The Traveling Engineers' Association to Improve the Locomotive Engine Service of American Railroads Part 9

A. It is most injurious when a light smoke is emitting.

21. Q. In drifting down long grades should the fire be shut off or burned lightly? Why?

A. The fire should be burned lightly and not permitted to get low enough to allow the fire-box to lose its temperature, as this will contract the flues and cause them to leak.

22. Q. How should the fire be handled when switching?

A. The fire must be regulated to meet the requirements of the work the engine is performing on each move and to protect against any possibility of the fire being drawn out by the exhaust.

23. Q. Would not some fuel be wasted in this way?

A. Not necessarily. A waste of fuel can be avoided by close attention on the part of the fireman when switching as well as when running.

24. Q. How should the fire be handled when leaving stations?

A. It should be burning brightly and strong enough to prevent the draft from putting it out when the throttle is opened. And a little smoke should show up at the stack, which would indicate that the fire was being forced just a little ahead of the working of the engine.

25. Q. Which is desirable, to use as much or as little steam jet atomizer as possible?

A. It is desirable to use as little atomizer as will make engine show perfect combustion and economy.

26. Q. What is the result of too little steam jet atomizer when standing at stations or when the engine is working light?

A. The result of too little atomizer when standing at station or when engine is working lightly, will result in the oil not being carried far enough into the fire-box or arch and not properly atomized and the fire is liable to go out. The oil will drop from the mouth of the burner into the draft pan to the ground where it is very liable to start a fire under the engine.

27. Q. If too much steam jet atomizer is used with a light fire?

A. It will create a disagreeable gas, which will cause the fire to burn with a succession of light explosions and kicks, also a waste of steam, and which would reduce the fire-box temperature.

28. Q. When the fire kicks and smokes, what should be done?

A. The atomizer should be adjusted. If this does not overcome the trouble, the heater should be put in service, for, possibly, the oil is too cold to flow freely. Another cause of the fire kicking and smoking results from water being mixed with the oil. If this is the case, it should be drained out of the oil tank immediately.

29. Q. How should the dampers be used on an oil burning locomotive?

A. They should be opened just enough to admit sufficient air to produce perfect combustion, but not enough to cool the fire-box. The dampers should be closed when the engine is drifting or when at rest and the fire is cut very low or is out entirely.

30. Q. About how much smoke do you consider an oil burning locomotive should make under adverse conditions, when the engine is steaming well, but is being crowded by the engineer?

A. Only a light smoke should show at the stack.

31. Q. What color is most desirable at peep holes in the fire-box?

A. A white color is most desirable.

32. Q. What will produce the bright red color?

A. Leaky steam pipes, side seams, flues and improper combustion will produce a ruddy color in the fire-box.

33. Q. How does water in the oil affect the fire?

A. Water in the oil will produce popping or kicking with the fire in the fire-box and at times the fire will die down entirely and then flash up as the water disappears and the oil reaches the burner. The most noticeable result of water in the oil is the fact that the fire will get very low. It will almost go out entirely and then will suddenly flash up again as the oil appears. Water in the oil produces a very dangerous condition and should be prevented immediately by draining the water from the fuel oil tank.

34. Q. Do you consider it advisable to keep the burners clean, and how often?

A. When equipped with steam blow-out pipes, they should be blown out before commencing trip so that burners will distribute oil evenly to each side of fire-box.

35. Q. What position should burner be with reference to level and in line with center of fire-box?

A. It is very essential that burners be level and throw flames just to clear floor of arch in order to derive full benefit of heating surface, as the draft has a great tendency to elevate flames, at opposite end of the fire-box.

36. Q. Are you aware that in course of time the atomizer port will become worn too large and will discharge too large a volume of steam to properly atomize, and the remedy?

A. Yes; the lip or bus.h.i.+ng should be closed to proper opening so that steam will be restricted at the nozzle and escape with a bursting effect to properly atomize the oil instead of flowing out in quant.i.ties against flash walls before it has time to ignite.

37. Q. What is the real object of having the fire-box lined with bricks, and will engine steam without them?

A. Not so well as with the brick, the sheets being in contact with water are too cool to flash the oil readily and hence the use of what is called a "flash wall" built of fire brick and heated to a very high temperature aids combustion very materially.

38. Q. Do you consider it your duty to keep close inspection of brick work as to need of repairs, such as air entering between brick and side sheets?

A. Yes. To see that plaster is kept between the walls and sheets to keep cold air from being drawn in.

39. Q. Will engine steam if brick falls in front of burners or in path of flame and what may be done?

A. No. Remove them with the brick hook or rod by pulling them out through damper of draft pan.

40. Q. Where engine is equipped with an oil-reheater or oil line, do you consider it a help to engine's steaming qualities when used?

A. Yes; at all times this heater should be used.

41. Q. Why use second heater? Why not heat it to a high temperature in oil tank with oil heater?

A. Too much gas generating and boiling the oil continually destroys the higher qualities besides being hard to control the flow through regulation valve.

42. Q. Do you consider a vent hole in oil tank advisable, and why?

A. Yes; to allow any acc.u.mulation of gas to escape and to admit the air so that oil will flow freely.

43. Q. Do you inspect your oil pipes and report all leaks? What other bad effect has a pipe leak aside from waste of oil?

A. Yes. It will cause oil to feed irregularly.

44. Q. Are you aware that keeping the flues clean is the greatest one thing that you can do in regard to fuel economy, and how often should they be cleaned?

A. Yes. At least every ten miles.

45. Q. Do you know that the engine should be working hard and at a speed not less than twenty miles per hour when sanding flues to avoid the sand falling to floor of the fire-box and acc.u.mulating in front of them?