Author Topic: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC  (Read 33013 times)

Dewayne

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #30 on: July 29, 2016, 07:09:15 AM »
Heard employees say the track is to replace the track that is starting to get old now. Others say we may be sending trains to Branson as another form of transportation, besides the 1 road that leads here.

runner1960

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #31 on: July 29, 2016, 09:05:49 AM »
Heard employees say the track is to replace the track that is starting to get old now. Others say we may be sending trains to Branson as another form of transportation, besides the 1 road that leads here.

Do you know when someone is pulling your chain? Those engines would never be able to make the trip between Branson and SDC. They are not designed for it. They cannot even make the park loop without stopping to get a new head of steam pressure.

I am not saying that another form of transportation might be in store for the future. But it will not be these engines.

sirwillow

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #32 on: July 29, 2016, 09:48:10 AM »
Heard employees say the track is to replace the track that is starting to get old now. Others say we may be sending trains to Branson as another form of transportation, besides the 1 road that leads here.

Do you know when someone is pulling your chain? Those engines would never be able to make the trip between Branson and SDC. They are not designed for it. They cannot even make the park loop without stopping to get a new head of steam pressure.

I am not saying that another form of transportation might be in store for the future. But it will not be these engines.

Almost completely agreed.  The Branson to Silver Dollar City train is a long rumored thing that has little chance of actually happening. It wouldn't be worth the millions upon millions that it would cost to build it- far more than any roller coaster, and the staffing costs.... Would it be nice?  Sure.  Would it be feasible? Nope.

Oh, one small correction.  The trains actually no longer need to stop where the robbery is to build a head of steam.  Their original engine, which was much smaller, did.  They've actually still got that one.  Last I heard it was next to the round house but they want to put it on display in the park again at some point.  If you look at the "You know your from Silver Dollar" facebook page you can see a couple of pictures of it in action.  But their current engines do not. They're hefty enough that they can keep on rolling and make it back with no problem.  And they actually do so on a regular basis if there is a reason to not have a show (e.g. it's pouring rain or other issues)
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Swoosh

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #33 on: July 29, 2016, 10:13:22 AM »
Do you know when someone is pulling your chain?

No.  No he doesn't.  He has repeatedly confirmed this.
SWOOSH

runner1960

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #34 on: July 29, 2016, 02:12:30 PM »
Heard employees say the track is to replace the track that is starting to get old now. Others say we may be sending trains to Branson as another form of transportation, besides the 1 road that leads here.

Do you know when someone is pulling your chain? Those engines would never be able to make the trip between Branson and SDC. They are not designed for it. They cannot even make the park loop without stopping to get a new head of steam pressure.

I am not saying that another form of transportation might be in store for the future. But it will not be these engines.

Almost completely agreed.  The Branson to Silver Dollar City train is a long rumored thing that has little chance of actually happening. It wouldn't be worth the millions upon millions that it would cost to build it- far more than any roller coaster, and the staffing costs.... Would it be nice?  Sure.  Would it be feasible? Nope.

Oh, one small correction.  The trains actually no longer need to stop where the robbery is to build a head of steam.  Their original engine, which was much smaller, did.  They've actually still got that one.  Last I heard it was next to the round house but they want to put it on display in the park again at some point.  If you look at the "You know your from Silver Dollar" facebook page you can see a couple of pictures of it in action.  But their current engines do not. They're hefty enough that they can keep on rolling and make it back with no problem.  And they actually do so on a regular basis if there is a reason to not have a show (e.g. it's pouring rain or other issues)

Sir Willow , Thanks for the information. I think a lot of people including me thought the stop was still intended to build a head of steam. Being a Boiler operator for many years the power of steam still wows me at times.

treed

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #35 on: June 11, 2017, 06:18:43 PM »
Does anyone have any new info on the progress of "new" locomotives?

dkparks

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #36 on: July 29, 2017, 08:59:58 PM »
No one has any new information or photos of the new locos or the restoration?

sirwillow

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #37 on: July 29, 2017, 09:33:39 PM »
Last time I talked to them about it (and my memory is a bit fuzzy on this), one of the three had been pretty much disassembled and parted out for their current three.  One of them is in the process of being overhauled and fixed up and prepared for use in the park- I think for next year, but that's again a bit fuzzy.  Not sure about the last one.

