Steam Loco fire glow

[Anonymous]

Can anyone tell me from where the fire of a steam locomotive can be seen by a track side observer? I would expect a glow from inside the cab at the firedoors but are there any other places from where the light is emitted?

[cacole]

Yes, from the side of the firebox where the fireman moves the coals around with a long poker to spread the fire evenly when the engine is going to sit unattended for an extended period, such as an overnight stop. There is a long slot measuring 3 or 4 inches high running practically the entire length of the firebox on both sides.

[lupo]

I saw tiny plantation / industrial steam locomotives where sparks and flames from the fire lit the smoke coming out of the smokestack.

[Anonymous]

Ian--

On a coal- or wood-burning locomotive, the bottom of the firebox is composed mostly of grates. The grates admit combustion air to the fire, and the fire glow is emitted through them. Below the grates, on most locos, will be an ash pan or ash hoppers, which prevent hot material from falling onto the tracks. Fire glow will be visible to lineside observers through the gap between the bottom of the firebox and the ash pan.

The bottom of the firebox on an oil-burner has no grates--instead it is covered with firebrick. Only relatively small openings, equipped with dampers, admit combustion air. It is very difficult to observe much in the way of fire glow from an oil burner.

Also note that the fire door on an oil burner is opened only to ignite the fire--it is never opened thereafter. A small port on the fire door may be opened to permit sand to be drawn through the firebox and the boiler flues (or tubes) in order to clean out the flues, but the fire door itself is kept closed. On a stoker-equipped coal-burner, the fire door is also kept closed except for periodic "reads" of the fire, raking, or addition of coal to particular areas of the firebox by shovel.

I would skip firebox glow entirely on a model of an oil-burner, and include such a feature only at the gap between the firebox and the ash pan on a stoker-equipped coal-burner.

--John