In the thread on locomotive hand brakes there is a mention of locomotives being secured in the roundhouse with the cylinder cocks closed. My experience is on smaller locomotive with lever operated cylinder cocks and when stopped it is standard practice to open them.

Was it standard practice "back in the day" to park a locomotive with the cylinder cocks closed, or was it a function of how they are operated on larger engines?

Any steam locomotive I have ever run,or taught someone to run,at the end of the day you would always:

1. Make sure the throttle was closed;

2. Reverse lever centered;

3. Independent brake set;

4. Water glass full;

5. Cylinder cocks OPEN;

6. Chain under the drivers.

Leaving the cylinder cocks open prevents steam building up in the cylinders and the locomotive moving off unattended on it's own, a situation that can happen with a locomotive with a leaky throttle.

Txhighballer is certainly right about proper "parking" for a steam locomotive (and he remembered to include some things I forgot, and should have remembered myself--that's the difference between pros like Tx and amatuers like me!), and the bit about cocks being open is the same whether it's the manual operation you describe, or the remote operation with air that was common on later power.

I can only guess, from the account as related by Bruce, that some aspects of locomotive operation weren't really as well followed through as they should have been if you are going back to the 1920s or so or before. It's my understanding, for instance, that the standardization of locomotive inspection procedures and maintenance standards (and their enforcement by the Interstate Commerce Commission prior to that body's retirement) only dated to the early 1920s, and was one of the issues in a strike by shopmen in about 1922 The shopmen supposedly claimed maintenance wasn't what it should have been at the time, and wanted government inspectors to back up their judgement as to whether and engine was properly ready for service.

They should be open for sure. If a small amount of steam is leaking past the throttle valve it will simple run out of cylinder cocks. This along with chains and a reverser on center help prevent roundhouse creep.

In addition, if you're parked for the night (or whatever) open the house valves along with the cylinder cocks, throttle shut and reverse lever on center. Then chains finish the procedure.

Any condensation that collects at the bottom of the cylinders while the engine cools overnight will be allowed to drain instead of sitting on everything inside. If the engine does not have cylinder relief valves, having the cylinder cocks open on the bottom would be the only way any pressure could be relieved minus what leaks through the rings or packing, which isn't substantial enough to prevent a charge building.

At what pressure do your snifters close?

dave