# 2-10-2



## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Something you don't see every day...a 1986 QJ 2-10-2, idling in Midway, KY:


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Very cool, who is RJ Corman?


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

I didn't know Roger Corman owned a Railroad...I just thought he made all those Vincent Price Horrror films in the 60"s!!


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

RJ Corman is a railroad holding company based in Nicholasville, KY---a small town south of Lexington, KY. here's a wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.J._Corman_Railroad_Group

They're a major player in the short-line rail business in 7 states. Corman bought the 2-10-2 from China, had it refurbished and shipped to New Orleans, then moved up here. It's primarily a unit used to generate interest in railroads and shipping by rail, so it gets sent around the country.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

MacDaddy55 said:


> I didn't know Roger Corman owned a Railroad...I just thought he made all those Vincent Price Horrror films in the 60"s!!


That was Roger...this is Richard, his evil railroading twin.:laugh:


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Reckers said:


> Corman bought the 2-10-2 from China, had it refurbished and shipped to New Orleans, then moved up here.


Oh, man ... I'm bummed ... that's exactly what I was planning on doing next week. So much for originality ...



Very nice lookin' loco, Reck ... wish it comes 'round my way at some point. Thanks for sharing,

TJ


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

China's got plenty of old steamers. They still use them regularly (coal is extremely plentiful over there and they don't care much about pollution.)


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Glad to show it off, Teeej. And don't worry, there are plenty more. In fact, the Chinese build steamers so fast that, if you lined them all up at the edge of a cliff.....


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

sstlaure said:


> China's got plenty of old steamers. They still use them regularly (coal is extremely plentiful over there and they don't care much about pollution.)


Yeah---one of my former bosses went there a few years ago and visited a coal mine. He said, "You wouldn't believe how many people with wheel-barrows were racing out of that mine, back and forth..."


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

I had an opportunity to take a 2-3 years assignment in China (Chongquing) I declined due to the poor air/water quality and congestion. I didn't want my kids dealing with pollution like that and the Chinese gov't does everything it can to hide their dirty laundry. What makes it into the press is only a small percentage of the actual problems they have there.

Air quality in Chongquing was estimated to be, on average, 300 times worse than that of L.A.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

That what happens in the pursuit of the capitalists almighty dollar. I didn't know they used steam. Very nice engine.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

It really is a beauty.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

T-Man said:


> That what happens in the pursuit of the capitalists almighty dollar. I didn't know they used steam. Very nice engine.


Looks like maybe they are finally phasing steam out. Some of these engines were built as recently as 1999.

Here's a listing by class of the Steam engines in China.

http://www.railography.co.uk/info/cn_steam/lists/locos/class_index.htm

They sure don't seem to stay in service very long - If you click on a particular class it will tell you all the engines produced within that class, when they were built and the last time they were observed working on the rails. The oldest one was gone after only 13 years, with many disappearing from service in only a couple years.

Must be that world reknowned Chinese quality:laugh:


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

The bolers take a beating. The life span can't be too long. It is easier to replace than fix one.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Nice engine, I think it would look a lot better minus that big sign plastered on the front.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Hey Ed,

If you spend $5-Jillion dollars on your very own steam locomotive, wouldn't YOU want your name on the front?!? 

I'm just sayin' ... 

TJ


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

tjcruiser said:


> Hey Ed,
> 
> If you spend $5-Jillion dollars on your very own steam locomotive, wouldn't YOU want your name on the front?!?
> 
> ...


I was thinking that as I was typing.:laugh:


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

Who pays 5 jillion when you can somewhat feasably make one for 5 million, and that is with labor somehat calculated in?


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

gc53dfgc said:


> Who pays 5 jillion when you can somewhat feasably make one for 5 million, and that is with labor somehat calculated in?



look at your key board...the j is right near the m a jillion is a million!


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

About the name thing.

Does he think he needs to id it?

Who's going to walk away with that?

A safe way to have 5 million lying around if you ask me.


