hair and make-up ofcourse! We get to the church with 20 minutesto spare, run behind an aircraft hanger tochange (we made the day of someone drivinga blue truck!). I didn’t want to sit in a full-length gown with two other people (Lindamy sister-in-law and Cheryl my niece) in theback seat.

Since we had driven down from Montrealthe night before, I missed the rehearsal soDonna was really happy when I finally didshow up! Everyone looked so beautiful.Donna resplendent in a satin “Princess”gownwith long sleeves, beads and sequins. Donna’sbridal party was made up of: Maid ofHonour: Dorothy, “Mother” of Bride;Bridesmaids: Peggy, myself (Carol), Penny(friends of Donna’s) and Peggy, Skip’s sister.We all had dark blue gowns and silk flowers.The Best Man was Charlie Chermak, dearfriend (the Chessie System 4-6-2) and theGroomsmen were: Mike, John, Billy (friendsof Skip’ s) and Jonathan, Donna’s nephew. Oh,and I can’t forget the ring-bearer! “Henry”was pulled down the aisle in his own wagoncarrying the rings. For anyone who doesn’talready know, Henry is their “son”. I wasdisappointed that Henrietta, his friend,couldn’t make it. Did you know that Skipcould sing? Not many people did, but he sangfor Donna! Nerves aside, he did such a goodjob that when it was time for the vows hewanted to give Donna a wing instead of a ring!Donna must have ended up with a pound onrice on her, judging from the basket of rice

Above: J.J. Paques’propane fired Portertakes a well deserveddrink from the stationwater tower.Left: New security mea-sures were observed onthe ground track cour-tesy of Peter Bramah.Below: Here’s a closerlook at the propaneburner set-up onPoulin’s 4-8-4.

Cont’d on pg.13

PAUL

PED

ECEL

LI

News From the BoDHere are a few items of

interest from the MLSBoard of Directors Meet-ings:• A reminder thatmembership fees are dueas of January 1st of eachyear. Payment must bereceived no later thanMarch 1st or else yourmembership is automati-cally cancelled and youwill need to reapply to theclub. (Bylaw 3.3)• Job vacancies for2003; Souvenir KioskManager, InternationalMeet Coordinator.• Paul Brunet has takenover the position of newsbulletin editor/publisher.His bulletin, The Caboose,will be issued four times

a year. The Roundhousewill be issued twice a year.• Three hydraulic liftswere donated to the club.there are plans to use onein a second unloadingfacility to located near thecar barn. The club is opento offers for the other two,perhaps by another clubor museum.

Committee ChangesKeith Motton has

joined the Safety Com-mittee in addition to hisposition as Ground TrackForeman.

Projects & Repairs• The installation of thelarger compressor headwas completed just beforethe International Meet.Ken Power and FernPoulin handled the job

and even added the airtank from the secondcompressor to increasethe capacity. It reallyimproved the operationsduring the Meet.• How did you like theimproved lightinginstalled for the Meet?

Thanks go to RoyMotton who oversaw thisand Warren Hockaday fordonating the shades.

Engine MovementsBill Bastian finally

sold his 3/4” scale Britta-nia to an American livesteamer.

Lawn TractorElaine Ratcliffe and

André Desserault donateda riding lawn tractor toour club. Mrs. Willa Rat-cliffe donated a new bat-

8

Above: Bruce Bramah(left) and Peter Evansappear to be reenactingthe last second of CaseyJones’ famous ride toglory.Right: Bill Evans showswhere Peter got hisengineering style uponthe John Molson.

tery for the tractor (to getus started?)

A number of mem-bers have volunteered tocut our grass in anattempt to lower the club’soperating expenses.

Additional driverswould be more than wel-come to help share thiswork.

The money saved byhandling this job our-selves would be reinvestedinto the club in the formof tools, machinery andperhaps a second tractor.

The BoD will decidewhether to sign a contractwith an outside contrac-tor or not based upon themembers’ participation.Currently the grass cut-ting costs $1400 per year.

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Above: A foundry suggested by J.J. Paques.Below: Elizabeth Leggett enjoys maintaining herlocomotive as much as running it.

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There are four events in the steam cycle of a steamengine. They are admission, expansion, exhaust andcompression. The timing of these four events arereferenced to the piston position in the cylinder aspercent of piston travel.

1. ADMISSION

Admission starts when the steam port just opensand ends when the steam port just closes.Admission onthe oval diagram is the part of the oval starting as itcrosses the ‘Steam Port Open’ line and ending as itrecrosses the same line.

2. EXPANSION

Expansion starts when the steam port just closesand ends when the exhaust port just opens. Expansionon the oval diagram is the part of the oval starting as itcrosses the ‘Steam PortOpen’ line and endingas it crosses the‘Exhaust Port Open’line.

3. EXHAUST or

RELEASE

Exhaust starts when theexhaust port just opensand ends when theexhaust port just closes.Exhaust on the ovaldiagram is the part ofthe oval as it crosses theExhaust Port Open’ lineand ending as itrecrosses the same line.

4.

COMPRESSION

Compression startswhen the exhaust portjust closes and endswhen the steam portjust opens.Compression on theoval diagram is the partof the oval starting as itcrosses the ‘ExhaustPort Open’ line and ending as it crosses the ‘Steam PortOpen’ line.

OTHER TERMS;

CUTOFF

Cutoff is the point when the steam port just closesadmission ends and expansion begins. Cut off isexpressed as the percent of piston travel from one end,to when the steam port just closes.100 percent being itsfull stroke.

Depending on load and speed, cutoff is controlledon a steam engine to reduce the amount of steamadmitted into the cylinder and then allows the steam toexpand.When less steam is admitted and then allowedto expand, efficiency of the engine increases.

LEAD

Lead is the distance that the valve is open whenthe piston is at either end of its travel. Lead on the ovaldiagram is the vertical distance between the ‘SteamPort Open’ line and the tangent point of the oval,tangent to the vertical left or right edge line of thegraph.

Changing exhaust clearance will slightly effectexpansion and compression.

EXHAUST LAP

Exhaust lap is the negative value of exhaust clearance.Most engines are designed with zero exhaust clearance(zero exhaust lap).

SOME ADJUSTMENTS

The following adjustments are general statementsand apply to most locomotive valve gears. There aremany more adjustments and on any one-valve gear,the adjustments react with each other.

(Note) Making adjustments so that the engine willrun in reverse as well as it runs in forward is usually acompromise that degrades the forward operation.

