Southern Pacific 2472 in Niles Canyon

I was out of town during Saturday's run, but wasn't going to miss the Memorial Day's run today!

2472 is one of three surviving Southern Pacific 4-6-2 "Pacific" steam locomotives. Enjoy.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• 2472
• Southern
• Pacific
• steam
• Niles
• Canyon
• Golden
• Gate
• Museum

[vwbeetleowner]

Why does it spin its wheels? at 1:09

[cchan006]

@vwbeetleowner: icars98 posted "somone must have oiled the points..." which is the best theory I've heard so far, as the wheel slip started right near the top of the switch.

[Kahless02]

i wonder if there was a rail greaser in that spot.

[cchan006]

The wheel slip did occur over a switch, and there could have been grease for the points?

[andrewwatson68]

Is it still around and running?

[cchan006]

Yup. 2472 ran again this year, during the Memorial Days holiday recently.

[CSX6000]

This engine has to be one of the prettiest pacific-type engines to be running in the world.

[traindude666]

Yes but when they slip, they suck cold air into the boiler, causing the boiler tubes to shrink, and then water leaks.

[Cockroach2008]

@AndreiTupolev Sure is! It would be nice to see this old junker being used for an artillery target.

[AndreiTupolev]

@Cockroach2008 Is there any point to this comment?

[spikewrath]

@cchan006 actually its some oil but its really the engineer over throwing the throttle and it pushes to much power to the drive wheels making them slip the more its over turn on the throttle valve the more they slip when they hit a slick spot of the track so yes oil most likely was involved.

[7822welshsteam]

Awesome sound! 

[ejovadi]

Nice steam movie. Big train!!

[Cockroach2008]

The headlight at 0:54, 2:14 & 4:34 make a very good rifle round target!

I think I would use a Barrett .50 caliber field gun to be sure to get a good boiler puncture!

Junk all the remaining steam locomotives! Junk 2472!

[Alwaystrains]

Damn, thats some serious wheel slip @1:10!!

[manthony1956]

Great show! I know this is the former SP right of way through the canyon. Are the wig wag signals also of SP vintage? I remember wig wag signals on this line from Niles to Altamont, but that was 40+ years ago.

[okdon]

In the late 30’s and early 40’s our family used to picnic in Niles Canyon. We would eat tuna fish sandwiches, potato chips and bottled cokes, then I would wade in the creek. The SP was up on one side of the canyon and the WP on the other, there would be one train or the other running through every 30 minutes to an hour, it was pretty exciting for a little kid :)

[foroke1]

@trainboy94 Wheelslip maybe, burnout, no. Check out Cumbres & Toltec 487s burnout, also my favorite steam locomotive ever.