What a sweet looking monster. Well done, Mitch.
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Chesapeake & Ohio 490 is the sole survivor of only four streamlined Hudson-type (4-6-4) locomotives owned by the C&O. They were often called "Yellow Bellies" because of their yellow paint. C&O 490 was rebuilt from a Pacific-type (4-6-2) in 1946. The original Pacific was built by the Richmond Division of American Locomotive Company in 1926. Very colorful image. Thanks for sharing.
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Originally 490 was painted more an orange color. (Not that I ever saw it!) Personally, I find the "Yellowbellies" styling to be less than successful. On the other hand, this is the only engine I know of that still exists that has poppet valves! (Franklin Type A to be exact.) Look and see the absence of an eccentric crank and rod. Poppet valves, shaped like an automobile engine cylinder valve, allowed faster, more controllable valve events. This becomes more important as speed increases. Arguably the fastest steamer in the world, the PRR's T-1 duplex 4-4-4-4's had, you guessed it, poppet valves. However, they never caught on in the US due to expense and maintenance. BTW, nice photo Mitch!
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What an odd looking piece of machinery - very deco. Wicked!
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| Posted by Jan on July 18, 2010 | |
What a beauty! Thanks for sharing.
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This nitch you have for museum photos is impressive, Mitch! This is one of my favorites too. Sadly, my favorite is rusting away just outside that same building.
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Nice crisp photo! The nose on this streamliner is surely unique. I'll bet the maintenance men weren't thrilled with her stream lined exterior - it usually made repair work much more difficult. Since this lady has poppet valves, it sure would be neat to restore her and listen to 'poppet valve' stack talk.
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You're really putting that Canon wide angle to good use, Mitch!
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Sorry to add to an 11 year old discussion, but there are in fact two poppet-valved steam locomotives left in Britain; BR Standard Class 5 73129 and BR Standard Class 8P 71000 "Duke of Gloucester", both using British Caprotti gear, a derivative of the Caprotti gear trialled in the US. Both have been in steam this century.
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