I need to clarify the coal burned in P&R/RDG I-10-s-a 2-8-0's and T-1 4-8-4's. It was never anthracite culm. John Wootten's engines in the 1870's did burn culm, but by the 1890's express passenger engines (Camelback 4-4-0's and 4-4-2's) burned lump anthracite.

By 1923-1925 when the I-10 2-8-0"s were built, P&R/RDG was burning a mix of anthracite and bituminous with the ratio varying based on the service. Through freight, which the 2-8-0's were built to do, got mostly bituminous. In the late 1930's, road power got bituminous. [the Pacifics got smokebox extensions to deal with the cinders]

The T-1's retained the fireboxes from the donor 2-8-0's and burned bituminous coal in RDG service.

Phil Mulligan

You lose the "historically accurate" look of the cab without that big HT coming up out of the floor anyway, so why not go with a real oil firedoor? I assume they're going to fill the hole below the doors, vacated by the stoker, with some sort of baffle lined with firebrick? IIRC that was where the previous owner mounted his burner.

I was living in Tacoma when the 2100 was running excursions down there as an oil burner. I saw most of the trips and rode one. There were never any issues with the locomotive or breakdowns that I ever saw or heard of. From what I recall, the burner was a Canadian Pacific design. The fine people of the Mount Rainer Railroad were often there, and I remember reading how one of the firemen from the Mount Rainer Railroad fired the 2100 and said "It fired well". I also saw one of the SP&S 700 locomotive crew members (I don't know the name, but I remember him from the 700) fire the 2100.

Running that huge locomotive up one of the steepest railroad grades in America (which, if I remember right, is 3.6 percent at the steepest point) had a lot of logistics problems. By the engineer's own admission, he said it was only working at around 10% going up the grade. He said the grade was so steep that water might enter the dry pipe as they were going up and damage the piston, so he was taking it easy. So for your average railfan, I can see how they could mistake a lack of smoke and noise as being a boiler problem when it wasn't as it climbed the hill. Once it was up the hill, it put on quite a show.

I met Tom several times and found him to be a fine railroader. I don't know how good his work was, but the steam locomotive ran well from what I saw. The locomotive was on every trip, and I never heard of any canceled trips. The operation folded after about 2 months with lower than expected ridership (they expected 200 people per train but were averaging around 20). I always thought converting that locomotive back to coal was a backwards idea.

The T-1 is a superheated locomotive and the water getting in the dry pipe as the reason to run with a light throttle was Tom Payne BS. Truth is that the awful oil burner contraption he cobbed together wasn't worth a tinkers damn and was totally incapable of maintaining working pressure except with a very light throttle.

Also, the worst part was that it caused terribly uneven heat patterns within the firebox causing massive strains on the side sheets.

That whole operation was doomed to fail from the outset and VERY luckily for all of us it went broke quickly.......before it caused a tragedy.

Sad but true. Ross Rowland

If my memory serves me, photos were once shared here, showing some of this burner arrangement. Again, if my memory serves me, the comment was that it was cobbled together with bits from the local hardware store...

Just another naysayer!!!!

The officially sanctioned term is "Nattering Nabob of Negativity®"................

I believe you mean these photos https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/phil ... ol.765929/

from this thread viewtopic.php?f=1&t=32915&

Would someone please remind me of what the name on the tender means?

FERRO = IRON
EQUUS = HORSE

Well, I guess that is what it is, but sort of an odd, old term for a modern steamer, in English/French speaking Canada at the time.

Good, now we have a point of reference to discuss the burner arrangement.

At risk of going even farther off topic, the Ferroequus Railway was also the name for Tom Payne's attempt to forcibly acquire trackage rights on CN between his Alberta shortline and Prince Rupert, so he could run his own grain trains all the way from elevators to the port.

https://www.producer.com/news/ferroequu ... ts-ruling/

Those photos of the burner mounted in the firebox door are really something, and that setup looks nothing like what CN and CP used on their oil burning engines.

Is THAT what that is ??? Wowsers !!! I LOVE the rubber fuel hose right next to the Dutch Firedoor.

I hate to ask dumb questions in public, but what is that gizmo sticking up in between the siphons in front of the flash wall ?? You know, right where there's lots of soot. I figured maybe the flames spewed out of there. And here I thought I knew something about oil firing.

I don't see anything to close off the top of the Dutch Firedoor. Bet that gets exciting, unless all that cold air prevents the possibility of a flashback...

You make a reasonable case here, but after seeing the pictures of the oil firing setup in 2100, I respectfully hold a different opinion.

You fellas don't have to listen to Mr. Rowland if you don't want to, but before I listen to either one of you, would you mind putting your railroad resumes and railroad work records up alongside of his ?? Or, maybe you could show me a full size steam locomotive that you restored ??