[Attachment(s) from HOL WAGNER included below]
I'm attaching five PMC views from the Thirties and Forties that show pretty well the front end arrangment of the 275-hp cars. The earliest view, of 9847 at unknown location in the early or mid-1930s shows nearly the original configuration of the car, with no outside radiator shutters and only a screen over the radiator -- not a good arrangement in winter. Note, though, that the short, factory-installed vent pipe to the left of the headlight has already been extended; the fitting around the pipe was the original top. Also note that the presumed compressed air cooler has a mesh not unlike that of a radiator over the curved pipes. And note the absence of visible horn. Next is the view of 9728 at Galesburg in 1942 with the Q-designed and built radiator shutters in place and closed. Note the presence of two air horns and the extended vent pipe. The ladder to the roof and the footboards on the roof suggest a water filler up there, as the engine and generator were removed through a large door on the other side of the car; see next photo. Next is 9839 at Centralia, Ill., in 1940 showing the Q-installed radiator shutters -- again closed and the rear support for the pipes of the air cooler. Also visible, though barely, is the side door for removing the engine and generator, with an open man door at its forward edge. The door's three hinges are visible along the rear edge of the red paint. Next, Q 9836 after sale to the Alabama, Tennessee & Northern as AT&N 52 at York, Ala., also in 1940. It shows the makeshift radiator shutters and canvas cover (rolled up) that AT&N applied, along with two additional front end modifications: shuttered opening on left (right in photo) side and hinged door (open here) below engineer's front window. The vent pipe is absent, and the air cooler shows pretty plainly. Finally, Q 9773 at Peoria in the late 1940s with a second set of air cooler pipes added directly above the first and the vent pipe extended upward to clear the new cooling pipes. Also, in this view the radiator shutters are in the full open position. I also have 5x7 negatives of several builder's photos that show the orifinal front of these cars and the engine and generator installed, including a view through the open left side door. But my scanner won't handle negs this large, so I'll have to get them scanned elsewhere and will post them when I do. Hol
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com From: clipperw@gmail.com Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2013 11:13:52 -0600 Subject: [CBQ] Re: Gas-Electric Cars (pre diesel converstion)
Thanks to others comments and source references on the list, I have done a little more research on how the Q G-Es functioned as originally built. As I stated earlier, the front shutter assembly between the front windows covered a large relatively thin radiator mounted vertically. As noted by other listers, there indeed was a fan or fans located inside the cab area left of the engineer. In consulting Corbin's and Hardy's book "Burlington in Transition" there are a number of good photos and several drawings. The drawing on page 134 is particularly informative as is the photo at the bottom left on page 135.
The fan motor, which is listed on the drawing as a model W-Y-17-A2, appears to have been mounted in a chase behind the radiator assembly. The fan motor may have driven more than one fan blade assembly. The chase ducted the air upward to the roof and the roof like shaped structure that curves toward the rear and is located behind the headlight. The sides of this roof duct clearly has vents at the sides as seen in the bottom photo on p. 135. It may have also had a vent at the rear toward the three exhaust stacks, but I have seen no photo confirmation of that. It does, however, seem that the system would need more venting area than the side grills, considering the size of the radiator. The drawing indicates that car no. 9844 carried 200 gallons of gasoline and 125 gallons of water. The fuel tank would be underneath the car, but the water tank could have been either underneath or somewhere in the cab area. Because of limited space, suspended from the cab ceiling would make the most sense. Based on my diesel experience, the water tank needs to be somewhere in the vicinity of the rest of the cooling system. The water in the water tank probably was circulated through the cooling system continually. I suspect that the engine cooling system on the G-Es was very similar to the automobiles and trucks of the 1920s.
There was no other water used on the cars. Drinking water was probably a can. The toilet was a straight hole downward to the track (I remember those on older passenger and commuter cars!), and the heating system was a vapor coal stove which may have had a closed water (steam?) circulation system through the passenger and/or baggage compartment. (Anybody know for sure how the cars were heated). The Vapor heaters were mounted in the baggage compartment and all the drawings show a coal bin located next to the heater. They probably were tended by the baggage man or a trainman. (What was the normal crew on a G-E?) Early photos, prior to 1941, do not show the tall vertical pipe to the right of the headlight. However, my photos, those on Jan Kohl's Castle Graphics website and the photo of car no. 9038 on p. 118 of the Corbin/Hardy book, taken in 1948, do show the pipe. It appears to be a cooling system vent pipe that was added or extended for some reason. It also appears that the Q added a vertical bracket for mounting the air horns above the engineer. Originally, they were mounted at roof level, then later on the bracket.
If anyone has or knows of an overhead photo of the front of one of the G-Es before conversion to diesel, it could help identify the fittings on top of the cars and their functions.
Bill Barber
Gravois Mills, MO
Attachment(s) from HOL WAGNER
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