Valve Rod

Adjusting the length ofthe valve rod or thevalve stem moves thevalve so that the lead isequal at both endswhen the reverse arm isat its center.Combination

Lever

Adjusting the backsetat the top of thecombination lever, withthe reverse levercentered, adjusts thecenter crossover of theoval diagram. Mostengines use zerobackset on thecombination lever.

Link Crank

Adjusting the backsetof the link crank adjuststhe symmetry betweenthe front and rear steamport opening or closingpoints.Eccentric Rod

Adjusting the eccentricrod length also changes

the symmetry between the front and rear steam portopening or closing points.

The eccentric rod length should be adjusted afterthe link crank backset because in practice it is easier tochange and is usually adjusted to compensate fortolerance buildup of the other parts in the valve gear.

Eccentric Crank

Adjusting the eccentric crank length will changethe angle of the eccentric crank pin, advancing orretarding the oval or sine diagrams in time, or thehorizontal position of the sine diagram.

When the eccentric crank length and the eccentriccircle are properly adjusted on a radial gear, with thepiston at either end of its travel, the radius rod can bemoved from full forward to full reverse without theradius rod moving the valve.

Valve gear and the steam cycleThe purpose of lead is to admit steam before the

piston reaches the end of its travel. The steam pressurein the cylinder is then increased at the start of thepiston stroke, increasing efficiency and output power.This is true only while the engine is running.

At start, lead decreases output power because thepiston is forcing the crank backwards.

LAP

Lap is the distance that the valve must travel ineither direction to just open the steam port, startingits travel from its center position. Lap on the ovaldiagram is the vertical dimension above or below thecenter or ‘0’ of the valve travel scale to one of the ‘SteamPort Open’ lines.

The purpose of lap is to keep both intake and

exhaust valves closed after admission producingexpansion.

Steam expansion after admission uses some of theheat energy of the expanding steam, increasing engineefficiency.

In a steam engine using a simple valve (a singlepiston or D valve), lap also produces compression afterexhaust.Some compression is desirable because it helpsto slow the piston at the end of its stroke. Expansionand compression are tied together; changing onechanges the other.

Using a more complex valve system, Corliss or a Dvalve with riding cutoff, expansion can be varied whilemaintaining only a small compression.

EXHAUST CLEARANCE

Exhaust clearance is the distance the valve must moveto just close the exhaust port starting its travel fromits center position.

Exhaust clearance on the oval diagram is shownby the distance between the Exhaust Port Open’ linesand the ‘0’ line of the valve travel scale.

10

My Summer of Big Steamby Elizabeth Leggett

This summer I had the chance to ride and run somefull sized steam engines. Some were during my family’svacation in the United States.

The first excursion was on the Great SmokeyMountain Railroad in Dillsboro, NC. The locomotivewas a Consolidation and was oil fired. The ride was lotsof fun and there was a musical band at the stationwhere we stopped for lunch.

The next railroad was 7-1/2”gauge but this story isabout big steam engines.

We visited the Tweetsie Railroad and amusementpark. They had a 2-8-2 Mikado in steam that day. Dadand I got some cab rides and I ran the injector andshoveled coal for the fireman. It was hot and very heavycoal. This railroad is narrow gauge and is 3 feet wide.

We also toured their work shop and saw a Porter0-4-0 under repairs.

While in Roanoke,VA we found N&W No. 611 andNP Berkshire No. 768 behind a museum.

The next steam train was the Western MarylandScenic in Cumberland, MD. Dad and I got to the shopearly to watch them steam up No. 734, another 2-8-0. Itwas fun to watch them get her ready for the trip toFrostburg.

We were thrilled when asked to ride in the cab tothe station. The trip to Frostburg was very exciting asit is all upgrade and slippery.We nearly didn’t make it!Mike the engineer and Joe the fireman gave us a rideback to the shop and we switched the cars, blew downthe boiler and dropped the ashes for the day.

Our vacation was soon over but there were moretrains to ride and engines to run but I didn’t know thatyet.

After the Pioneer Valley Meet we drove to Portland,ME to visit the Maine Narrow Gauge Museum and havea cab ride with our friends Russ Page and Ken Chenard.They were working as firemen on the Rail Fan weekend.There would be three engines in steam, a rare event.

We met Rick Knight and David Campbell who wereengineers. They were very nice to us. I was riding withKen when Dave asked me if I was interested in runningNo. 4. I backed her up and Dave coupled on to a train.Then I ran the three miles back to the station. It wasgreat fun. Then I got to pull a freight train for a photorun-by.After that I got to switch the cars into the yardand put the engine away. I would love to go back to theMNGRR.

A couple of weeks later my Dad, Frank and I wentdown to Clark’s Trading Post in New Hampshire foranother rail fan day. This time there would be fourengines in steam at once. Russ Page said I would beable to get at least some cab rides. I was very excited.

The engines were a 1906 Baldwin 2-4-2T, a Porter0-4-0, a Climax and a Heisler.

We got there on Saturday morning and found Russ.He was firing the Baldwin for Rick. We got a ride onthat one first.

I made a new friend named Leon. He was theengineer on the Climax and I rode with him. He hadfreshly baked cookies that he kept warm on top of theboiler.We ate them while running a train.

I had lots of time in the Porter and even got to be ahostage of Wolfman in front of a whole train of tourists.

The next morning Dad went over to help steam upthe engines while Frank and I ate doughnuts and

watched TV in the motel next door.I watched the bear show again and made friends

with Morgan Clark, the owner’s daughter. Later thatday, actually it was evening, when Dad, Frank and Ieach got a turn at running the big Baldwin.

I surprised Rick with my whistle blowing at thecrossings. Frank did even better but I’ll beat him soon.

I’d really like to go back to Clark’s and even get ajob for the summer running one of their engines. Thepeople were so nice to us that I didn’t want to leave.Dad says we’ll go back as soon as we can.

What a summer!

Top: That’s me and my friend David Campbell on theMaine Narrow Gauge Railroad No. 4. This engine iscoal fired and runs on tracks right beside the ocean.Above: Here I am running the White Mountain Cen-tral railroad Baldwin No. 5 at Clark’s Trading Post. Itwas very nice of Mr. Clark to allow me to run hisengine as it was just out of the shop after being ondisplay for many years. This engine reminded me ofmy “Pickle Barrel” because they are both saddletankengines.

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Top left: Mike at the WMSRR was nice.

Top right: Randy at the Tweetsie with ex. Y&WP

Above: Another big 2-8-0 at the GSMRR.

