Just in case anyone is wondering which railroad was the "Q", it was better known by most as the Burlington. Only old heads, true affecionados or historians would know it as the "Q". That was also the case with the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway. Sometimes folks down this way refer to it by it's original name, the Nashville and Chattanooga Railway.

envlink@voyageronline.net

> I'm glad you made the point about
> "rerefined" oil. I've been biting
> my tongue but folks have been using the
> phrase "crankcase oil" pretty
> freely.

> I don't know about the legality of burning
> it, but I suspect that it's not. The stuff
> that comes straight out of a crankcase is
> pretty nasty and shouldn't be burned. It's
> contaminated with all kinds of nasty
> chemicals, particulates and metal bits that
> are byproducts of combustion and wear.
> Rerefining filters most, if not all of that
> stuff out.

> Recycled/rerefined oil is commonly called
> crankcase oil. The few steam railroads I've
> asked about the oil, when pressed, admitted
> they used rerefined oil. I'm sure there are
> some "old heads" out there that
> use the stuff straight.

> There's plenty of information on rerefined
> oil on the web. A quick search with an
> engine like Google will provide you with
> dozens of informative links.

There's nothing wrong at all with re-refined oil. It's had all the heavy metals and toxics removed and any lumps/clumps screened out, all water, ash and soot removed, and usually the flash point has been adjusted to customer spec or to a specific API spec by "cutting" it with an appropriate amount of #2 diesel fuel.

That's far different from burning the stuff right out of your local Jiffy Lube or from an oil scavenging company. There is no way of knowing what is in that stuff for certain, and burning it is risky, IMO. One accident (or EPA fine) can easily wipe out whatever savings you might think you are achieving from burning the "free" fuel, and then some.