I have seen this video and others on British Rail steam operations, and they all show a strange firing practice. They show coal heaped up above the height of the fire door, and then a lot of raking at speed. What is that all about?


https://youtu.be/UUT7TUAKegk

It's the way they do it, mate. <:-)

Note also that British locos were usually supplied with "mine run" coal, raw and ungraded/unsorted, and tenders had sledges to break down larger slabs into something manageable. Note the one shot inside the firebox showed coal chunks we'd call "boulders" over here. The only railroad in North America I've seen such coal used on was on the East Broad Top while they were still using coal out of EBT-owned veins, and it looked similar and fired similarly. In its last days pre-shutdown, the line was using more standard, processed coal.

Also to be noted, UK fireboxes are smaller and their coal consumption "miserly" compared to American steam. The Bullied Pacific you see in that clip has a grate area of only 38.25 square feet, compared to 70 for the PRR K4s as a comparable US example.

I have a cartoon from a British railway publication some years back that had two panels: the first depicted the fireman standing on the front deck of the tender, playfully with a smile tossing a single lump of coal through the firebox door with a soaring arc as the driver glares angrily, and the second panel showing the driver holding the fireman by the collar and belt, obviously about to toss the fireman into the firebox.....

That difference in grate area explains why stokers, although far from universal here were quite common, while stokers in the UK were limited to a few trial applications and quickly discarded. Thus even their largest locos, like the BR 9F 2-10-0s, were hand bombers. Pick a given wheel arrangement and compare US and UK examples and you'll soon understand why hand firing was practical there. Same track gauge, very different loading gauge. Delightful nevertheless!

I'd like to know why in every video I see, they run with the firebox door open. This runs counter to everything I know.
Also, why did they direct the steam from the cylinder cocks to the front where it could make the rails wet?
Do they carry sand on British locos?

Frisco,

Best guess would be they would rather wet the ballast than wash everyone's shoes, cuffs and hems.

Officially they would probably say something along the line, ... to make sure there was no critter in the blind spot ahead of the locomotive.

Rich C.

"Little and Often" with the door open for secondary air. That is how they were taught.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74JaLw3u3-c

Where to start? First off the method of firing depends on the shape of the firebox, the type of coal supplied and the work to be done. On narrow firebox ex Great Western locos with a sloping grate and soft, slow burning Welsh steam coal the fireman would build up a "tump" at the back and fire over it. The blast and movement of the loco would normally 'work' the fire forward but occasionally, particularly if the loco had been 'sitting' for a while the "tump" might need to be pushed forward and spread across the grate being careful not to make it too thick under the brick arch or steaming would suffer. On locos with a flat grate you made a 'pudding bowl' shaped fire, thicker at the sides and corners and thinner in the centre.
The 'sledgehammer' is a "coal pick" with a hammer head on one end and a point at the other. Trying to break up large lumps of 'Yorkshire Hard' coal would be akin to breaking rocks in the state pen. Often the firedoor would be left open while firing, unless the engine was 'shy' for steam when the driver might operate the doors (only the Bulleid Pacifics had steam operated doors). Usually the secondary air was regulated by using the "flap" - a hinged plate either inside the firedoor or as part of the door itself.
All British locos have sanders - some gravity fed but the more modern classes have steam operated sanders using a jet of steam to direct the sand towards the wheel. The steam from the drain cock pipes is directed forward but they are not directly in line with the rails and wouldn't normally affect traction. Hope this helps.
Ray.

Thanks Ray. Just curious about some of the things I've seen. I still wonder about keeping the door open pulling in "cold" air.

Frisco 1522,
The 13 minutes worth of video in Mr. Austin's link is worth viewing & will answer your questions. Inside and above the firedoor is a baffle plate that deflects the secondary air down toward the fire bed to mix at the arch so (theoretically) it won't be a cold blast headed straight for the "tube plate". It appears the hinged plate also forms part of a blast nozzle to direct the air downward when you're not firing. Hope this helps....mld

As for the cylinder drains, they fire forward so they do not blast onto the sides of the high level platforms which all British stations feature. Continual blasting from engines departing would probably erode the masonry and cause crap to get blasted onto the engines motion.

Pat Hosford

Frisco 1522,
Great details from Mr. Austin and mldeets.
Also, British locomotives have their firedoors in the upper area of the door sheet; the fireboxes being fairly deep - thus a deeper firebed is possible and then the need for secondary combustion air to be introduced above the firebed via the door. The baffle plate in the top side of the door frame difusses the "cold" air flow towards the underside of the arch before it is drawn up towards the crown and flue sheet. It's interesting how they focused on controlling smoke with the firedoor adjustment - again, secondary combustion air.
Now if they could explain WHY, OH WHY, OH WHY would you completely close the regulator at high speeds (or any speed) ????