Re: (erielack) Inaccuracies in models....IHC K5A

[Hhaines_@_aol.com]

In a message dated 5/1/01 2:09:58 PM MST, NJNYRR_@_aol.com writes:

<< 2) There is a small tank on the front (I don't know what this is called-=20
 forgive me)
 3) Some people claim the tender included is wrong, but this picture shows 
a=20
 squared tender, as the model comes with. =A0Some pictures of Pacifics that I=
 =20
 have seen do have a tender that is rounded in the back, kind of like a tank.=
 =20 >>

Dear Michael,

Please do not limit yourself.  Any question is a GOOD question.  Every part 
of that steam engine is a piece of history, industrial history if nothing 
else.  Some day, maybe industrial archeology.   

Now for some more history.  The small tank on the smoke box front would be an 
Elesco feedwater heater used to take the heat from the exhaust and put it 
into the water coming into the steam engine.  This improves the energy 
efficiency because the fireman does not need to put more coal into the 
firebox to raise the temperature of boiler feed water from air temperature to 
the boiler temperature.    

The locomotive tenders that were rounded in back like a tank were Vanderbilt 
tenders.  Indeed, they were rounded tanks for the water.  

Now to the Erie Pacifics. There were 20 Erie Pacific Class K-5s built in 1919 
to URSA Heavy Pacific specifications.  Erie #2915-2924 were built by Baldwin 
and #2925-2934 were built by ALCO (Sweetland, ERIE RAILROAD IN COLOR, p.  
They were delivered with URSA-type square tenders, and they did not have the 
Elesco feedwater heaters until the late 1920s or early 1930s (Crist, ERIE 
MEMORIES, p31).

Erie had Baldwin build another 12 Pacifics Class K-5A #2935-2944 as URSA 
Heavy Pacific copies in 1923 (Sweetland, ERIE RAILROAD IN COLOR, p49).  They 
were extensively rebuilt in 1940 with larger (six axle) tenders.  At least 
one received a smaller tender to enable turning on the short Jersey City 
turntable for commuter service.

I could not spot a photo of Erie #2936, but there are a number of photos of 
#2935 and a couple of #2937 (DeYoung, ERIE RAILROAD TRACKSIDE with Robert 
Collins).

I think George Elwood's web site has a roster of tender assignments for 1948 
and maybe an earlier one.  

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