Above left: Frank and Russ on WMCRR No. 5.

Left: Me taking a break on WMCRR Porter No. 1.

the

TIME

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LavalModel Expo

MontrealLive Steamers

on exhibit(Set-up on Nov. 8)

Nov. 9 & 10 Sun Youth

Train ShowMontreal

Live Steamerson exhibit

Nov. 23 & 24(Set-up on Nov. 22)

MontrealHippodrome

2003Public

Run DaysMontreal

Live SteamersMay 18

June 1 & 15July 20

Aug. 3 & 17Sept. 7 & 21Oct. 5 & 19

Members’Run DaysMontreal Live

SteamersMay 4, 11 & 25June 8, 22 & 29

July 13 & 27Aug. 11 & 25Sept. 14 & 28Oct. 12 & 26*

Nov. 2, 9, 16 & 23*International

MeetMontreal Live

SteamersJuly 4, 5 & 6, 2003

The M.L.S.

Notice Board

Christmas Dinner

December 7th at Buffet Vichy, St-JeanBlvd, corner of Labrosse. 6:30 PM

MLS Winter Meetings

November 22, 2002December 20, 2002January 17, 2003February 7 & 21, 2003March 7 & 21, 2003April 4 & 18, 2003Meetings are held at the Royal CanadianLegion on St-Louis in Dorval. Doorsopen at 7:00 PM. April 18 is the annualgeneral meeting (AGM).Photos, books and construction projectsare most welcome for display anddiscussion.

The MLS Green Team

In an effort to reduce expensesvolunteers are being sought to take turnsmowing the grass with our ridingtractor. Experience not required.

Souvenir Kiosk Manager

Karen Burrows has reluctantly resignedas manager of the MLS souvenir kiosk.Her work serving the club as Secretaryand as a member of the SafetyCommittee did not allow her to dedicateher time effectively to all tasks. The clubowes a great big “Thanks” to Karen andher volunteers for their efforts.

We are now looking for a member toassume the management of the Kiosk.The duties included the ordering ofmerchandise and solicitation of donateditems. Kiosk hours are during our annualMeet and regularly scheduled publicdays. Please contact any member of theBoard or Karen.

2003 Work Days @ MLS

Starting April 30th, every Wednesdayand Saturday throughout the season willbe an official work day.

More Info

About Projects

Locomotive Shed ProjectThe project coordinator is Jean-Roch Beauvais andyou can reach him at ☎ 450-451-5919 or ✉beauvaissr@sympatico.ca. A copy of the locomotiveshed project presentation is available for the asking.

Elevated Track ProjectThe foreman is Frank Desaulniers who can be reachedat ☎ 450-473-7899. All volunteers are welcome.Copies of the proposal are also available.

Authentic&

GenuineHHOOBBOOSSOOUU PP

from thekitchen of

JanetPontarelli

of theFinger Lakes

Live Steamers✥✲✥

1 lb. pork sausage2 large cans ofkitchen cuttomatoes15 oz. can tomatosauce1-1/2 cups ofchopped onion,plus choppedveggies of choice:zucchini, peppers,carrots, broccoli,etc.2 cups chickenbroth1 tbsp salt1/8 tsp pepper1/2 tsp each of:thyme, rosemary,marjoram, savory& tarragon1 tsp soy sauce2 tbsp brownsugar.Brown the porkin a pot.Add everythingelse andsimmer for acouple ofhours.Enjoy!

jk

A ReminderAbout Your

MEMBERSHIPDUES

Your membership dues are due as ofJanuary 1st.Payment must be received byMarch 1st or membership is revoked and

reapplication is necessary.According to By-law 3.3 amendment, AGM 2002.7

13

by John Grow

The CN Family Day was held on Saturday,September 22nd. The weather was nice, with norain forecasted,which insured a large turn out byemployees and their families.Like all events,a lotof planning went into organizing and makingsure that when the big day arrived there was nomajor problems. Early in the summer, we wereapproached by CN, asking if we would be willingto participate in the CN Family Day.The Requestcame directly from Mr. Alain Thauvette, VicePresident of Eastern Canada.We stated that thiswould be no problem, but we would require newcurve ground track to be built.Many discussionstook place between, Ken Powers, Marv Shaver,and Jean Rock, to see what could be done. It wasagreed that Marv, would design new plans andbe able to supervise the set up of a jig andconstruction of the curves.This took many days,a lot longer than anyone had thought. CN hadprovided welders just for a few days,and we needextensions.With the hard work and patience ofMarv Shaver, we now have new curves for ourportable ground track. On a Wednesday, a fewdays before the CN Family day weekend, weassembled the track sections, so on Saturday, allwe had to do was to move the assembledsections, and join them.We were also able to testthe track and make sure there were no majorglitches. There were many meetings betweenJohn Grow and the CN family day committee’sand other CN personnel.

When time fast approached the family day,by a few weeks, we gathered all the possibleperson who would be able to bring engines andrunning cars. Members who brought engine’sand participated are: Marv Shaver, Ken Powers,J.J. Paques, Albert Gurinskas, Steven Filtarault,James and Karen Scott, Frank Desaulniers. Wehad a collection of Steam and battery ElectricDiesel all pulling passengers from 10: 00 AM to4:00 PM. CN also provided us with a 10’ x 10’display booth,so we can show a MLS video,handout brochures and have some static displays. CNmade the photocopies of our English and Frenchhandouts which was picked up by all visitors tothe display. We were also able to get a scaleddown model of a turn of the century railwaystation, made out of wood. This was used at theCN family day, and was donated to the club,which it now sits on display, near our station.All MLS members who participated receivedlunch and a snack, along with free soft drinksor juice.We have many pictures that were taken,and hopefully, they will appear on the MLS website.

CN Family Day 2002MLS Members Participate at Taschereau Yards Event

Top: CN Vice Presidentof Eastern Canada,Alain Thauvette, trieshis hand at the throttleof Ken Power’s D-10locomotive. CPR No.962 had been speciallyrepainted and num-bered as a CNR enginefor this event.Above: John Grow(left), an unidentifiedCN official and AlainThauvette.Right: Albert Gurinskas(standing) watches ashis wife Jennie rideswith an unidentifiedengineer.

that was beinghanded around!

“Nutty”Wedding

StoryAfter the

ceremony it was backin the car and join inthe procession, we gotin behind the limoand thephotographer’s car. Atone point the limopulled off the roadand we couldn’tbelieve that the drivercould actually beenlost, but no, Donnawas thirsty and hestopped and got her adrink. What athoughtful guy!

