Up early this morning and on the road by 6:30. My destination was the town of Keystone, SD in the middle of the Black Hills. Of course to get to it Emma, my GPS device, decided to take the scenic route up through the towns of Hot Springs, Custer and Hill City before dropping me back down the hill into Keystone itself. I didn't mind though, as along the way I got to stop and watch a herd of wild buffalo feeding in one of the little prairies up in the middle of the mountains. Along with assorted full grown bison, there were also plenty of little newborn calves cavorting around in the rich grass. They were very cute, even from a distance. Also seen along the way were plenty of deer, antelope and turkeys, so it was a wildlife filled morning.
   The whole purpose for going up there in the first place was to ride on the '1880's Train' that runs between the towns of Keystone and Hill City. I had made a reservation the other day so there was no problem getting on at the proper boarding time of 11:00 a.m. Even though busy, the train wasn't completely full, so I ended up with a seat to myself just 3 cars back from the engine. I found this to be the ideal location for taking pictures as it was close enough to see the engine as it rounded some of the extremely sharp corners, without being blocked out by all the other cars. It also meant that there was less smoke from the engine blowing back on you, and the whistle wasn't quite as loud as it was blown multiple times every time the track crossed a road. Twenty times each way actually.
    Even though it is only a 9 mile trip each direction the ride is still quite enjoyable. The rail line parallels the newer highway on it's way up the canyon of course, as that is the only place either one of them could of been built. The grade up hill to Hill City is still one of the steepest railroad grades in the world, as it varies from 4% to 6% overall. Most modern railroads limit their grades to 2% or less, and even then they have trouble on long sections with those grades and have to add on 'helper' engines at times. The engine for today's train was an articulated 2-6-6-2T Mallet and it pulled the 7 loaded passenger cars up the hill with no problem.
   One of only two 2-6-6-2 Mallets still running, it is a wonderful engine to see and listen to. The numbers refer to the wheel arrangement on the engine, it having 2 front wheels, or trucks, to guide the engine, then 6 driving wheels comprising the 'front' engine, then 6 more drive wheels comprising the 'rear' engine and then 2 final wheels in the back that help steer the engine when going in reverse as well as help support the weight of the fire box.
    The 'T' in the description denotes it as a 'tank' engine, one that has a water tank that wraps around the boiler and holds the water the engine uses to make steam. By integrating the tank into the engine itself it accomplishes several things. One is that it no longer needs it's own tender to carry the water for the engine, which saves weight as well as making it easier to see behind the engine. It also puts the weight of the water right over the drive wheels which make the tractive effort much more efficient. And lastly, the water is preheated by being wrapped around the boiler and therefor takes less fuel to heat it up until it is steaming. That is important because this engine also carries all of it's own fuel, in the form of used oil, in a tank at the back of the engine instead of towing a larger fuel tender.
    This type of engine was first designed by a Frenchman named Mallet, (Mah Lay), to increase the efficiency of steam locomotives. Ordinary engines take steam and run it through high pressure cylinders at the front of the drive wheels and then exhaust that steam into the air after it has been used once. Mallet just took that used, high pressure steam, and ran it forward into a pair of larger, lower pressure cylinders and let it run another whole set of drive wheels. Effectively getting nearly twice as much work, (not quite twice), as regular locomotives.
    Of course there are drawbacks to this arrangement, especially in locomotives that are designed to be run on lines that have steep grades and tight curves. The biggest problem is that with 12 drive wheels in line, as well as 2 sets of trucks, you can't get the engine to negotiate, (bend), around tight corners very well. It's like trying to turn a semi truck around in the same space as a sports car. So Mallet did another unique thing in that he put the front trucks and engine on a hinge attached to the rest of the locomotive at the back. That way each engine could turn in a much smaller radius and still have more power. It's pretty wild watching that front engine swing out to the side as you go around a corner or through a turnout. That's why it's always so much fun to ride on this train.
    No problem with parts falling off or breaking on the engine today so it was a pretty uneventful ride. Still very beautiful as you pass through the granite cuts and view the Black Hills in the distance. Oh; I learned something new today. I always knew that the Black Hills got their name from the Native Americans who were here long before we were, but the reason the Black Hills look black is because of the type of tree that grows on most of their slopes. The tree is the Ponderosa Pine and is a large evergreen tree with very long needles. The needles have a slightly triangular shape to them in cross section, with one side being nearly flat. That side tends to absorb light for photosynthesis better than the other sides and therefore it doesn't reflect as much light back in the green spectrum. So it looks more black most of the time.... pretty cool huh?
    I came on into Rapid City after my train ride in search of an ice tea jug that will fit in my fridge. I finally found a glass one that looks like it will work so maybe now I'll be able to put my sun tea in the fridge to get cold.
    Need to head back towards Chadron now though. It's about two hours away from the trailer and I would like to get back in time to download some of the photo's from today. I'll try to get some of them loaded up and posted in the next day or two. Oh.... plus I need a nap.










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