Smoke Question

Many, if not MOST railroads had strict policies about "smoke abatement" and "wasting Fuel"back in the days of work-a-day steam locomotives. So, a direct answer to your first question would be, NO. The crews were VERY aware of NOT producing "big black clouds of smoke".

 

Now, just because a coal burning steam locomotive was NOT issuing huge big clouds of visible smoke, does NOT mean that very hot soot, cinders, and ash is not exiting the stack. Thus, nice white laundry hung out to dry on a cloths line near the railroad, is going to occasionally pick-up some nice black specs.

 

Now, oil burning steam locomotives, burning bunker C heavy fuel, could really make a mess of drying laundry, if the Fireman happened to sand out the tubes while going by! The mess from an oil burner didn't just "shake off" the drying laundry, like the light dry particles from a coal burner.

Marty, if I understand your question, in the very earliest days--i.e., the mid-19th century--I suspect that the "science" of railroading hadn't developed to the point of understanding exactly what smoke was composed of--and therefore, they may not have equated voluminous smoke output with wasted fuel and inefficiency. I will look at John White's book on early steam locomotives and see what he has to say.

There is another aspect to this that is in play. The coal we use today is FAR better than the coal used back in the day. Back then, cost was about the only consideration when a railroad purchased coal for its locomotives. When I buy coal for the 765, the coal specs are most important to me and cost is secondary.

 

We buy coal that has:

• At least 12,500 btu per pound of coal
• Less than 6% ash
• At least 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit Fusion Temperature

Coal that meets those specs is very good coal, and costs about $150 per ton at the mine. It is also one of the reasons why we can climb the grade around Horseshoe Curve and not make any smoke. (A good fireman helps, too!) With lesser grade coal we would have been making a lot of smoke.

Rich how many tons of coal does the 765's tender hold and how much have you used since you left Ft. Wayne to start the NS excursions? 

When I was young living about a foot ball field from the D&H tracks my mother never hung white clothing out side. We had lines in the basement. Al

Marty, I didn't see that White addressed the issue; Angus Sinclair, a prominent railroad engineer/author in the late 19th/early 20th century, noted the importance of smoke as being wasteful of fuel in 1899 in his book "Locomotive Engine Running and Management" (an absolute classic if you can get a copy).

Rich

 

In a way you confirmed a little of my suspicion.  I doubt there was someone like you trying to get the "best" coal as opposed to the "cheapest" coal back in the day.

 

Maybe I'm wrong but I would suspect even though there might have been some concern, profit probably guided the way and since the locomotive wasn't thought of as a treasure some liberties were taken.

Profit was the "treasure" back in the day--not the machine. The cheapest fuel was sought. That eventually turned out to be coal.

The tender holds 22 tons...24 if we really stuff it full and pack it in the corners.

 

We've burned through about 300 tons so far. We bought 420 tons, so we'll have some left over when we get home.

I noticed in the last videos posted of 765 going around the curve, two things... A lack of black smoke, and no pops lifted after the one closed going into the curve.... My thoughts...

 

1. Good coal, and no need for smoke production

2. Rumor was Mr. Moorman was in the cab, hence the desire to have a clean stack... and

3. If the above rumor was true, it would have been a bit unwise to produce the smoke required to lift the pops to keep a "green" image???

 

Thanks to Rich and the FWRRHS!!!!!!

 

Dave

A good Fireman can still lift a safety, or two, and still keep a relatively clear stack.

Not a rumor, he was....right behind Rich.

It was also common to see a message such as "Save A Lump" -- I believe the IC used this particular message -- stenciled on the tender where the Engineer and Fireman could see it, and also displayed at various places around roundhouses or coal facilities.  In the ron-pants days of early 20th century railroading, when engines were assigned to Engineers, some railroads kept a record of the coal used by every Engineer and delivered criticism in a manner that showed they were not the local representatives of the Dale Carnegie Course.

 

And, while it was the Fireman who actually shoveled the coal, it was the Engineer who actually burned it by his skill in the use of the throttle and valve cutoff.

 

After locomotives were pooled, the individual locomotive fuel consumption (coal or oil) was recorded by armies of Mechanical Department clerks, mainly to identify engines that steamed poorly.

Item 1 - Right on the mark.

 

Item 2 - Mr. Moorman was in the cab sitting right behind me, but a "clean stack" was not an issue at all. Getting over the road was the primary concern. Good and proper firing does not produce much smoke anyway.

 

Item 3 - Total nonsense. Steve lifted the pops coming into the curve without making any smoke. And I can assure you that NO ONE on board the 765 on that climb cared one whit about anything "green."

 

 

Where do you guys get these ideas?

How is your team handling refueling and dumping of ash on this trip?

Quite well, apparently, since they haven't run out of coal yet. Plus, since it is very low ash content coal, the ashes simply disappear into the ballast when dumped and washed down with water.

Refueling is easy. All we need is two adjacent tracks. The coal goes on one and the 765 gets next to it on the other. Then the backhoe operator does his thing and in 15-30 minutes we're re-coaled and ready to go.

 

When it's time to dump ashes, we flood the ash pan with water from the injector. We blow the ashes down into the center hopper, fill the ash pan with water, then open the bottom door. All the ash and water rush out, just like flushing a commode. Since the ashes are totally soaked, there is no danger of setting a tie on fire.

 

Jack, if we ever were to run out of coal, I would get fired!  

Bad planning, you know.