Next, it was on theboat for the reception.What a beautiful set-up. It was a nice dayfor a boat ride alongthe Hudson River.Much to Donna’ssurprise, Skip had setup a train goingaround the cake!What a beautiful anddelicious cake it was,adorned with red andpurple flowers. Themeal was a buffetwith ham, turkey androast beef,“YUM”. Totop everything off,they didn’t just giveeveryone your run-of-the-mill memento! Atevery place settingwas a jar of “Skippy”peanut butter! Nowisn’t that a yummypleasant surprise?Theirs will not be awedding that will beforgotten soon.

The party didn’tend there! Everyoneheaded back to thetrack to keep going.The photographereven showed up andhad fun riding thetrains while takingpictures of the brideand groom.

Carol Harper

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What About Safety?The Advice of the Month

Above: This enameled panel used to be shown traditionally at each double track level crossingin France. Even if MLS tracks do not present this kind of situation, safety is always a must atour level crossing.

Either of these signs reminds us that all vehiclesmust stop before crossing a level crossing at MLS.

Some members have the had a chance to see andappreciate the new Timetable No. 1, due to the workand talent of Paul Brunet and since then, nothing…After a second though, the Board of Directors hasapproved its diffusion to the regular members of MLSto give them a real “railway” tool, i.e. which looks likefull scale trains, and to help them to apply our safetyand operation rules.

The Safety Committee will study the best meansto diffuse this tool.For the time being,regular members

who wish to obtain a copy can contact Paul Brunet(450) 665-7371 or email pbrunet@hotmail.com.

The Board of Directors draws the attention ofmembers to the fact that the article of page 2,paragraphA which does not correspond to any current actual ruleof the club is considered “suspended until furthernotice”.

The safety committee has the intend to publish aregular update in The Roundhouse to explain in detailarticles of Timetable No. 1. Stay tuned

What Happened to Timetable No. 1?

15

The boiler is formed sothat all sides of the fire arecovered with water, out-side of the metal box. Allthe metal plates, andtubes, draw their heat offthe fire and transfer it tothe water, in order to makesteam. When you put apot on the stove, you mustheat it to 100 degrees inorder to get it to boil. Ittakes very little energy toget it that hot, but it takesan enormous amount ofenergy to convert it tosteam. The boiling pointalso increases as youincrease the pressure,suchthat, by the time yourboiler is at 7 atmospheres,or 100 psi, the tempera-ture of the water is 170 C.What we are doing withthe fire in the boiler isheating the water to thattemperature, and that isall.As we draw steam off,the pressure is reduced,and the water will coolslightly as it convertsmore water into steam.The more water we haveat that temperature, themore thermal mass is pre-sent, and the more powerthe boiler can produce - toa limit.

As steam is used, wemust add water to theboiler in order to keep thelevel up. We are usuallydoing this with the axlepump, although we mayalso have an injector,steam pump, and, in caseof emergencies, a hand-pump. At a given enginespeed, an axle pump isalways pumping the sameamount of water.We con-trol how much of thatwater goes back into thetender tank with thebypass valve. With thebypass wide open, (usu-ally only a turn or so ofthe valve,) all the watergoes to the water tank.Aswe close the bypass, thewater must force its waypast it, and, when it startshaving to force aboveboiler pressure, some of itgoes through the check-valves and into the boiler.

When the bypass is closedcompletely, the water takesthe path of least resistance- 100 atmospheres’ pres-sure would not let it pasta closed valve, but only 7atmospheres lets itthrough the checkvalveand into the boiler. Thiswater is cold - 20 C and itmust be heated to 170 Cin order to become steamin the boiler. It draws heatoff the boiler water, andthe pressure goes downaccordingly.By giving verysmall adjustments to thebypass valve, rather thancranking it a half-turn ata time, you can eventuallyfind a spot where theamount of water goinginto the boiler is the sameas the amount of steambeing used by the engine.

We can see from thephysics of the fire, that thehottest part is at the top ofthe firebox. Indeed, thiscrownsheet is what pro-duces 75% of all the steamwe use. As soon as thegases go into the tubes,the cold metal cools itdown so that combustionstops, and, within 15 cmor so, the gas is nearly thesame temperature as thewater on the other side ofthe tube. That 1300degrees is also the reasonwhy one of the early rulesof steaming is “WATCHTHE WATER!” Gaugeglasses should be set on aboiler so that the bottomof the glass is some dis-tance above the crown-sheet. If you can see water,then you know the crownis covered. We also knowfrom both model and full-size experience that lowwater is the main cause ofboiler failure. But whatshould you do if you real-ize, all of a sudden, thatthere is no water in theglass? The first reaction isto pump like mad - closethe bypass, hit the injec-tor, wag the handpump -whatever it takes. Thismay or may not be thebest course of action.Withthe crownsheet exposed,it is likely to get red hot,and weaken.Water hitting

this sheet will immedi-ately flash into steam, andthe pressure in the boilerwill rise dramatically -higher and faster than thesafety valve can handle.The high pressure, work-ing on a soft metal sheet,will bulge or burst it, andyou have a boiler failure.Instead, stop the engine,shut off the blower, andopen the firebox door. Thefire will go dull, and thecold air will help cool theplates. Then, give one

stroke with the hand-pump, while watching thepressure gauge. If itjumps, then wait a bitmore. Stroke again, andmake sure that the pres-sure stays down. Once yousee water in the glass, thenyou can open the blowerand close the door, andyour fire should immedi-ately come back to life.Getthe water up to a safe levelbefore continuing, and tryto figure out why thewater went down - did apump fail, or is the tenderdry, or is it just a problemwith the nut on the end ofthe shovel? SOLVE THEPROBLEM before contin-uing to run.

ENGINE

We have a good fireburning, and it is makingsteam at a very good rate.

