N.C.T.M. fires up coal engine

John Barnett (left), Gil Williams and Mike Stovall work to bring the 1930 Flagg Coal Steam engine up to steam before a day of rides at the NCTM n Spencer. The North Carolina Transportation museum is offering its "At the Throttle" experience for fans of historic railroad equipment. For $100, participates get to drive a steam engine across part of the facility. A thirty minute safety class and the time at the throttle and even the whistle completes the experience. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

The 1930 Flagg Coal Steam engine comes off the round table before a day of rides at the NCTM in Spencer. The North Carolina Transportation museum is offering its "At the Throttle" experience for fans of historic railroad equipment. For $100, participates get to drive a steam engine across part of the facility. A thirty minute safety class and the time at the throttle and even the whistle completes the experience. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Salisbury Post columnist Mark Wineka, rides with fireman Gil Williams, engineer Mike Stovall, and engineer John Barnett backs up the 1930 Flagg Coal Steam engine to its starting location before a day of rides at the NCTM in Spencer. The North Carolina Transportation museum is offering its "At the Throttle" experience for fans of historic railroad equipment. For $100, participates get to drive a steam engine across part of the facility. A thirty minute safety class and the time at the throttle and even the whistle completes the experience. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Salisbury Post columnist Mark Wineka (right) watches as engineer John Barnett takes the throttle of the 1930 Flagg Coal Steam engine before starting a day of rides at the NCTM in Spencer. The North Carolina Transportation museum is offering its "At the Throttle" experience for fans of historic railroad equipment. For $100, participates get to drive a steam engine across part of the facility. A thirty minute safety class and the time at the throttle and even the whistle completes the experience. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Salisbury Post columnist Mark Wineka is seen through a window in the cab of the 1930 Flagg Coal Steam engine before a day of rides at the NCTM in Spencer. The North Carolina Transportation museum is offering its "At the Throttle" experience for fans of historic railroad equipment. For $100, participates get to drive a steam engine across part of the facility. A thirty minute safety class and the time at the throttle and even the whistle completes the experience. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

John Barnett backs up the 1930 Flagg Coal Steam engine to its starting location before a day of rides at the NCTM in Spencer. The North Carolina Transportation museum is offering its "At the Throttle" experience for fans of historic railroad equipment. For $100, participates get to drive a steam engine across part of the facility. A thirty minute safety class and the time at the throttle and even the whistle completes the experience. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Engineer in training Mike Stovall switches the track as the 1930 Flagg Coal Steam engine backs up the line before starting a day of rides at the NCTM in Spencer. The North Carolina Transportation museum is offering its "At the Throttle" experience for fans of historic railroad equipment. For $100, participates get to drive a steam engine across part of the facility. A thirty minute safety class and the time at the throttle and even the whistle completes the experience. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Engineer Mike Stovall adds some fuild to an oil reservoir as the 1930 Flagg Coal Steam engine builds steam before a day of rides at the NCTM in Spencer. The North Carolina Transportation museum is offering its "At the Throttle" experience for fans of historic railroad equipment. For $100, participates get to drive a steam engine across part of the facility. A thirty minute safety class and the time at the throttle and even the whistle completes the experience. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Mike Stovall waits at a switch as the 1930 Flagg Coal Steam engine backs up before a day of rides at the NCTM in Spencer. The North Carolina Transportation museum is offering its "At the Throttle" experience for fans of historic railroad equipment. For $100, participates get to drive a steam engine across part of the facility. A thirty minute safety class and the time at the throttle and even the whistle completes the experience. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

The North Carolina Transportation museum is offering its "At the Throttle" experience for fans of historic railroad equipment. For $100, participates get to drive a steam engine across part of the facility. A thirty minute safety class and the time at the throttle and even the whistle completes the experience. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

With Mike Stovall (right) at the switch, Salisbury Post columnist Mark Wineka, rides with fireman Gil Williams as engineer John Barnett backs up the 1930 Flagg Coal Steam engine before a day of rides at the NCTM in Spencer. The North Carolina Transportation museum is offering its "At the Throttle" experience for fans of historic railroad equipment. For $100, participates get to drive a steam engine across part of the facility. A thirty minute safety class and the time at the throttle and even the whistle completes the experience. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Engineer Mike Stovall steps of the 1930 Flagg Coal Steam engine before a day of rides at the NCTM in Spencer. The North Carolina Transportation museum is offering its "At the Throttle" experience for fans of historic railroad equipment. For $100, participates get to drive a steam engine across part of the facility. A thirty minute safety class and the time at the throttle and even the whistle completes the experience. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

Fireman Gil Williamsbrings up the steam in the 1930 Flagg Coal Steam engine before a day of rides at the NCTM in Spencer. The North Carolina Transportation museum is offering its "At the Throttle" experience for fans of historic railroad equipment. For $100, participates get to drive a steam engine across part of the facility. A thirty minute safety class and the time at the throttle and even the whistle completes the experience. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

SPENCER — The Flagg 75 steam engine spits, coughs, breathes heavily and blows off a lot of steam before it finally moves.

In other words, I can relate.

I hopped into the cab of the 1930 workhorse locomotive Saturday morning as Engineer John Barnett of Raleigh backed it onto the roundtable at the N.C. Transportation Museum.

We took about a quarter turn before locking in and heading south on our warm-up run. The white steam we released made us a moving cloud at first.

On the right side of the cab, Barnett manned the throttle. Also within reach were the reverse gear, the locomotive and train brakes, injectors for water and even levers to release sand for more traction on the tracks.

“It’s easy to operate, but they can be temperamental,” Barnett said of these coal-fired beasts.

