There is currently an an auction on Ebay (not mine) for a Locomotive Arrival Board from a C&NW roundhouse. At the bottom of the chalk board is painted "Boiler Waters Should Test Not Over 150 On Arrival. If Higher Than This Engine Crew Has Not Used Blow Off Cocks Enough".

150 what? Parts per million? Would this refer to dissolved solids or something else?

tr2manz@frontiernet.net

> 150 what? Parts per million? Would this
> refer to dissolved solids or something else?

Yes. And yes.

Then blowdown was manual, with the frequency determined by the fireman? Was the process ever automated to any degree?

tr2manz@frontiernet.net

> Then blowdown was manual, with the frequency
> determined by the fireman? Was the process
> ever automated to any degree?

All engines had at least one manual blowoff valve, some had 2 or 3. it was the responsibility of the engine crew to use the blowdown valves enough to keep the TDS in the boiler at or below a number specified by the railroad. Failure to do so could lead to disciplinary action.

There were some efforts to automate this. Signal foam meters/automatic blowdowns and other such devices, and continuous blowdown valves did automate it to some degree or other, but the
crew was still repsonsible. In practices, these automatic devices didn't always live up to their bulling, and many crews turned them off, thinking they wasted water. In some cases of malfunction, that was very true.