We must now put thatsteam to use. The throttlecontrols the amount ofsteam going to the valvesteamchests, and thevalves control the amountof steam going to thecylinders. The pistonspush the piston rod backand forth, which turns thecrank to make one set ofwheels go round. That setof wheels, in turn, drivesa return crank or eccen-tric, which is coupled,back to the valves. The

wheels may also be cou-pled together to get morewheels driven, givingmore traction.Apart fromlubricating all the movingparts, what is there that adriver can do within thismystery to get better per-formance out of theengine? First off is aninspection to see that alllock nuts are in place, andto see the condition of thebushings. The simplest ofvalve gears will have fiveor six joints between theaxle and the valve, and ittakes very little slop ineach one to eat a couple ofmillimetres off your valvemotion.Driving bushings,also, will wear and start toclick, then clack, thenclunk, and impair the per-formance of the engine.Rock the engine back and

forth, watching to see howmuch slack there is ineach bearing. Evaluatethem, and see when it willbe time for a rebuild. Orperhaps you will chooseto go one or two bushingsat a time.Bronze bushingsshould be consideredstandard replaceableitems on a steam locomo-tive. One evening on thelathe and drill pressshould be enough time toget a complete set made,and another two daysshould be able to get themoff and back on theengine. If the pins them-selves have started towear, then you are in for abigger job, but do not letit intimidate you.You canboth turn the pin downand use a bigger bushing,or you can make a newpin.

Given that themechanics are in goodshape, what can be donein the cab to get the bestrun? A steam engine is apeculiar beast - it hasincredible amounts ofpower at low speed, andthere is, theoretically, nomaximum speed. If youapply more steam pres-sure, it will go faster. Atwo-cylinder engine, dou-ble acting, will be self-starting no matter wherethe crank is stopped.If thecrank on the left side is at9 o’clock, where the pistonhas no leverage on it, thenthe right-hand crank is at6 o’clock, where the lever-age is at its’ maximum.This is called the “quar-tering” of the wheels. Infull gear, the steam admis-sion port on the front of,say, the right cylinder isopen from 3 o’clockthrough to 8, and the backopen from 9 through to 2,as the locomotive runsforward, and the wheelsturn clockwise. Exhaustports open just before the9 o’clock and 3 o’clockpositions, respectively. Inother words, when theexhaust valve opens, theadmission valve has justbeen closed for a veryshort time, and the cylin-

der is, quite nearly, still atthe steamchest pressure.All that steam pressure isthen shot through theblast nozzle and up thesmokestack,pulling a veryheavy draught on the fire.

But steam is a gas,andit should be able toexpand and do the workthat way, rather than justforcing. By moving thereverse lever moretowards centre, the travelof the valve is shortened,but more at the side of thesteam admission than atexhaust. The front of thevalve may admit steamfrom 3 o’clock to 5, andthe exhaust valve nowopens at 8. The blast willsoften going to a “shu-shu-shu-shu”sound fromthe “PAT-TAT-TAT-TAT”ithad in full gear. The firewill not burn as brightly,true,but the boiler will notneed as much heat, either.The mechanical parts willlast longer, because theengine is not being run atfull power all the time. Atthe bottom of the grade,the reverse lever is pusheda little farther forward,(still not necessary to goto the corner notch,) andthe exhaust note changes.Even if you have to runwith the throttle moreopen than before, you willbe using less steam. Someexperimentation will beneeded to find the “com-pany notch,” where theengine runs most effi-ciently, but when you findit, you will be able tospend much more time onthe main line, and less inthe yard.By using less coaland water, you should beable to go farther withoutrefilling your tender.

Montreal Live Steam-ers has been blessed withcheap coal, (read: free,)but that does not mean wedo not have to learn to runand fire more effectivelyand efficiently. Just con-sider this the next timeyou are scraping the bot-tom of the coal buckets atthe Adirondack LiveSteamers.Keith Motton

Basics...

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Major Progress on the Hi-Line

Big machine + big effort + 80 tons = results…As hi-line foreman I am always pleased to report

the big progress made recently on the hi-line project.Adedicated crew has been out at the club on fourconsecutive weekends this fall. Some members workedon both Saturday and Sunday.

We had decided that to get ahead on this big projectwe would have to make some big and dramatic moves.The condition of the inner loop of track had gotten sobad due to dry rot that it would have been closed totraffic in 2003 so why try and work around it.Yes it wasa premature closing after being used for less than tenyears but we couldn’t take a chance with someone

Oct. 12 Oct. 19

getting hurt. With this track out of the way we couldthink big and access all areas with a loader of somekind.

The next decision came when we were standing onthe ex-ground track road bed where we were placinghi-line pylons. Why shouldn’t we have a continuousroadbed of geotextile and 0-3/4” ballast? We had seenthis at the Waushakum club and noted that there was nograss to be trimmed.A major reduction in maintenancehours.

With this in mind I had Keith order four truck loadsof ballast which worked out to 80+ metric tons. That’s

Above left: The first section of old mainline removedin October.You can see the new right-of-way by fol-lowing the pylons north.Above right: Bill Evans busy cutting the inner track.Next page; top: One of the worst sections of innertrack. The ties no longer keep the rails in gauge.Middle: The same spot showing a temporary repairto the supporting structure.Bottom: Fern Poulin (left) and Bernie grow paytheir respects to the condemned track. The supporthad actually been pushed over to retrieve a droppedsocket.

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a lot of ballast! Nobody intheir right mind wouldspread that much rock byhand with buckets andshovels, at least wewouldn’t.

The cost alone for theballast used up our budgetfor the year so a call wentout for donations ofmoney and materials.Once again the call wasgenerously answered andwe had all the textile weneeded.We could also renta bobcat for a weekendwhich Steve Filiatraultskillfully maneuvered.

The weathercooperated and our smallbut dedicated crewworked from earlymorning until well afterdark.

First we dismantledpart of the old outer loopfrom the Wally ScottBridge south to “Bramah’sCurve”(Peter’s SLOW signapproaching the transfertable). Next we resurveyedthe new track and markedit out with orangesurveyor’s paint. For thefirst time we saw our newtrack off paper and on theground.

The next weekendwas the big job ofdismantling the innertrack. This took four tofive men most of a day.Verl little wood was worthsalvaging as firewood dueto the rot and heavy coatof stain.

The biggest effort wasin spreading and roughleveling the ballast. Theentire roadbed has beenlaid in place. all the metalpylons have been drilledin preparation ofassembly in the newlayout. What a thrill towalk the new line witheach guy imagining firinga locomotive in hisimagination. This is agreat engineer’s track thatwill reward and entertainmembers and visitorsalike for decades to come.

I’d like to thank thepeople who made such abig effort and donatedmoney.

