Gentlemen: Has anyone ever heard of, or seen documentation of, a failure or accident involving a hydrostatic lubricator which caused injury (or worse)? I ask because I was recently in conversation with a fellow about a hypothetical rebuild, the loco in question has a 5 feed Detroit, which he insisted would have to be removed as they are "unsafe" Now I'm not disputing that these lubricators have their own unique risks, and that removing it from the cab would remove one of many risks in the cab. But, assuming that the lubricator has been well rebuilt and inspected, hydrostatically tested, has good threads and gaskets, and has been protected from freezing, can it really be considered "unsafe"? Three of the locomotives I've worked on have had hydrostatic lubricators (both Nathan and Detroit), and having treated them with great respect and care have never had any trouble with them. In fact I really enjoyed the traditional ritual of preparing and setting the lubricator. Given that I've seen many Detroit, Nathan, and British Detroit hydrostatic lubricators still in frequent use around the world, and that a quick Google search, and search of this site revealed no horror stories, I would be interested in the opinions of others on RYPN. Please note I don't want to start a debate about hydrostatic versus mechanical lubrication, only about the safety aspects of a hydrostatic lubricator in the cab.

Thank you: P Hosford

There are all kinds of steam and water sources in a locomotive cab. The lubricator is low down the list of hazards. Maybe you should remove the gauge glasses. They are dangerous.

Be interesting to find out just where the mindset came from on this one. I was around once, a long time ago, when somebody got careless and opened up the fill plug before the lubricator was completely depressured. There was valve oil everywhere and we were lucky that nobody got burnt. Steam will bite you if given the opportunity.

I would wonder if the person in question or someone he knew had a bad experience with a hydrostatic lubricator that brought him to the conclusion that they are unsafe.

I have worked on many engines with this type of lubricator through the years and have never known one to fail and cause a hazard to the crew. Causing problems and frustration due to improper operation, now that's another story. A properly maintained and operated hydrostatic lubricator that is in good condition is no less safe than other pressure containing appliances in the cab. They do expose the operator to the potential for getting scalded during the filling process if the proper procedures are not followed. The procedures for filling and operation must be followed to the letter.

I've heard similar stories about just that, (and I think that may have happened on one of the (static) engines I work on, based on all the oil on the cab ceiling).

Greetings:
I recall Dick Jensen re-filling 5629's hydrostic lubricator "on the fly" shortly after leaving Valpo one night on our way back to Chicago. It was a two feed "Detroit" mounted on the right side of the cab. He didn't shut off the steam valve tightly and after removing the fill plug, steam built up under the remaining cylinder oil in the lubricator and it puked hot oil on Jensen AND the engineer, Bud Young.
Bud was the sort of engineer who always wore freshly laundered and pressed bibs, jacket, bandana and cap (oh, and a white shirt and tie) and was usually just as clean as he got off the locomotive as he got on. Not that night. Bud was furious and yelled at Jensen wondering why he hadn't filled the lubricator while we were taking water for half an hour at Valpo. Dick said: "Gee Bud, why are you so sore? Most of the oil is on me".
J.David

I have to agree with Russ. Like everything involved with a steam locomotive (and railroading in general) it is all about training and procedures. If the individual is properly trained and proper procedures are developed and followed, hydrostatic lubricators are no more dangerous than anything else in the cab.

Mike Ramsey

The stories I heard from old SP hands was the two issues with a hydrostatic was making sure you had the lubricator depressurized before you opened it up and the other problem they had seen was the bulls eye glass breaking on the flange and flying out.
In the limited operations of 3420 the biggest problem we faced was the cross contamination of oil and the glasses becoming cloudy to the point we could not tell the feed rate. On one occasion during an operation of the locomotive for a phelps dodge employee picnic, the pilot wheel on 3420 was covered in valve oil from too much oil and a leaking cylinder head gasket. It was fun calling up to the cab to cut the oil back.

Robby Peartree

Precisely. I am personally aware of several injuries due to hydrostatic lubricators, including one that left permanent scars. They were all due to attempting to refill the lubricator during the day and not getting it totally de-pressurized prior to unscrewing the oil reservoir cap. The lubricator would "burp", blasting steam, hot water, and hot oil into the cab. In one case, it blasted out with enough force to coat the cab roof with oil, also coating and burning the engineer's face.

They were all human error, not mechanical failures. As with many things, proper procedures will solve the issue.

Can anyone describe the proper procedure for de-pressurizing a hydro-static lubricator?

The steam crew I was around always had the coal
scoop in the way when opening the lubricator.

-Hudson

Here is the procedure I recommend.

There are four or, depending on the lubricator, five valves involved in the process.

1. Steam supply valve. Controls the steam supply to the lubricator.
2. Water valve. Controls flow from the condensing bulb to the oil reservoir.
3. Oil valve. (if equipped) Controls communication from the oil reservoir to two or more of the regulating valves. On multi-feed lubricators this valve allows the oil supply to be closed off to the feeds supplying the valves and cylinders without having to reset the feed rate when stopping for extended periods. The feed supplying the air compressor is normally not affected by this valve and is always in communication with the oil reservoir.
4. Regulating valves. Controls the oil flow to each individual feed.
5. Oil reservoir drain valve.

I have seen engines with a valve on the oil delivery line, but that is a bit unusual.

To successfully and safely refill a lubricator the oil reservoir must be completely isolated from any source of pressure. I suspect that some have problems on lubricators equipped with oil valves (#3) because they do not realize that not all of the feeds are supplied through them. If the air compressor feed is connected directly to the oil reservoir and the regulating valve for it is not closed, steam will back up through this valve into the oil reservoir even when the oil valve is closed. This is why I recommend closing all the regulating valves when refilling.

To shut down and refill a lubricator: In this order, close valves 4, 3, 2, and 1. Open the drain valve, 5 and leave it open until all the pressure is relieved in the oil reservoir and it is drained as much as possible. Then, and only then, slowly open the fill plug. The fill plug should have a telltale hole drilled about half way up the threaded portion to alert you if there is still pressure in the reservoir before the plug is completely removed.

After the fill plug is removed and all the water is drained from the oil reservoir, close the drain valve, 5, and refill the oil reservoir with your favorite valve oil. Reinstall and tighten the fill plug. If the gasket is in good condition on the fill plug it should not require excessive tightening.

To restart the lubricator, open the valves in this order: Steam valve, 1. Allow the sight glasses to refill before proceeding. Then open valve 2, and 3. Adjust the regulating valve(s) for the proper feed.

This process, particularly when restarting, must be followed exatcly or you will have problems getting the lubricator to work correctly.

Russ, thanks for the explanation.

It never registered before that the steam supply from the appliances that the lubricator lubricates can definitely flow backwards through the lubricating lines, and on 6167 (which has a 3-feed Detroit lubricator) I don't think there are any intermediate valves on the lubricator lines to the Air Pump, Water Pump and Stoker. So thanks for that too!

Ha, Ha, very true! But seriously, one of the worst accidents I know of in the preservation era involved a simple globe valve, and was fatal. I don't know enough about the incident to want to write any details here, but it happened in Washington State in the mid 90's, perhaps someone on RYPN can speak about that one. The point is that the presence of cylinder oil is really the only difference between the lubricator and any other valve, gauge, gauge glass, or injector.

Thanks for all the stories and explanations. I would never want to try an re fill one on the run! But I guess if you absolutely have to...... Personally I always filled them first thing in the morning when there was only 20-50 psi on the boiler, I only did it a few times at working pressure. Nice illustration Joe.
P Hosford