Golden Gate Railroad Museum's heavy Pacific S.P. 2472 will have new tubes & flues installed soon (1-2 weeks). Question: Has anyone used natural gas or propane on a relatively large boiler to (1) warm up boiler for warm-water hydro test, to avoid soot that would result from oil firing, and/or (2) to bring up boiler to say 40psi steam before switching over to oil firing?

I believe that S.P. used natural gas for emergency firing up at outlying roundhouses where no stationary steam source or fired-up other locomotive was available, but I haven't been able to locate a solid reference on this. In particular, I'd like to know if they connected natural gas to the main (oil) burner, or if a completely seperatre burner was used. (S.P.'s 1921 and 1928 editions of Instructions for Operating Oil-Burning Locomotives don't mention use of natural gas; they recommend firing up with wood if necessary, and warn that all wood residue must be cleaned out of firepan before operating engine, to avoid throwing burning embers and starting fires.)

- Doug Debs

I have used LP gas and oyster roaster burners to warm a 0-4-0 for hydro and raise adequate steam to light off, and a 2" natural gas line piped through the oil burner to fire up 3 foot gage Shays and 2-8-0s. One of the Shays was horizontally drafted and required a small wood fire kindled on the firepan to prevent the gas fire from going out.

dave

Doug,
Talk to John Bush at Roaring Camp, (831) 335-4484 ext. 138. The current hostling procedure on the RC&BT is to light off with natural gas fed directly into the burner (as Dave described) and switch over at about 40-45 pounds. Works well.

SP 982 in Houston does have a 1/2" plug valve (for natural gas fire up) tied into the oil line downstream of the firing valve and oil heater. It feeds into the burner. Also use shop compressed air for the blower.

This was SOP in the Houston Hardy street shops.

Unfortunely this arrangement will never get used on 982 again.

Greg Radler
TRPA