Frank Desaulniers

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Nov. 2

Top left: Bill Evans gets the fire going under the scrapped stringers. Too manynails and bolts made it dangerous to use the chainsaw on these.Top right: If NASCAR had a bobcat division, Steve Filiatrault would be a con-tender. It is a pleasure to watch Steve at the controls of any earthmoving machine.Above: The machine that saved weeks of hard labour. Worth every dollar!Left: A smurf (Bernie Grow?) dismantling the radial steaming bays.Middle left: “Oh I’m a lumberjack and I’m OK!” This is one of two sickly treesremoved from the right-of-way These will be replaced by 4 new trees.Next page; top: To refresh your memory, this is what we are building.Middle left: The new mainline looking west from the pumphouse. Left to right;Bill Evans, Elizabeth Leggett, Frank Desaulniers, Steve Filiatrault (in bobcat),Bernie Grow and George Waldron.Far right: Jim leggett and Keith Motton drilled all the metal pylons in prepara-tion of assembly in 2003. What a glorious outdoor workshop!Bottom: Frank Desaulniers, hi-line foreman, guides Steve in placing the ballaston the geotextile. This is the upper part of the layout near the Hudson switch

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Since this is themonth of ghosts andgoblins, I wanted to post astory of a railroad ghostknown to many as theMoonville ghost. I’m alsogiving you information onMoonville and the rail-road. For those who areinterested, the town ofMoonville was located inthe southeastern part ofOhio which is now part ofthe Zaleski State Park.

Before I get started, Iwant to point out that thisis not a legend, but a truestory.The difference beingthat one is based onhearsay and the other isbased on actual eventsthat happened. Whetheryou believe in ghost or notis your choice and I amnot trying to change yourviews.What I am trying tosay is that these peoplesaw something. Whetheris was a ghost, a naturalphenomenon, or someother kind of explanationis up to you to decide.

For the record, Ibelieve in ghosts. I did seemy father looking at meone night about onemonth after he had died.I have also put a great dealof time and effort sortingthrough all the stories onthe Moonville ghost. Mostof these stories are verysimilar and come fromwhat I consider reliablewitnesses. And yes, therehave been some stories Iwould have to question.The story of the Moonvilleghost has appeared in thepaper many times in thepast and I’m sure it willcontinue to do so in thefuture.

One other point I wishto bring up is that this isnot the only ghost knowin the area. There are atleast 2 other know ghostin the Zaleski State Park.One watches over a oldiron furnace where he methis death.The other is thatof a prospector and hismule.

Also something to keep inmind, a few years agoSoutheastern Ohio wasranked as one of the topfive areas in the world forwitchcraft activity. Thereason behind this wasthat this area is a focalpoint for tapping into theearths natural powers andto communicating withthe world beyond.

History of

Moonville...

In the late 1850’s theMarietta and CincinnatiRailroad was pushingwest to reach Cincinnati.The owner,William P.Cut-ler,was having deep finan-cial problems and the rail-road was looking for waysto save money. One ofthese ways came by theway of a gentlemannamed Samuel Coe. Hepersuades railroad offi-cials to make a trade.Instead of building northaround Hope Hollow hewould let the M&C buildthrough his property forfree on one condition.That condition was thatthey would put the rail-road where he wanted it tobe. Samuel Coe hadvisions of using the M&Cto haul out coal and claythat was on his property.When the railroad agreed,Coe began to open upsome mines andMoonville came into exis-tence.

Moonville was nevera big town. At its height,there were probably nevermore then 50 or 60 peopleliving there at one time.The map I have showsonly the locations for 4buildings. Reports showthat the town had aschoolhouse, railroaddepot, store, and a postoffice. The rest of the areawas covered with varioushouses (Today, only foun-dations of the schoolhouse and the Moonvillecemetery remain). Therewas also one saloon (pos-sible two) in the area and

people use to walk alongthe tracks to get there.

The buildings werelocated on both sides ofthe railroad tracks andjust about 500 yards fromthe town was theMoonville tunnel. A pic-ture of the tunnel can befound in Trains magazine(see May 1991, Rails totrails: history underfoot,pg 24). Between the townand the tunnel the rail-road crossed a 50 ft. hightrestle over RaccoonCreek.

An interesting note,Raccoon Creek is thelongest creek in the world.A creek is defined as anychannel of water beingless then one hundredmiles long.At the time, theRaccoon was determinedto be only 99 miles long.Later it was discovered tobe over that but there wastoo much red tape fromthe government to changeits status to a river.

The Moonville tunnelis only about 50 yardslong and has a slight curveto it. To save money, thetunnel was made verynarrow and out of brick.The walls were only 3 1/2yards on either side of thetrack and trains would gothrough that stretch at fullspeed. (Note: There isanother tunnel betweenMoonville and Mineralthat is bigger inside andmade out of woodbeams).

Also dangerous to thearea were four trestles thatwere built to cross Rac-coon Creek. They werebuilt just wide enough fortrack to be laid on andmost were quite long.Anyone caught in themiddle of one had thechoice of jumping to analmost certain death intothe shallow RaccoonCreek or being hit by theoncoming train. Mostfroze and died.At least 5-6 people lost their livesbetween 1850 and 1920 to

the trestles and the tun-nel. In 1986,a ten-year-oldgirl was killed when a CSXtrain hit her on a trestle.She was the last personkilled and ironically ithappens about twomonths after CSX hadabandoned the line.

In 1887, the M&C wasbrought out by the B&O. Itbecame a vital part of theeast/west line from Wash-ington DC to St. Louis.While the traffic on therailroad increased, thetown of Moonville wentthe opposite direction. Bythe turn of the century thecoal and clay mines wereclosing and the town wasdying. The last resident ofthe town was a familywho left in 1947. By thebeginning of the 1960’s,all of the buildings weregone. If you drive byMoonville today, youcould never tell there wasa town there.The Moonville

Ghost...

There have beenmany stories told aboutthe ghost, or should I sayghosts. Many people arenot aware of it but thereare at least two ghosts thathaunt the Moonville area(along with a possiblethird ghost).One is a well-known ghost that appearsinside the tunnel, swing-ing a lantern while tryingto stop the train.The otheris a ghost that walks thetracks near Moonville buton the other side of thetunnel. Here is the back-ground on the little know,Moonville ghost.She walks the

tracks-alone

While this ghost isless well-known then theone that haunts the tun-nel, it has been seen quitea few times in recentyears. There are two dif-ferent descriptions of thisghost. One is a shapelessentity, the other is that ofa women. Are they thesame ghost or different?

One report I have goes likethis.

One of the residents ofMoonville was walkinghome along the tracks lateone night. As he got closeto Moonville, he noticedthe ghost beside him. Hedescribes the ghost assomeone who may havehad a sheet over him. If heran, this thing would runand when he stops.... itwould stop. After sometime, the ghost took offover the bank and disap-peared.

