A Bridge too Far? Advice, Commentary, Outright Condemnation Requested.

[Chops]

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Initial Firing

I often wondered how, in the days when steam locomotion was in its infancy, how did a prototype boiler get tested? In my mind's eye I would imagine some designers saying among themselves," 'ello, 'e looks stupid enough. Oy! You there! Chops! Go put one some coke on yon firebox whilst we stand o'er 'ere!"

Come to find out that the Rocket, for one, was tested using hydrostatic pressure. I had not guessed that these early designers, like Stephenson, had pumps strong enough, nor gauges accurate enough, to pump cold water under pressure into a boiler and measure it in psi. They did. So, they would pump up a new boiler, never tried or tested before, with cold water and watch for where it leaked, patched it up or reinforced it.

So accurate was their ability to measure things, that Stephenson, Jr. wrote to his father, in the days leading up to the Rainhill Trials, that the back boiler was bulging at an alarming 3/8th of an inch, and what might they do to prevent it from doing so, and possibly exploding? Stephenson, Sr., a man barely able to write his own name, dictated back to add stay bolts the length of the boiler, and so it was fixed. This in an age when life traveled at the speed of horse and sail.

So, having added a total of one feeder wire per main, period, I lit it up and held my breath. Nothing. I had forgotten to switch the power pack on.

Switching it on, nothing. Gave the locomotive a small nudge, and off she went, a bit herky-jerky, in the manner of dirty track. But around she went the entire circuit and neither stalled or derailed at all, gliding over the diamonds like and ice skater.

Then repeated the performance for the second main line, no issues save dirty track, but it never stalled and never derailed.

First surprise came in that the outer line, which is laid to a 22 inch radius, would be become the inner line, before re-emerging as the outer line gain, which initially made me wonder if I had somehow contrived to mislay the track. No, it just does that. Having tested my long passenger coaches on Jimmy's 18 inch radii, I have no fear that it will run perfectly well.

The next run was using a double headed track cleaner car, one to lay down Wahl's Hair Clipper Oil, and the trailing car to wipe off the excess. Again, no problem, and these cars love to derail and foul because of the cleaning pads.

Well, enough for one night. Take a siesta and have at it again in the morning.

[Chops]

Working splendidly. Atrocious as it is, the baseboard uneveness is quickly and permanently repaired with a screw here to draw down a bulge, or a scrap of wood there to raise an offending sag. Ironically, by pitching all the "best practices," I've arrived at something enjoyable and reliable; well within my skill set, or lack thereof.