Monday, January 10, 2022

Probably pulling itself up the hill, given the head of steam it looks like they've gotten up in the picture.

 


7 comments:

  1. Running a boiler on an incline leads to disaster. I don't know if that applies to this engine.
    I would think a heavy something on the other end of the cable going downhill is what is happening here.

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    1. I would imagine donkey engines were designed to operate on inclines since that's what they were frequently used for - and what the photo caption says is going on.

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  2. No steam required on the way down

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  3. There are several steam jennys scattered out in the woods of North Idaho. I've always wanted to refurbish one just to learn about them.

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    1. There used to be two skids for steam donkeys right off the pavement between Feather Falls and Lumpkin (near Oroville, CA) back in the mid 80s. No boilers or winches, just the skids. They were massive.
      They probably burned up in the Bear/North Complex fires year before last. I shall forever kick myself in the booty for not stopping and checking them out back then. They were real throwbacks to the past and looked to still be very sound. Unfortunately, I was too busy working 17 hours a day to stop and check them out.

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  4. when they got to the far end of the cut, they were frequently just left there, as it was not worth the effort to get it out. if the woods were acidic, then they rusted to nothing. if not they were still there to be found.

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  5. A lot of tunnel boring machines are left underground, like the Chunnel machines. The operators simply bore a side tunnel and bury the machine inside it.

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