Later versions told ofa older lady who walkedthe tracks and then dis-appeared. She has beenseen as recently as 2months ago. Since thetracks were pulled (moreon CSX in a later part),hikers have taken advan-tage of the roadbed andmany have chosen tocamp out on it.As a result,the sightings on thisghost(s) have increased.

One couple I talked tosaid they were campingabout 1/2 mile from thetunnel on the roadbed. Itwas a cloudy night and thearea was very dark.About11pm they were in theretent when they saw some-thing white go by the frontof the tent. At first theythought it was anothercamper but then they real-ize this person made nonoise. They both scram-ble out of their tent toinvestigate.What they sawmade them pack up andleave right away.

Walking on the side ofthe roadbed towards thetunnel was the white fig-ure of a lady. She was in aturn of the century outfitand appeared to be in her40’s. From her appear-ance, she was clearly notsolid but she did not giveoff any light because theycouldn’t see anything onthe other side of her.When one of them yelledsomething at her, sheturned and looked at

them for a moment butnever stop walking away.In a minute, she wasaround the bend andgone.

Two people who livedin the area could be thisghost.One was a man whowas murdered one nightas he walked home alongthe tracks. It began whenhe got into a barroombrawl with a couple ofsome other men. Eyewit-nesses say that he wasvery drunk and had trou-ble walking as he headedback towards Moonville.It is believe that the menwho he was fighting withbushwhack him along thetracks and murder him,leaving his body on thetracks. Despite the fact hehad been run over, thecoroner said that he wasdead before the train hithim. His murderers werenever found.

The problem with thisperson being the ghostwas the location. While Ihave not found out wherethe murder took place,there is a good chance thatthe murder took place onthe wrong side of the tun-nel. It would depend onwhere he lived and wherethe attack took place inaccordance to the tunnel.The other problem is mostsome people havereported the ghost asbeing a woman, not just ashapeless spirit as in thefirst case.

The other possibleperson was a lady whowas hit by a train nearMoonville. She was walk-ing home from the townof Mineral (about 10miles away) when a trainhit her. This would haveput her in the right area,as she was only about 1mile from the Moonvilletunnel when she waskilled. She is also the onlywoman in the area to havebeen killed by a train(except for the 10 year oldgirl in 86), the rest were

The Ghost of Moonvilleby Kirk DePeel

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men.This occurred some-time around 1905.

One other possibilityis that of the headless con-ductor (brakeman?). I amattending a class on ghostin the Athens area and willpost more on him later.He waits in the

tunnel…

A fast-moving B&Ofreight train is headingwest in the Moonvillearea. At the throttle is arookie engineer, makingonly his third run on thisline. It is around 11:30 ona July night, the year is1977. Up to now, every-thing has been normaland dull. But this changesas they approach theMoonville tunnel. About500 yards ahead the engi-neer sees the figure of adark man with a lantern.He is swinging the lanternback and forth trying toget the train to stop.

As the rookie engi-neer prepares to put thetrain into emergency, theconductor in charge stopshim. The conductor hasseen this many, manytimes before. He tells himin about 15 seconds hewill understand. The trainapproaches the tunnel atabout 50 MPH. The lightsfrom the engine can nowmake out the full figure ofa man, but something iswrong. The light appearsto be going right throughhim. In an instance thetrain is on him and then,the figure is gone. Rightbefore their eyes the manvanishes. There is noscream tonight as therehas been in the past.Sometimes there is, othertimes there is not. Thetrain rolls over where thefigure once stood andcontinues on. The rookieengineer is visibly shakenand later will ask hissupervisor for a newroute. It happens againand again. The Moonvilleghost has taken its toll.Just another ghost legend?A great script for a Hal-loween movie? Wrong onboth counts. I got thisstory and others from

B&O engineers as theywaited for a meet on a sid-ing that used to be east ofAthens.And the Moonvilleghost has been seen bymore then just railroadworkers. Other peoplehave seen him too. Sincethe beginning of the cen-tury he has appeared inthe tunnel swinging hislantern. On some nights,he lets out a bloodcur-dling scream. But who is,or should I say, was he?

From the newspaperarticles and eyewitnesses,the ghost is described asbeing black, about eightfeet tall with a whitebeard. His eyes glisten likeballs of fire and heappears to be wearing aminer’s hat. In one handhe holds a lantern and isdressed in dirty overalls.Sometimes he appearsquite often. Then it maybe years before he isreported again. Did sucha man exist? Believe it ornot, the answer is “Yes”.And here is the story.

One night (about1920?) a group of men,some of them miners,others railroad workerswere playing cards in ashack not too far from thetracks. There was plentyof Moonshine to drinkand as the night wore on,some of the men gotpretty plastered. One ofthe men, for whatever rea-son, decided to leave thegame and started walkingdown the tracks. He wasexceeding drunk, and ashe got into the tunnel, atrain approach from theother side. Due to his con-dition, he wasn’t thinkingclearly and didn’t try torun back out. Perhaps hewas to drunk too. Insteadthe man started swinginghis lantern, I guess hop-ping the train would stopfor him (73 years later andpeople are still thinkingthat way :^(. As you mayhave guessed, he was hitand killed. Reportedly, hewas buried in theMoonville graveyard.Since that time, peoplehave seen this ghost.

When Moonville was firstsettled, there was a blackfamily that moved into thearea. They had come fromVirginia as freed slavesand it is report that thewife was the daughter of aplantation owner. Theyhad three children thatgrew up to work in themines. One of them waskilled in the 1920’s by atrain. The location was,you guessed it, in theMoonville tunnel.Whether he worked for amine or the railroad isunclear. The fact that hedied in the Moonville tun-nel is clear.

While writing thisstory, a co-worker told meshe and a group of friendshad seen the Moonvilleghost. It was sometimearound 1979 and they hadjust walked through thetunnel to get back to theircar. As they were leaving,she spotted a dark figureon the other side of thetunnel with a light. Noneof them wanted to seewhat was going to happennext, they high-tailed itout of there.

Many people have hadthe same experience.There is an excellentwaterhole on the otherside of the tunnel, whichI am told is bottomless.Apparently, a mineshaftnear the creek collapseone day and filled up withwater. The water is verycold, even on hot days,leading many people tobelieve the hole is alsobeing fed by a under-ground spring. To get tothe waterhole, mostswimmers park atMoonville and walk a halfa mile through the tunnelto get to the trestle cross-ing the creek. They woulduse the trestle as a divingboard to jump into thewaterhole below.

