Secrets of the York: The oil man commeth. Although she was built to resemble an 1860s-vintage, wood-burning, 4-4-0 American Standard, there are practical reasons why the new NCRY 17 "York" does not use cord wood as fuel. First and foremost, wood-burners have a tendency to shower the passengers and the trackside real estate with sparks. The fire hazard, and potential liability is just too great. Second, wood has a relatively low BTU value when compared to fuels such as coal and oil. Wood-burning locomotives can go through large volumes of wood in a very short time, necessitating a big logistics process to keep the operation supplied. Third, it is difficult to obtain wood of consistent quality. There's uphill wood, and there's downhill wood....and worse. Tourist passengers don't like it when the train has to stop while the crew gets out the chain saw. The newly completed York 17 was designed from the ground up as an oil-burner for some very good reasons indeed. A quick visit every couple of days from an oil delivery guy like the one pictured here, and she's good to go. Her 600 gallon tank will take her through about 6 trips to Hanover Junction and back. There's relatively little concern about trackside fires, and the customers in the coaches don't end up with holes in their clothes at the end of their trip.
