How were steam locomotives parked between assignments, were the boilers kept hot ? How long would it take to bring the average loco up to steam from a cold state?
Thanx
Steam locomotives were generally kept hot at all times unless they were going into the shop for repairs or being placed in storage. A low fire would be kept on the grate and the boiler filled.
One former forumite, an experienced steam locomotive fireman and 'driver,' (Australian) flatly stated that bringing a modern locomotive from dead cold to service ready was an all day or overnight operation - anything faster would put undue expansion stress on the boiler and attached plumbing. Others have claimed shorter times, but always on the order of six or more hours.
Chuck
The term, when an engine was coal fired, was 'banking' the fire so that hot coals would be consumed slowly enough that the engine could be safely left alone for several long hours, say a full shift. The engine was not deemed ready for service, and boiler pressure might fall to something like half of the normal operating pressure. However, all the pressure that was needed was enough to run the blower, and if necessary, the atomizer and steam lines to heat heavy fuel oil in the tender. Even the air pumps would need to thump a few times an hour to keep the brake pressure up. But it wasn't nearly as demanding as having a pair of large volume cylinders filling with saturated steam once every second...or more frequently as on a hard-working fast freight or passenger engine.
I would think a boiler taken off line after working at full pressure and the requisite temperatures, if the fire were dropped, or the atomizer closed and the blower shut off, and pumps, etc, would take 24-36 hours to cool down to ambient as a minimum, maybe even a full two days.
Crandell
Was storing "off duty" locomotives in the roundhouse(where available) on house steam a common practice or was this done only when an engine was iin for inspection or repair?
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
I think there may be a misunderstanding about steam engine practice to some degree. The railroad knows when its passenger trains and scheduled freights are supposed to arrive at the division point where new power will be assigned. A hostler will usually top off the tank and coal before the crew takes charge. On some railroads it is the responsibility of the road crew but the hostler will at least increase the boiler temperature to the point the engine can move. I saw the Southern 2-8-2 in Covington Kentucky after sitting all night with a banked fire be brought up to temperature in less than an hour from a pretty cold state. Most railroads had standby power in case of a breakdown. These were strategically placed engines that could be called in to take over when needed. the fireman kept the engine hot but a light engine doesn;t need nearly the steam to run and could build the fire on its way to an assignment. Since a road crew knows when the train is due they arrive early and fill the water tanks (for human consumption), sweep the cab, check the fire, grease the engine, check the headlight and back up lights and brakes, build the fire and basically give the engine a going over like a pilot does before take off. Most crews would probably take an hour ro so to do all that. then they have to move the loco to a location to let the incoming engine unhook and move out of the way so they can back down, couple, connect air and steam lines and do a brake check before leaving. How long does that take? A good crew should be able to couple with almost no impact and be ready to depart in under five minutes. A short line is going to do it differently and probably a lot slower then say the PRR or UP who have much more traffic. Coal and treated water cost money and had a direct bearing on the profit of the company. The PRR made it a habit to check enginemen for smoke on a regular basis. Smoke was wasted fuel going up the stack and frowned upon. Imagine how much loss over 4000 steam engines could generate in a day if not properly fired. Steam was readily available at engine terminals and a steam siphon was used to propel scalding hot water at running gear to clean out dirt and old grease as well as clean the boiler so many needed steam engines probably did have steam lines from the power plant run to them to keep them hot to some degree.
A locomotive being stored outdoors would have it's fire banked and boiler filled with water as described by previous respondants. If stored in the roundhouse or on garden tracks, the engine might be connected up to the "house" steam pipe which would keep her hot while the fire could be dropped so that repairs could be made to the firebox or grates or whatever. On rare occasions a locomotive being stored "hot" would start to move on its own if a leaky throttle allowed steam to enter the cylinders. Then the wayward hog might butt through the roundhouse wall or, better yet, roll into the turntable pit.
PRR practice was to add what was called a snifter valve on the cylinder chest that baically was a bypass valve that allowed pressure equalization between either side of the piston when the engine was unattended.
PARKED IS NOT A TERM ASSOCIATED WITH STEAM ENGINES THAT I REMEMBER FROM WORKING ON THEM IN THE BEFORE THEY WERE REPLACED
ENGINES WERE RETURNED TO A TERMINAL MOST WITH ROUNDHOUSES
AND THAT IS WHERE WE THE ENGINEER FIREMAN AND BRAKEMAN (ME) WOULD
PICK THEM UP & PROCEED TO PU THE TRAIN ASSIGNED
FUSE-
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