Coming back, somewould see the ghost asthey approached the tun-nel, others after theythrough. In one case, theghost saved a boy. As heapproach the tunnel, theghost appeared and

screamed. The boy gotspooked (pardon the pun,I could not resist theopportunity) and turnedto run. He had ran nomore them a few feetwhen he saw the lights ofthe train coming aroundthe bend ahead. If he hadkept walking, he wouldhave been in the tunnel.He stepped off the trackand turned, but the ghostwas gone. To this day, hehas never gone back.

One more fact I wishto bring up before I end,most of the people whohave seen the ghost hadnot heard about himbefore hand (or so I amtold). Many of them werestudents, who had notlived in the area previ-ously. Others just heardrumors of a ghost,but thatwas it. They never knewwhere the ghost waslocated. Keep in mind,there are plenty of ghoststories to keep me goingto next Halloween. So itsnot hard to get confusedor, not believe. But tothose who see him, itleaves an impact.Excuse me… have

you seen my

HEAD?

Throughout the years,there has been a legendabout Moonville that willnot die. This is the legendof the headless conductor.Sightings of this ghostconductor, who walks thetrack searching for hishead, go back all the wayto the 1890’s. It is rumoredthat more than a fewtrains have been stoppednear the Moonville tunnelby this conductor.And yet,this is the one ghost I havevery few facts on. The wayhe died is a matter ofdebate as well as if he wasreally was a conductor or abrakeman. Even his nameis not known and hisdescription is fuzzy atbest.

There are at leastthree stories of his deathand here they are. One isthat he was having anaffair with the wife of theengineer. When the engi-

neer found out he decidedto get even. One night asthey were stopped on thetracks, the engineer askedthe conductor to checksomething out betweenthe wheels of the locomo-tive. When the conductorstuck his head betweenthe wheels, the engineermoved the train forwardcutting off his head.

Another story tells ofa railroad worker who hadbeen drinking heavily thatnight while the train saton a siding. As the trainpulled out, he decided toride the train to the nextmeet by hanging on to theoutside of a boxcar. He felloff in one of the two tun-nels (there is theMoonville tunnel andanother one in the area)and was decapitated.I got another account ofhis death through theOctober 1990, vol. 24, no.10 magazine called “High-ways, The official publica-tion of the good Samclub”. In this story, as thetrain left the station andgathered steam, thebloody head of the con-ductor rolled down fromthe roof and fell downacross the engineer’s win-dow. The train stoppedimmediately, and the crewwas quickly dispatched tosearch for the body andhead of the conductor. Nobody or head was everfound, nor was there anyblood along the tracks toindicate that the conduc-tor was killed. He seemedto have vanished in thenight.

Since his death, therehave been a few newspa-per articles written abouthim. In one of the articlesI read, a B&O engineerreported seeing a manwho was swinging alantern inside the tunnel(sound familiar). As thetrain came to a stop, theman, who was dressed asa conductor of the Mari-etta and Cincinnati Rail-road but with “No Head”,walked off the tracks anddisappeared. This appear-ance was a few years

“before”the man wearinga miners hat was killed inthe tunnel.

Could this have hap-pened? Did such a mandie in this area? I knowthere have been railroadworkers killed in the area.What job they held andhow they died is unclear.I personally believe manypeople have confused thisghost with the Moonvilleghost in Part 3.A numberof times, he is describe asbeing a “dark” figure,dressed as a conductorwho swings a lantern inthe Moonville tunnel.Andas mentioned in part 3, itis unclear if the ghost withthe miner’s hat was aminer or a railroadworker.On the other hand, thisghost has been reportedas walking the tracks andwaving a lantern in thetunnel before the otherdeaths I talked about ear-lier took place. Was thisjust popular folklore orstories based on trueaccounts? It’s impossibleto be sure. But who is tosay that you can’t havemore then one ghosthaunting a house or, rail-road tunnel. And, ofcourse, this is what makesghost legends so great tohear. Its always a mystery.

There may be one eye-witness to this ghost.While taking a class thismonth called “HauntedAthens”, I ran into some-one who had seen one ofthe Moonville ghosts.Hereis his account on whathappened on a warmsummer night in 1979.

The time was about10pm and a group of sixteenagers were walkingback to the car from thewaterhole. Some beer hadbeen purchased that nightand a few of the peoplewho had drunk the beerwere underage. As theygot near the tunnel, one ofthem spotted a light fol-lowing not far behind.Theimmediate concern wasthat this was the sheriff,

To be continued…

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One day I discovered that the blast nozzlegeometry on my 3/4”2-8-4 was way off resultingin a lazy fire and I asked around about it andlearned about “the steam cone”.

To determine blast nozzle height use twocones to simulate the blast shape. The two conesare concentric, the inside one being 12 deg.inclusive and the outside one being 20 deg. (or a1 in 3 and 1 in 6 ratio). Both cones havethe same apex. The 12 deg. conemust meet the top lip of the stackcompletely, but it must not contactinside the stack or eddy currentscreating a loss of vacuumwill occur. The 20 degcone is used todetermine theminimum diameter ofthe petticoat. If thereis no petticoat and andthe perimeter of thetwenty degree conestrikestheinsidetop ofthe smokebox, therewill be a reduction invacuum (draft).

Size the blastnozzle and position iton the 12 degree cone.depending on the sizeof the engine and thediameter of the stack,you may find the apex of thecones is down at track level. Thismakes the diameter of the coneslarger inside the smokebox. Don'tmake the blast nozzle the full diameterin this case, make a multiple port blastnozzle to position the blast nozzle at theappropriate spot inside the smoke box.

It usually works out at about thecenterline of the smokebox,makes for easytube cleaning and making the exhaust nozzle1/7 dia of the cylinders seems to work well asa starting point.

I made this template to check the geometryon the Berkshire. Photocopy it and glue ontosome single ply cardboard. Then cut tp the ID ofyour smokestack (b). Trim to the apex (c) alongthe black. Drop this arrow shape down the stackso the point enters the blast nozzle opening. Thearea (a) should fall between the bottom of thepetticoat and the top of the stack.

Thanks go to Joe Tanski, John Vincent andjim Scott for their helpful emails from which Imade this drawing.I hope this template can makeit easy for you to visually check your locomotive’ssmokebox geometry.

It made a dramatic improvement to thesteaming capacity of my 2-8-4!

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Steam Exhaust Coneby

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Welcomethese newmembers

This issue we’d like to welcomethe following new associate

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