I know they are trying to do some work on figuring out how they are going to work the extra engine into the round house.  But not other than a general idea on that, I don't know any details.  It's going to be a few weeks til I'm out there again but when I am I'll try to remember to ask.
This is a stick up!  Get it? Stick.... Nevermind, it's a train robbery.  I want everyone to get your hands up and act scared.

chittlins

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #38 on: July 30, 2017, 11:35:15 AM »
Last time I talked to them about it (and my memory is a bit fuzzy on this), one of the three had been pretty much disassembled and parted out for their current three.  One of them is in the process of being overhauled and fixed up and prepared for use in the park- I think for next year, but that's again a bit fuzzy.  Not sure about the last one.

I know they are trying to do some work on figuring out how they are going to work the extra engine into the round house.  But not other than a general idea on that, I don't know any details.  It's going to be a few weeks til I'm out there again but when I am I'll try to remember to ask.

Here I go Again, they need to incorporate a period styled roundhouse into the park itself. You could put in an Observation room into the shop and so on Actually build a turntable and so on, it would allow for the expansion of the park from Outlaw Run to Fireman's Landing or even to Grand Expostion. You black out 76 with the use of buildings and such.









Anyway, I would certainly go for the the fully enclosed with a turn table in the middle like to give the workers a climate controlled evironment.  Butmm fashion of the first pic would do. Maybe there's one out there they can salvage parts of, even the brick. It doesn't have to be out of sight and it would totally be incorporated into the period theme.

It kinda links the Grand Expo theme (St. Louis Worlds Fair) to the West of Outlaw Run . It would be SDC's Kansas City! Dark ride coaster themed to a slauterhouse anyone?


sirwillow

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #39 on: August 20, 2017, 05:08:14 PM »
Had a good talk with one of the lead engineers today about the trains and new engines.  if you'll recall, they bought 3 engines- one being the twin to current 76 and one the twin to current 13, along with another.  The original plan was to use 13's twin for parts.  Well, that's changed a bit.  Here's my understanding now of how it stands.

There was one engine that didn't match any of the current ones.  You can actually see that one now when going by the round house.  It looks nothing like the others, and is not a steam engine at all.  It won't be used for pulling the trains, but is very useful for moving around cars on the tracks when they need to, or doing track work, along with other uses.  So it is currently in use.

13's twin, which they originally thought they were going to use for parts, they changed their mind and it is currently out of state receiving a major overhaul so that it can be put into use later on.  So it will actually be running in the park sometime in the future.  No eta on when.

76's twin is in the last stages of it's overhaul and updating for use.  You can actually see its tender car sitting by the round house.  Yes, it has a tender car, and yes, it will be used with that engine!  You'll notice the tender car has a different paint scheme as well.  They are hoping to have a grand unveiling at some point in the future, but not sure when as they want to make sure they have all the work done, and that's tough to do with the operating schedule.  But it's getting close.

They're hoping to get some room added to the round house, but not real optimistic on the expansion that it's going to really need.

and, of course, all of this is subject to change at any time, so take it for what you will.  But I was very excited about the future of the new engines and the train.  :-)
This is a stick up!  Get it? Stick.... Nevermind, it's a train robbery.  I want everyone to get your hands up and act scared.

sdcfan88

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #40 on: August 20, 2017, 05:49:24 PM »
Sounds like awesome news! Would be a pleasant surprise if it was unveiled alongside the new coaster for 2018.

Really wished the park could invest in expanding the railway by making it longer or building a 2nd one. They still have a HUGE amount of land at their disposal.

KBCraig

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #41 on: August 20, 2017, 10:47:19 PM »

There was one engine that didn't match any of the current ones.  You can actually see that one now when going by the round house.  It looks nothing like the others, and is not a steam engine at all.  It won't be used for pulling the trains, but is very useful for moving around cars on the tracks when they need to, or doing track work, along with other uses.  So it is currently in use.


It only makes sense to have a little diesel dodger for utility work.

dkparks

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #42 on: January 25, 2018, 10:08:08 AM »
Anyone know when the rebuilt engine will arrive from PA? Maybe we can get pictures of it traveling to SDC.

sdcfan88

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #43 on: June 18, 2018, 04:13:41 PM »
Saw on one of the SDC related Facebook pages that engine 504 is operating.

sirwillow

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Re: New Steam Engines Arriving at SDC
« Reply #44 on: June 18, 2018, 04:24:47 PM »
I've got a bunch of various stuff uploading before I leave for Israel tomorrow, but I was out there and got several photos and video segments.  Look for it to be posted in a couple of hours if I don't overwhelm my bandwidth.  :-)
This is a stick up!  Get it? Stick.... Nevermind, it's a train robbery.  I want everyone to get your hands up and act scared.