In the books it says only run the blower when your sitting still, Ive noticed some firemen run the blower all the time, which gives a clear stack all the time, others who turn the blower on and off sometimes have black exhaust.
So my question is, how many of you guys run the blower on all the time? and with the way we run them today, ie tourist lines, is it really that bad to run the blower all the time?

Thanks
Alan

adofmsu@aol.com

The blower has one specific purpose. That it to induce an artificial draft when there is insufficient natural draft, or draft from the engine exhaust, to allow the fire to burn as the fireman would like.
Having said that, it also is often used to bail a fireman out of a minor problem. It can be used as a smoke control, but with proper firing technique that shouldn't be necessary.
The general idea is to use the blower as little as possible, and when used turn it on as low as possible to still acomplish the desired effect.
Running the blower more than necessary, especially when standing still only wastes steam, thus fuel, and can be somewhat hard on the boiler.
A fireman learns that it is usually not needed, but that it is there for when it is needed.
Mark D.

> In the books it says only run the blower
> when your sitting still, Ive noticed some
> firemen run the blower all the time, which
> gives a clear stack all the time, others who
> turn the blower on and off sometimes have
> black exhaust.
> So my question is, how many of you guys run
> the blower on all the time? and with the way
> we run them today, ie tourist lines, is it
> really that bad to run the blower all the
> time?

> Thanks
> Alan


mnmach@lakes.com

Mark is correct in his answer and i will add just a bit. Each engine will fire somewhat differently and so will need some blower assistance at different times. Oil burners will have different needs than coal burners. Most of the large oil burners can sit on the spot and have a low fire without any blower assistance. Depending on the throttle and reverser settings the engine may need a slight bit of blower when going into a long drift and then the atmomizer can come into play as well. I cannot imagine that a large engine (4449, 261, 844, 3751) would be run with the blower going all the time, it just isn't needed as these engines make a lot of draft. On the bad side if the blower is run too strong then it will bring cold air into the firebox. The cold air can chill the flues causing the sheets to tweek and move. This will result in leaky and perhaps cracked flues.

Robert@trainorders.com

> In the books it says only run the blower
> when your sitting still, Ive noticed some
> firemen run the blower all the time, which
> gives a clear stack all the time, others who
> turn the blower on and off sometimes have
> black exhaust.
> So my question is, how many of you guys run
> the blower on all the time? and with the way
> we run them today, ie tourist lines, is it
> really that bad to run the blower all the
> time?

> Thanks
> Alan

This is one of those questions with a lot of variables that covers a lot of territory. Much depends on the fuel used, and the design of the individual locomotive.

Obviously, the blower is used to create draft for the fire when the locomotive is at rest or not producing exhaust steam for draft. As a rule of thumb, you should never use more blower than absolutely necessary. A wide open blower and a clear stack is a good indication that a lot of cold air is getting pulled into the firebox, that will cause flue and staybolt leaks in short order.

Oil burners in my experience generally need more blower to keep the flame rolling back from the flash wall and to keep smoke and fire out of the cab. Some boilers with nice tall stacks, short tube lenghts and deep fireboxes have enough natural draft to allow minimal blower use to keep the smoke from the cab. I once worked on an oil burner that could be lit off and fired all day without using the blower. It had a tall stack, and a short wagon-top boiler with a deep firebox - and it drafted real well.

In all cases a locomotive working at much more than a drifting throttle setting generates more draft from the exhaust than the blower can ever generate. Most engines I've been on can drift downhill with the blower off and still make steam and keep the fire out of the cab.

I teach my fireman to use the blower sparingly. When a fire needs to be brought up for depature, do it gradually to keep smoke and excessive blower use to a minimum. This would apply to both coal and oil burners. Once underway, and the engine working, the blower is turned off completely. I tell the fireman to keep the blower valve cracked open to keep water condensation out of the pipe. That way when the boiler is opened up at a stop, a cloud of sooty water doesn't shoot up the stack.

I my opinion, when firing oil, a smokey fire with the blower on or off is and indication of some sort of steaming trouble or just sloppy firing. Coal burners are a different story. If an engine is working hard with a clear stack and the throttle is shut off, you'll get smoke - lots of it - until the fire settles down and the gases burn off. Turning the blower up will help clear the smoke a bit, but then the safety valves will probably lift. It'd rather deal with a couple of minutes of smoke.

Getting a coal burner fire ready for a departure on an ascending grade again requires some smoke. The amount is depended on how rapidly you try to build up the fire and the coal used. Coal with higher volitile (sp?) content tends to have higher BTU's but makes more smoke if fired heavily as compared to coal with higher carbon content.

OK, I've beat on this long enough, someone elses turn..

Earl Knoob
Supt. Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR

earlk489@hotmail.com

I never tire of someone explaining the subtleties of firing an engine!

Thanks

Semper Vaporo,
Charles T. McCullough

> I never tire of someone explaining the
> subtleties of firing an engine!

> Thanks

> Semper Vaporo,
> Charles T. McCullough

Charles....Earl was the engineer on the "Chased by a Steam Train-Vol 2" you enjoyed. He's been known to work a few narrow gauge 2-8-2's!
Greg


Fundraiser Autographs,etc
sales@gregschollvideo.com

> Charles....Earl was the engineer on the
> "Chased by a Steam Train-Vol 2"
> you enjoyed. He's been known to work a few
> narrow gauge 2-8-2's!
> Greg

My practice is to always keep the blower at least cracked open. Otherwise, when it's turned on (such as when building up the fire prior to a station departure), the first blast of steam through the pipes will "puke" everything around with wet soot--not pleasant (well, some of us like it...). Otherwise, the blower is on heaviest at the start of the run, before moving, and again en route if I need to build the fire quickly (i.e., when I've dug myself into a hole and the pressure gauge is doing an imitation of a barometer in a hurricane). But I'd agreee with the general rule that other than initial steam-up, the less blower, the better.


Kevinmccabe@avenew.com

Through my fireing experiences I'll agree with all the above posted on blower usage. An interesting sidebar comes from Steamtown last year however.

For several weeks the Steamtown Excursion (using ex-CN 3254, a 2-8-2) was forced to use hard (anthercite) coal due to a dispute with their soft (bituminious) coal supplier. Because the 3254 was designed to burn soft coal and therefore did not have the grate area sufficient for hard coal, fireman were instructed to compensate for the loss through extended use of the blower, which seemed to work.

I'm not sure what if any, negative effect this had on the innards of the 2-8-2 since I had left my job there the previous year. I will say that when that beast would pass my tower, you'd swear a jet engine had been placed in the tender by the sound of the blower.

Interesting anecdote for the blower discussion thogh, I think.

Dave Crosby

bing@epix.net

Being an N&W fan myself, I ask this question.

The N&W wanted their engines to run a clean stack, upper management saw otherwise as a waste of fuel. A lot, I won't say most, but a lot of pics of N&W show clear stack.

Was this achieved through use of more blower than say needed?

jeff Lisowski
West Chester, Pa

unfunkyufo76@hotmail.com