Handling steam trouble in days of yore

[Anonymous]

I've always wondered how the engineers of old could tell if an engine or, some of the other parts were giving trouble. Was it a cetain way the pistons or crankshaft would sound or act?
In those, turn-of-the-century days, I just imagine that a steam engine experiencing problems equalled big trouble e.g. stranded in hostile territory etc.
Also, how would he solve it, several miles away from a station?

[edblysard]

Hi Noble,
When trains ran on timetable schedules, every time a train passed a station, it was noted as OS, or on station, and the operator sent the time and station name on to the next station the train should pass. If, say train 98 was scheduled to pass tower 12 at 0100, and station 14 at 0230, when it passed tower 12, the operator would notify station 14 that "train 97 was OS @ 0100, tower 12." via telegraph or phone, and note it in the train register(log).
Station 14 would be expecting the train, if it didnt show up by around 0245, they would start to wonder, by 0300 they would go looking, and inform tower 12 that train 98 hadn't cleared. Tower 12 would hold all following traffic till they heard from someone. Sation 14 would hold all opposing traffic and notify a trainmaster, who would go looking, or dispatch a helper locomotive, or what ever that roads procedures were.
By the way, stations are not always passenger depots, they can be nothing more that a shack at a division point, all they really are are reconized points on the line used for geographic location, like a mile post.
When radiophone became common, the engineer of a stranded train would call the next station and clue them in, ask for help if needed, or tell them he is running behind schedule.
Stay Frosty,
Ed

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Ed!

[sooblue]

Hi noble,
steam locomotives are a hardy lot. Non the less they did have problems at times. Generaly the fireman was able to spot trouble with the boiler and it's support mechanicals since it was his job to make steam. The engineer was more likly to spot trouble with the running of the engines and brakes etc. Believe it or not the locomotive had redundant systems. The firemen and engineers of the day could bring most any locomotive in. As complex as they seem when you stand in the cab they really are quite strait forward in their design.
If the fireman lost the feed water pump they could use the injectors. If he lost the stoker he could hand fire. (if the locomotive was big enough to have a stoker and he had to hand fire it to bring it in he'd be half dead by the time he was done)*lol*
The old heads could tell just by the sounds if trouble was brewing with the engines.
The chuffing, vibrations, clanking. When they stopped to fill the tender they could feel the temps on the rod bearings while they oiled around.
I've heard of crews removing a rod to isolate a broken engine, or removing a rod because of bearing failure and than cutting off the train and running on one engine.
Believe me, the engineer and firemen were vigilent. If a bearing went bad and they lost a rod at speed it could, and has, taken the cab on that side with it. If for what ever reason the top of the crown sheet lost its water for more than a few seconds the boiler could, and has, rocketed off the frame. There have even been times that the exhaust was misdirected because of a pluged stack or a broken nozzle and the shot of high pressure steam went back through the flues and blew the fire out through the firedoor burning the crew to death.
Simple, redundent, dangerous. Everything a man needs to have fun!
Sooblue

[Mookie]

Sooblue: You hit it right on the head. My Dad hand-fired a lot of steam engines and I have heard many stories just like these!

Jen

[sooblue]

Hi Jen,
No doubt your dad talked about steam like it was a living thing.
You know, even with the advent of the stoker your dad had the harder job. He controlled a "living bomb" If he was "good" he kept the pressure just below the pop off point and kept the water intake balanced with the evaporation rate.

Most people don't realize the explosive potential inherent in steam.
If things went bad with a boiler and there was a rupture over half the water could instantly fla***o steam due to the loss of pressure.
Boilers have been known to go airborne. No one survived boiler explosions.

Quick engineering INF.:
Locomotive boilers are only secured on one end so that it has the ability to grow. As the boiler heats up to its Max steam pressure it may grow an inch or more in length, also the top of the boiler grows longer than the bottom which is cooler due to the water. The top can be a quarter inch or more, longer.
The stresses are incredible yet quite controlled.

Is your father still living? Who did he fire for?

Thanks, Sooblue

[Mookie]

Sooblue - interesting facts. Will have to think about that some more.

Dad was on old CB&Q from before I was born. His Dad was also - and were both considered good railroad men by their peers. He worked on steam while I was pretty young, but always as a fireman. Shoveled many tons of coal. Then went to engineer and did mostly freight from Lincoln to Hastings, Ravenna, Grand Island. He did hold a passenger job, until that was fazed out.

He is still alive and has many, many stories to tell. He worked for the railroad because he needed a job and wasn't skilled in anything else. He never thought of the job as enjoyable, but always had the mentality of a good day's work for pay. Worked on short calls, and never turned down a chance to work. He is almost 86 now, but doesn't talk too much about the railroad which is sad. It caused my mother so much grief since he was gone so much, she has almost forbidden it to be mentioned in retirement. And that is sad, because he is a great story-teller!

Jen

[sooblue]

It's wonderful that your dad is still with you.
My whole family is gone now. All my uncles and my dad worked for the Soo (before the Soo logo)

If you dare! Ask your dad if he knows anything about the Steam Loco that used to sit off I-80
near Atlantic Iowa.
I think it was a CB&Q 2-10-4 but I could be wrong about that.
The RR line through there went to Omaha and on to Lincoln NE.

Anyway, If you tell your mom that she can get payback for all those years of loneliness by letting your dad write his memoirs and than cashing in on the RR FANnaticism Maybe she'll get him to talking and we'll have a new true life book to read.

I'll be the first in line to have him autograph it too!!

There are so many great stories out there (unpublished)
Sooblue

[Mookie]

Sooblue - I will ask him. He did a little work on the Omaha division, but only for a short time right during and after the war. After that he was only Lincoln West, but he may still know about the one in Iowa.

We had a great UP Big Boy in Omaha for many years, and we used to go up there and he would go over every inch of the train with me. It was the best Xmas/BD present he could have given me. He knew so much about steamers and diesel. Now it seems like he almost has a guilty conscience if he talks about the railroad, since he knows how my mother feels.

He was the one that made up the speed formula of "count the telephone poles, pi R square the result and divide by 2". He couldn't believe someone wouldn't just "know" that you could tell speed by the feel of the engine! I told him he was made famous on the forum and he seemed pleased! We had a good laugh all over again!

Jen

[sooblue]

That's way cool Jenny.
I love going up to Duluth Mn to the RR museum.
They have an ex-NP 2-8-8-4
When I get up there I'll hangout in the cab and answer questions about how everything works.
(I should be a dosent I guess)
Anyway, people love to know how things work.
That's partly why Your dad should write down his experiances with the RR.
Sooblue

[Anonymous]

I have to say it's great being able to read stuff like this. To all who respond to questions like this, thank you!! [:)]