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## gc53dfgc (Apr 13, 2010)

Brings to mind the great train robery. There are ways to steal a train effectively if needed. I am talking aobut the old WW2 one and the one where they save I believe a Pacific class engine from the scraper. (which were kids)


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Those engines would last a lot longer if they knew how to make good steel. pete


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## MacDaddy55 (Aug 19, 2008)

*I didn't know that!!*



Reckers said:


> That was Roger...this is Richard, his evil railroading twin.:laugh:


SOOOOO ...Roger Corman based all his movies on his Evil rialroad twin Richard...who was played by Vincent Price!! Wow Reck you are a fountain of information!! Hey nice photos by the way...I'm jealous!


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Thank you, Mac. If you want to see it, all you have to do is chase I-64 or I-75 to Lexington, KY: it appears Smokey lives in Corman's central yard in Lexington. As for it departing unexpectedly, I'd offer the following excerpt from an earlier news article: 
"Getting the train to Midway was a costly task. It required 10 tons of coal—purchased at 200 dollars a ton—for fuel. It takes 12 hours to build up enough steam pressure to get the train moving. A crew of four to eight people is necessary just to maintain and operate the train. This appearance by Old Smokey easily cost more than $10,000 according to company spokesman Matt Schwerin." 
This was to move it to Midway, KY for their annual festival: Midway is probably 15-20 miles, max, from Lexington.


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

T-Man said:


> About the name thing.
> 
> Does he think he needs to id it?
> 
> ...


Advertising & tax write-off....looking at the RJ Corman website - looks like a pretty big operation.

And maybe the guy is just a steam buff (can't fault him for that.)


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

That's right. The signage is a big tax deduction and good advertising. That whole locomotive,all it's fuel and maintenance and operation including the crew is totally deductible for the IRS. Whatever that loco cost to build and operate goes completly untaxed as long as it's used for advertising and or hauling freight or passengers. You can do the same with your car if your in business and put a sign on it. Pete


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

The guy also operates a small dinner-train operation out of Bardstown, KY. He's pretty sharp.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

If you want to see some not-so-old steam go to Youtube and search "China Steam trains". Some nice vids there. Pete

Must be some really steep grades in China. Just watched a double headed train with a pusher,all 2-10-2's, going uphill with twelve coal cars going about three MPH and just barely making it. Pete


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Here's some nice footage of this particular steamer, carefully making it's way through east Louisville. Best footage starts about half-way through. She's hauling a string of specially-built, oversized gondolas to carry sand to Nugent Sand Company, here in Louisville.

"Each loaded gondola car weights 304,000 lbs and will haul approximately 119 tons of sand. "


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Where is "here", I see no footage.


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

Must be invisible footage of a ghost train. I don't see it either. Pete


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Sorry, guys. I was at work and trying to post before a meeting. Here's that one plus a second! You'll see those gondolas in the second one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QysE3Bt8aYI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzqblIyqC1k


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Sounds like it has two totally different whistles.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

I don't know much about the China loco quality, but that loco certainly appears to be in tip-top shape in that video.

Thanks, Reck.

TJ


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Sounds like it has two totally different whistles.


That would stand to reason, John: one whistles in English, the other Chinese, so everyone can understand what it means.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

tjcruiser said:


> I don't know much about the China loco quality, but that loco certainly appears to be in tip-top shape in that video.
> 
> Thanks, Reck.
> 
> TJ


Teej, on one of the other videos, I seem to recall the engineer being interviewed and saying Coreman dropped a million on the locomotive, between buying and refurbishing (and shipping???).


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Reckers said:


> That would stand to reason, John: one whistles in English, the other Chinese, so everyone can understand what it means.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

John, I took soooooo much satisfaction in posting that!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

I was thinking more of a Doppler shift thing ...

One whistle tone for the people in front of the moving train; another whistle tone for the people behind the moving train. That way, everyone hears the same thing!

Dohh!!! 

TJ


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

It didn't sound like a Doppler shift, it was so different that I figured it was two different whistles. Maybe I was wrong, who knows...


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

All I know is that when they brow dat ristle, it brow rowd!!!!


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## norgale (Apr 4, 2011)

One in Engrish and one in Chinese sounds right to me but what do I know?


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Sounds like you know enough to pay attention to a train whistle, regardless of the language.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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