Going forward, Barnett can watch the tracks ahead through a small window. Or in forward or reverse, he can poke his head out the side opening, much like a happy dog hanging out the window of his master’s car.

Also on board was Fireman Gil Williams of Lexington, S.C., and Mike Stovall of Greensboro, a fireman in training. All three men are regular transportation museum volunteers who love anything to do with trains and their operation.

Williams was the first to notice Saturday morning’s snowflakes. The season’s first signs of snow always are worth comment, though the forecast did not seem to threaten the day’s agenda.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, the museum offered railroad buffs the chance to operate the Flagg 75 on the south-end tracks for 30-minute intervals at $100 a pop.

During the day, there were 13 different engineers (under the watchful eye of Barnett). “They’re at the throttle under supervision,” Barnett said.

“That’s a big point,” Williams stressed.

The “At the Throttle” experience also was held Nov. 20, and will be offered again this coming Saturday and Dec. 18. Slots for the guest engineers filled up quickly for all the dates — none are left — but the steam locomotive will be returning next March and April.

The crew allowed me to ride along while they positioned the locomotive and loaded in the coal and water they needed before the runs began.

“Do you want us to throw him off somewhere along the way?” Barnett asked one of the museum employees before we started.

They all agreed it would make good video.

As we pushed down the track, Williams opened the silver door to the boiler, scraped some coal off the floor with his shovel and threw the fuel into the roaring fire. Though outside temperatures were around freezing, the cab was perfectly toasty.

He had started firing up the locomotive at 6 a.m. by creating a bed of coal and igniting a pile of wood on top of that. For the rest of the day, it was coal upon coal.

The fireman must keep a constant watch on the water level as seen through glass tubes just above the firebox. The water level has to stay above the firebox. Otherwise, there would be a tremendous explosion.

“There would be pieces (of people and locomotive) for a long way,” Williams said.

After closing the firebox, Williams assumed a position on the left side of the cab, acting as Barnett’s check-off, alerting him to what was going on at switches and crossings.

“I’m kind of like the eyes on this side of the engine,” Williams said.

He yelled to Barnett that the switches ahead were correct. Barnett soon yanked on the locomotive’s rope for the whistle and played a tune that surely woke up most of Spencer.

It sounded great.

Earlier, when the locomotive was warming up at the roundhouse, Williams turned a safety valve to release built-up pressure. He wore ear plugs, because it’s an ear-piercing release of steam.

“Well, we have to test it,” said Williams, who is an engineering supervisor at a nuclear plant in Columbia, S.C. He reported to Barnett the readings of the pressure gauge inside the cab — what it popped at and what it closed at.

The steam engine’s water tank fits like a saddle over the large boiler.

Williams opened the door to the firebox to show me the wall at the far end from where tubes extend to heat the water, to create the steam. In the cab, there are two injectors to supply the water needed.

“As the engineer uses steam, you have to watch the water level,” Williams said.

A dual relationship exists between steam pressure and temperature. “If I have to measure temperature, I can just watch the steam pressure,” Williams explained.

A mechanical engineer by training and railroad buff since childhood, Williams loves the intricacies of working with the old engine.

“Boilers and steam locomotives are almost human,” he said.

Understanding how a steam locomotive works is not that complicated, Williams added, but the people operating it have to pay attention to details. There can be no slips.

When the Flagg 75 engine first left the roundtable, it bumped along like it needed shock absorbers. Williams told me to look at the spots on the tracks behind us. Those used to be rocks, he said.

Plus, “these things weren’t made for riding comfort,” one of the men said.

Down the track, Stovall easily hopped off and went back to flip the switches, so the engine could back up to the loading spot for coal and a fire hydrant for water.

Later, up the track, volunteers delivered five-gallon buckets filled with coal that Williams dumped into the two bunkers at the back of the cab.

The doors at the bottom of the bunkers open so that the coal falls onto the floor as needed.

At the hydrant, the men let the water flow into the tank until it overflowed from the top.

“This is pretty much the way we would have done it in the old days,” Barnett explained of the whole process.

He expected a bunker-and-a-half of coal to be enough for the whole day, though the locomotive would have to top off its water tank again in the afternoon.

Vulcan Iron Works built this Flagg 75 engine. It initially was used in a coal mine near Scranton, Pa., but after the Depression, it spent the rest of its working days moving cars around in Pennsylvania and New York rock quarries.

In 1954, the engine was purchased by Dr. Stanley Groman, who opened the first operating rail museum in the country — Rail City in Sandy Pond, N.Y. The museum closed in 1974, and the Flagg 75 engine fell into disrepair until its rescue in 1991 by Gramling Locomotive Works.

The Gramling father-son team restored the locomotive, which now travels to events across the country. The wife (and mother) of the Gramlings wrote a children’s book connected to the engine’s restoration and, for the book’s purposes, named it “Hank.”

The outside of the cab bears that name and some fake bullet holes.

Barnett explained that the bullet holes come from a Civil War re-enactment in Indiana.

Barnett, a car inspector for Norfolk Southern in Raleigh, carries a lot of respect for the ingenuity behind the little locomotive. As it took on water, he explained how the heavy-breathing sound came from an air compressor and how steam powers a small generator, which feeds the headlight and all the lighting in the cab.

At times when it’s resting, steam seems to escape from every orifice of the locomotive, making it that more intriguing.

“They didn’t have computers when they designed these things,” Barnett said. “That’s what I remind people. They were smart.”

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or mwineka@salisburypost.com

For more information on future “At the Throttle” events, contact the N.C. Transportation Museum at 704-636-2889, ext. 237.