Episode 5: ATSF Motive Power - John Player and the Compounding Era.

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John Player was one of Santa Fe's most innovative Mechanical Officers and his influence was felt into the 1990's. This is the story of his accomplishments.

Santa Fe Railway was now poised to begin experimenting with four-cylinder tandem compound locomotives. Compounding steam (using the steam twice, first in a high-pressure cylinder then passing it on to a low-pressure cylinder before finally exhausting into the atmosphere) was first done on ships. Some ocean-going vessels used steam up to five times, but this is not practical on a locomotive due to the complexity of the machinery involved.

John Player’s compound era lasted fourteen years between 1890 and 1914. During this period Santa Fe became a leading advocate of compounding steam and experimented with many and various types and styles of compound locomotives.

Video Contents:
0:00 Introduction
00:08 John Player, becomes Superintendent of Machinery on June 1, 1890.
01:11 Santa Fe Railroad experiments with four-cylinder tandem compound locomotives.
03:40 John Player's career accomplishments.
05:49 The 2-10-0 Decapods.
07:16 The 2-10-2 Santa Fe Type Locomotives.
08:12 Players' final foray with compound steam.
09:12 John Purcell takes over the next decade.