Where do you put the water for my steam locomotive?

Look here:

http://www.midcontinent.org/kids/kids_whatsteam.html

Here's another:

http://www.oocities.org/wp_loco/wp_sheeju.swf

click on the lantern "How A Steam Loco Works" then click on the "RUN THE ENGINE" red button below the drawing of the engine.

The tender carries the fuel and water for the locomotive.  The fuel, either oil, coal, or wood, is in the front half of the tender.  The water is in the rear half of the tender.  For the water, there are hoses that go from the water tank in the tender to the injectors on the locomotive.  Because the locomotive runs off of high pressure steam, you can't just open the boiler and dump water in, all the steam would come rushing out, killing you.  So there are special injectors that take the water from the tender via the hose and force it into the boiler.  The only time you would add water directly to a boiler otherwise is when it's cold, as in no fire and no steam pressure.

Prithee, you jest? Steam locomotives have not only fired coal from their tenders,

but they have also fired wood, oil, and peat, and maybe sawdust or ?  This is usually carried in a bunker at the front of the tender, and water takes up the remaining space behind the fuel on the tender.  And, in "tank" engines, which do not have tenders, oil, coal, or wood have been carried on an attached bunker, often bolted to the back of the cab, with a "tank" for water wrapped around the top of the boiler in front of the cab.

They are a little more self-contained.

Well the Santa Fe 2900 class 4-8-4 carried 24,500 gallons of water and 7,000 gallons of oil.  (For reference, that's the equivalent of 573 total 55 gallon drums)

Their 3160 class 2-8-2's carried 12,000 gallons of water and 16 tons of coal (or 15,000 gal. water and 20 tons coal with the larger tender.)

Kinda hard to cram all that fuel and water on a locomotive.

Rusty

Getting the water to the locomotive is easy, getting the coal/wood/whatever in the boiler was always the hard part.

Fantastic responses.   Thanks for all of the info, explanations, attachments.  I know how to simulate stops at my "water" and "coal" stations and approximately where on the tenders to place the spouts and conveyers for refills.   Thanks again.... Brian

I thought the water goes in the water hatch, which is part of the tender....

What, no sand?