Fireless Locomotive

[Anonymous]

How did  the North American Rayon Company's Firelesss 0-6-0T generate steam? They were used on the East Tenessee and  Western, North Carolina  Railroad.

[kevikens]

I don't know how your fireless steamer got its power but in Pennsylvania one of the Power and Light companies pumped steam from a stationary boiler into their units and this enabled them to run around for a while. When the pressure dropped they went back for a recharge. I think they wrere manufactured by Porter.

[wjstix]

Ya the short answer is "they didn't". That's why they were called fireless cookers. In most cases engines like that were used at a factory or other plant where fire would be a hazard. They went to a place in the industry to be charged up with steam, which could be held under pressure inside a big tank straddling the 'boiler' (which didn't actually boil anything in this case). They were used here in MN in some flour mills into the early 1980's.

[malcolmyoung]

Fireless locomotives did generate steam! In the receiver, which was heavily insulated, was very hot water and steam which was supplied from a stationary boiler at a fairly high pressure. As the steam was used, the pressure in the receiver falls thereby allowing the water to boil and generate more steam. This process could continue for several hours, depending on how much use the locomotive was getting. When the water level got so low that the steam space sbove it was much greater, the pressure of the steam would be so low that there would not be much power left. It was then time for a refill. If the receiver was just filled with steam alone, it would not last very long.

Here in the U.K., fireless locomotives were common in oil refineries, explosives factories, chemical plants and other places where there was a high risk of explosion from a naked flame. These same locations would have a ready souce of hot water and steam from their process steam boilers.

 Malc.

[Anonymous]

Here is the Union Electric 4. 1946 Four-Wheel Fireless (0-4-0F) steam locomotive at the Illinois Railway Museum.

 

As you know, a fireless locomotive does not have a firebox, and cannot make its own steam. It instead relies upon an external steam source to refill the insulated pressure vessel with a mixture of hot water and high pressure steam. Fireless locomotives were particularly suited for power plants, where steam was readily available. They were also frequently used in mines, chemical plants, and other industries where smoke and sparks could be hazardous.

The H.K. Porter Company was one of the largest builders of fireless and other small industrial locomotives. Union Electric purchased UE 4  for switching in its power pant in Venice, Illinois, near St. Louis, where it ran until 1976. It came to IRM in 1982. It is the smallest of three utility switchers at IRM, and the youngest locomotive in the collection. Nearly fifty 0-4-0F’s are preserved, along with a few 0-6-0F’s and one 0-8-0F.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, That was a very good answer. Cleared up the question for me.

                                                                                                               dlm

[markn]

Very interesting-were there special steps taken with the wheels and rails to minimize potential sparks? (such as brass tools used in some explosiove work areas)?