We’re in Colorado, and big long posts about what we’ve been up to have been scarce. We have posts on Utah and it’s National Parks drafted, but we’ve been camping and out of data range, so getting posts and pictures up has been difficult.
We’ve also gotten confirmation of our ship date to South America (well, mostly. Enough to make further plans, anyway). This means we have to start planning how we get to Montevideo and what we’re going to do while the car is on the water. That’s been taking up what connectivity we do have. It’s been exciting and stressful. On top of that, we’re really trying to get the kids into the habit of school work. There has been some… resistance. And… raised voices.
In the car yesterday Audrey asked me if it felt weird not working. I thought about it for a bit, and replied that I still felt that I was working. There are lots of logistics to be seen to and it takes effort to keep all four of us fed, rested, interested, and sane. It is nice to choose our own destiny, but it’s still work.
Anyway! In lieu of well thought-out descriptions of Bryce Canyon and Arches and Capitol Reef, here are some assorted notes that didn’t make it into other posts.
Rapid City is home to Ellsworth Air Force Base and the South Dakota Air and Space Museum. Unfortunately the interior exhibits were closed for renovation so we didn’t get to see any real or simulated minuteman missile launch control centers, but I did manage to let the family wander around the outdoor exhibits for a bit. They had some neat planes, and the centerpiece was a B-1. One of the neat things about the B-1 is that there was an alert-start button on the nose gear so that scrambling aircrews could start the aircraft while they were still getting to the plane. I pushed it on this one, but was not able to start the plane. Pity, it would have been the perfect souvenir.
On the way to Yellowstone from Rapid City we paralleled some BNSF track for a while. The line was pretty busy so we got to see many trains (and the road was pretty empty, so I could more or less safely look at trains). Outside of Gillette we passed by a yard where they were dozens if not a hundred idled locomotives. Apparently changes in market conditions necessitated parking a bunch of capital equipment. No pictures of the parked locomotives, I was driving and I think there was a request for an urgent bathroom stop.
I was kind of surprised at Promontory Summit at both how small and how advanced the locomotives were. Advanced because I think the first railroad in the US was in 1830 or so and the 4-4-0 locomotives represented only 30 years of development, and small because I’m used to seeing bigger locomotives preserved from the peak of steam: even the narrow gauge locomotives we saw in Durango seem more substantial than these. It’s pretty impressive to think that the trains from the wild west were basically toys that look like they should be under a giant Christmas tree.
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I **think* one of the limiting factors of loco size was the loading gauge (height and width) imposed by the infrastructure: Bridges and tunnels. It cost a lot to bore out a larger tunnel. And then there was the track. The early track couldn’t take the load of a big loco (isolated wheel load). Spreading the load of a larger boiler and firebox over more driving wheels meant larger radius curves as well as a larger loading gauge. Sometimes in more open areas this was not too much of an issue, but in more mountainous areas or other places where tighter curves were required this couldn’t easily be done. Multiple locos, either leading or banking, helped and also the creation of mallets and garrets later on.
Looking at the size of the locos of the relatively narrow gauges of Cape gauge and metre gauge in sub Saharan Africa it can be seen that track gauge would prove not to be a significant limiting factor.
Well done! Keep the adventure coming – it keeps it alive for the rest of us!
Glad there have been sites and adventures for all interests!
Wondering about train siting potential in South America! I’m sure you’ll keep us posted!