Gents, forgive this somewhat rudimentary question, but it was rolling around in my head today, so I thought I might ask it here.

As the steam locomotive advanced, there was more machine placed on the rails. Limitations of height and width were reached, so length was
exploited. Thus we saw more axles, multiple engines all on one locomotive.

As the height limitations were reached, we saw less prominence of the steam dome, almost to the point if it not existing at all. If I understand steam theory, that chamber was indeed necessary to segregate the boiler water from the steam. With less and less profile differentiation, how was that segregation attained?



fwsturke@pacbell.net

Derick,

This was definitely a challenge on later locomotives, at least in the U.S. A lot of effort was made to try to send the driest steam to the superheater units to maximize the engine's power and efficiency. Some engines resorted to a long horizontal pipe with slots cut in the top to collect steam from the top of the boiler barrel. There were also proprietary devices such as the Elesco centrifugal separator which could be attached to the inlet end of the dry pipe and mounted in a rudimentary steam dome to help separate the water from the steam.

Good Steaming,
Hugh Odom

> Gents, forgive this somewhat rudimentary
> question, but it was rolling around in my
> head today, so I thought I might ask it
> here.

> As the steam locomotive advanced, there was
> more machine placed on the rails.
> Limitations of height and width were
> reached, so length was
> exploited. Thus we saw more axles, multiple
> engines all on one locomotive.

> As the height limitations were reached, we
> saw less prominence of the steam dome,
> almost to the point if it not existing at
> all. If I understand steam theory, that
> chamber was indeed necessary to segregate
> the boiler water from the steam. With less
> and less profile differentiation, how was
> that segregation attained?


The Ultimate Steam Page
whodom@awod.com