The lure of train smoke

[jefelectric]

Must be a lot of us old guys on the forum if we remember burning coal. When I was a kid we had a coal furnace for heat in the winter and the rest of the year a smaller coal burner (called a bucket-a-day) to heat the water. As dougdagrump commented, really wouldn't want to go back to that system. The good old days only in memory.

I guess it would be neat to have smoke that smelled like coal smoke, as long as it didn't also contain the soot which turned everything black. My grandmother used to live a stone's throw from the PRR tracks when I was a kid. I loved it but she didn't feel the same. Particularly on wash day, no dryers back then.

[laz 57]

I just ordered the Apple harvest and Vinella.
2 eight ounce bottles for $24. +$4 s/h.
laz57

[laz 57]

Jts site is this...

http://www.megasteam.com/index.html

laz57

[Anonymous]

I have been wondering where one would get that J and T smoke (if I got that right...)? I know Tom showed me a bottle when I went to visit him, but I forgot the website where you can order some from. I am hoping to get my Big Boy out of layaway soon so that I can put it to the test. Unfortunately I'm stuck with the CW-80 until I can get the Z-4000 transformer, but it doesnt mean that I wouldnt be able to put it to the test. Since I live alone I don't have to worry about anyone else being offended by train smoke. [;)]

Chris

[dougdagrump]

At the time it was a dreaded chore to empty the ash bin but today it is looked upon with fond memories. Would I want to do it now, a snowball's chance in hadees. [sigh]

[Jumijo]

When I was a kid, we lived in a house with a coal shoot leading to the basement. It had a dirt floor and a field stone foundation. I remember my old man changing fuses right next to the coal pile.

Jim

[lionelsoni]

A dealer delivered it and put it down a chute into the basement.

[cnw1995]

I like the steam - rather than the smoke - of idling locomotives - the way they seem to breathe - a compressor going off and on; a valve clearing. I remember my grandfather asking me to get something out of the coal cellar - which was like a regular 'ol basement to me. How did the coal get to the houses - did you have to go pick it up?

[thor]

QUOTE: Originally posted by laz 57

Hey DONTRAINMAN,
I too grew up with having to take out the ashes and all.
I even had to screen them to get the coal that wasn't burnt up to put back into the coal bin to reuse.
It was part of life back then.
So smoke em if you got em.
I love it.
az57

Me too! My parents had an AGA (a combination water heater/cooker) and it was my job to trudge down to the coke bins twice a day to fill up two hods and bring em back to the kitchen, riddle the ashes, dump them and refill the AGA. Hard labor is what it was! Maybe its why I dont have the back problems so many of my peers seem to. My back got trained right!

[thor]

Does anyone make a smoke oil that really smells like coal?

If not, has anyone tried making some?

I was thinking of putting a tiny piece of coal into the blender and adding the dust to my smoke oil, letting it sit for a month or so then filtering it to get the solids out and trying it to see if the coal smell permeated the oil.

[darianj]

I like the look of the smoke, but don't run it too much. I noticed that the smell gets through the whole house.[|(]

[laz 57]

Hey DONTRAINMAN,
I too grew up with having to take out the ashes and all.
I even had to screen them to get the coal that wasn't burnt up to put back into the coal bin to reuse.
It was part of life back then.
So smoke em if you got em.
I love it.
az57

[laz 57]

Smoke em if ya got em.
laz57

[Anonymous]

I LOVE toy trains that as they get going they put out less and less smoke. It reminds me of the real thing.

[nblum]

Cigarettes once were considered glamorous too. Then it turned out they harmed children and other living things. Times change, we learn to like different things ;).

[wrmcclellan]

[#ditto]

[Anonymous]

I don't mind toy train smoke, but only in reasonable quantities. My MTH Standard Gauge steam locomotives pour out so much smoke that I've had to shut the smoke units off until I get my DCS components rigged up on the layout (since DCS allows one to adjust smoke output).

As for the real stuff: I grew up in a city where smoke from the railroads and steel mills was a part of everyday life. I must admit it has been nice to be able to see the stars in the night sky in my adult years, but I, like many, still find myself fascinated by the sight of a powerful, living, breathing steam locomotive belching out boisterous clouds while it goes about its work.

As far as diesels are concerned: They shouldn't smoke all that much if they're properly maintained (even ALCOs), so I couldn't care less if a model diesel smokes or not.

[Anonymous]

There have been several threads about how their engines either have too much smoke or not enough, but they all want they smoke acoming from those engines. People watching real steam engines coming down the track are hypnotized by the smell of coal smoke pouring out of the stack. I lost that loving feeling for the smell of smoke when I was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, in the mid-50's. Those World War II barracks were heated by coal furnaces and it stunk up the whole post. Besides that, we had to act as firemen and stoke those durned things. When you work with the real thing, the romance vanishes- cough, cough.