Watching that locomotive cross that steel truss bridge was a bit more nerve wracking than I expected. The Big Boy with tender weighs about 1.3 million pounds. Think about that and roll it slowly over in your mind. The largest diesel electric locomotive made for Union Pacific was the now retired EMD DDA40X and it weighs in at a paltry 545,00 pounds. The Big Boy locomotive alone weighs 762,000 pounds. Thank you to all the bridge designers and those people who maintain the infrastructure.
Slide rule! And a good knowledge of scientific notation. I have long ago forgotten how to use a slide rule, but my knowledge of scientific notation still comes in handy for calculations in my head. I learned many years ago that working to 3 decimal places is usually good enough, and little that I've learned since then has made me change my mind.
Watching that locomotive cross that steel truss bridge was a bit more nerve wracking than I expected.
ReplyDeleteThe Big Boy with tender weighs about 1.3 million pounds. Think about that and roll it slowly over in your mind.
The largest diesel electric locomotive made for Union Pacific was the now retired EMD DDA40X and it weighs in at a paltry 545,00 pounds.
The Big Boy locomotive alone weighs 762,000 pounds.
Thank you to all the bridge designers and those people who maintain the infrastructure.
And it was calculated and designed with pencils on paper. No calculators or computers!
ReplyDeleteSlide rule! And a good knowledge of scientific notation. I have long ago forgotten how to use a slide rule, but my knowledge of scientific notation still comes in handy for calculations in my head.
ReplyDeleteI learned many years ago that working to 3 decimal places is usually good enough, and little that I've learned since then has made me change my mind.