# Strasburg RR Hostling Tour Video



## Tom Parkins (Jan 2, 2008)

Strasburg RR offers a hostler tour. The hostler is the crew member who prepares a steam engine for service. The tour is small, 5-10 people, and a tour guide explains the steps as the hostler does his work. Plenty of opportunity for Q and A. 

I produced a short video of the tour. Hope this enlightens you:






I have worked on numerous steam engines in daily service and have pulled the throttle for over 2000 miles mostly at mainline speeds. Strasburg has done a nice job of explaining all of this. Not much grease used any more as they don't make it the way they used to. Mostly they are changing to oil instead of grease. 

Engine #90 is a 2-10-0 and is used in daily service. The fire is banked over night. Nobody comes in to add coal over night. It still had 150 lbs of pressure in the morning. Let me know if you have any questions.


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

Great video Tom! Thanks for sharing!


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## ewarhol (Mar 3, 2014)

Strasburg is a neat place to visit. Been there a few times, and rode the train once. Very scenic ride.


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