I've heard that steam locomotives being used during the dismantling of a rail line could burn the ties as fuel.
This would be in the 1920-1940 time frame.

Can anyone verify this allegation?


hankmorris@earthlink.net

> I've heard that steam locomotives being used
> during the dismantling of a rail line could
> burn the ties as fuel.
> This would be in the 1920-1940 time frame.

> Can anyone verify this allegation?

Why does this even raise a question, ties are made of wood, and creosote will burn (albeit not too cleanly). I would think that a bucket of sand to clean the tubes would be in order though.

We used to burn ties in our Heisler at SVRy, but when it came time to reflue it, our volunteer boilermaker told us that if we continued to use those ties, he would not work on the boiler again. the creosote does nasty things to the inside of the boiler, no matter how much sand you draft through the tubes.
Ron

ronbrin@eoni.com

Been there done that 20 years ago. Some of our managers thought it would be a good idea to burn ties to save on coal. The problem is that the creosote turns to vapor in the heat of the firebox and then cools in the boiler tubes adding a thick layer if insulation to the tubes. The locomotive which once was a free steamer turned into a dog and no amount of flue sanding helped. We had to rent a air powered turbine and clean out all 268 boiler tubes. Once you have done this you will not want to do it again.

Tom Gears

Forgotten Delaware

I recall from my visit to Golden Spike this winter that they were burning bridge timbers from the old Lucin Cutoff in Jupiter. (The tour guide thought it appropriate that they were burning the replacement to their line.) Did they experience the same problems, or did it work out better because of the different firebox, or was she just all washed up when she said that's what they'd been burning?

Sincerely,
David Ackerman

david_ackerman@yahoo.com

> I know of at least one instance (which I've written up in an article accepted by Classic Trains) where an IC steamer had a bad load of coal, and wound up burning old rubber tires pulled out of a lineside dump. It worked, but the shop crew in Clinton was faced with a hell of a mess! And I don't even want to think about the poor people living alongside the St. Louis/Clinton line . . .

kevinmccabe@avenew.com

I suppose that you could say that the shop crew got "tired" of cleaning up the mess?
Don C.

old_fxrs@msn.com