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Nilgiri Toy Train

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Nilgiri said:
@VCheng @Hamartia Antidote @Gibbs @Joe Shearer @Dante80 @GeraltofRivia et. al

The spirit is the same everywhere in the world when it comes to old school Steam power!:


@Desert Fox I noticed I forgot to tag you in the 1st post...are you a fan of steam locos?
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Interesting. They certainly are a unique piece of technology. Don't know too much about them unfortunately.

Thanks for the tag. Will watch.

Also I believe you did tag me in the first post.

Btw these aren't exactly toys, now are they ?

At first I thought you were referring to model train sets but these are life size.
 
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Nilgiri said:
Ah damn must have missed that hah.



Yeah...just the smallest versions like found in the hill-trains in India...are often referred to as "toy" train.
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I think there's one in the Khyber pass from colonial times still operated by the local tourist agency or something. I actually like these because they still give that feel of early industrial era machines.

Btw are steam engines more environmentally friendly compared to diesel engine ones?
 
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Desert Fox said:
I think there's one in the Khyber pass from colonial times still operated by the local tourist agency or something. I actually like these because they still give that feel of early industrial era machines.
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Yep picture series runs for a while here courtesy of @ghazi52 :

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/whatever.46703/page-5040#post-10989190

But its a far larger conventional loco for sure. My grandpa's older brother was a loco pilot (back in the 40s, 50s, 60s) for one of these more conventionally sized (YP series) locos:


Steam power runs in our family I suppose.

Desert Fox said:
Btw are steam engines more environmentally friendly compared to diesel engine ones?
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Nah Steam engines thermal efficiencies are low (basically 90%+ of the heat from the fuel is lost to the environment and not used as useful work...hence 90% of the pollutants are basically produced for no work).

So even if you use the cleanest washed, sorted coal possible (i.e not too much ash, soot that flies from carrying it around etc)...you wont extract the same amount of energy as a diesel engine (even one from say the 50s) can per amount of "pollutant" (whether you consider CO2 to be one...or just the other stuff).

This basic issue extends even when you replace the coal and make the steam engine oil/gas fired (i.e some cleaner fluid hydrocarbon)...because it uses a big boiler (that introduces water as the intermediate working fluid) compared to Diesel in an internal combustion engine (which basically converts the chemical energy of the fuel directly into motion, foregoing the need for a working fluid).

Basically the total efficiencies look like less than 10% for steam engine locomotive (often as low as 4 or 5%)...whereas more like 30 - 40% for diesel traction.

The best way to actually harness steam power is to use a turbine (rather than reciprocal piston mechanics that a steam locomotive uses)....but even that would pose problems at the size of a typical locomotive (generally you need to go lot larger to harness the efficiency well, hence steam turbines are generally found in power stations and large ships).

The good thing about turbines (rankine cycle) basically are (unlike a piston steam engine)...the working fluid is condensed/reused (so you don't have to waste all the energy in massively reheating fresh stock of it...not to mention having to replenish it all the time)....you can also get much higher boiler pressures as a result (good for useful work)...and overall since the system is more "closed" (and non reciprocating, which saves even more energy)...it can be insulated far better to prevent energy losses. But basically even with all of this, (hydrocarbon fired) steam turbines only become competitive with diesel engines at far larger sizes than found on locomotives. Coal (as a result) is basically much better off being used for static power plants (where you can put in large steam turbines) rather than prime movers like locomotives.

@Joe Shearer @Dante80 @VCheng @anant_s @Gibbs @Godman @Atlas @Mage @Gomig-21
 
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Thanks God.

Now I know the meaning of Nilgiri, the mountains...
 
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Skies said:
Thanks God.

Now I know the meaning of Nilgiri.

The mountains...
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Some BD members (back when I was new) said there is Nilgiri in BD too (Bandarban area)....and they rushed to thinking I must be secretly Bangladeshi too lol (since my more skewed engagement with BD subforum was just starting)

I was like...let me show you the real Nilgiris boys!
 
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Nilgiri said:
Some BD members (back when I was new) said there is Nilgiri in BD too (Bandarban area)....and they rushed to thinking I must be secretly Bangladeshi too lol (since my more skewed engagement with BD subforum was just starting)

I was like...let me show you the real Nilgiris boys!
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Ah, it's beautiful country - except for the water shortages. That's why in some ways I like Wynad so much - or even a tract not very well known, the hilly hinterland of the entire Mahe to Bekal stretch, perhaps even down to the outskirts of Kochi, stretching it a bit. Somehow, that part of Kerala appeals to me much more than the southern bits, although any self-respecting Syrian Christian would probably throw me under the bus for my impertinence.
 
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Nilgiri said:
Few more toy trains in India (recently released official IR videos):


This one largely uses diesel loco now:


One darjeeling steam loco (#794) was transferred and later converted to oil-firing for use in Neral railway though. @anant_s @jbgt90 @padamchen @Joe Shearer @Dante80 @Skull and Bones



Haha look at her go :smitten: :


@GeraltofRivia @Gibbs @Godman @VCheng @Skies @Hamartia Antidote @Signalian @M. Sarmad @Moonlight
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These narrow gauge relics served a useful purpose back then and even now, so I wouldn't call them toy trains but miniature workhorses that have endured the test of time.
 
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VCheng said:
These narrow gauge relics served a useful purpose back then and even now, so I wouldn't call them toy trains but miniature workhorses that have endured the test of time.
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It is just an affectionate name :) They are certainly not typical "toys" at all.
 
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Nilgiri said:
It is just an affectionate name :) They are certainly not typical "toys" at all.
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The level of engineering and construction knowhow that went into creating the tracks and the trains is quite remarkable even today, let alone in the era they were created.
 
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@jbgt90 : "Where is our resident train enthusiast ? anant_s " (@anant_s )

I tagged him, he just casually checks in when he has time....no longer frequenting forum as much he once did. He will say hello to your when he pops in next :-)

I wonder if he has been on this (Neral) railway...:crazy_pilot:
 
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