Boiler

I believe UK practice was to wash out boilers with cold water. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

North American practice was to blow down the boiler contents into a holding tank, wash out the boiler with hot water via the stationary boiler almost ever roundhouse was equipped with, then refill the boiler with the hot water and steam from the holding tank. Took a couple of hours out of traffic Vs the day or more in the UK.

Most North America roundhouses had stationary boilers. In the snow belt, the were not only for boiler washouts and steam cleaning locos and passenger cars, but for heating the roundhouse, providing steam heat to all ancillary buildings in both the roundhouse area and also to station and other railway buildings, providing steam heat to waiting passenger cars and other assorted uses.

North American roundhouse were (reasonable) warm in winter, as were the backshops, not open, cold, draughty places like UK engine sheds and workshops.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

"John Sullivan" wrote

They used to be, until they switched the game to Summer! :-(

John.

G'day John, You mean there is a difference between Winter & Summer in the UK. Well I Never. LOL. Graeme Hearn

In message , John Sullivan writes

League? Women's game. Now Union, that's a proper game...

And the trains run better than the local old slamdoor stock. That and you don't have to put up with the worst of humanity using them, yes I had to use public transport (trains) over the holidays, not my choice the court insist on public transport only.....

...

Which means that fitters and the like had to work to keep warm. :-)

"Graeme Hearn" wrote

Yes, we play RL in the Summer. :-)

Happy New Year Graeme.

John.

"James Christie" wrote

You mean the fifteen-a-side penalty kicking competition?

John.

"Chris Wilson"

Ah yes, the romance of steam.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

G'day John and All, Happy New Year from Down Under. Or should that be the Right Way Up. Graeme Hearn

G'day again, Funny how the Poms lose interest when the lose their Miracle Working Kicker, Don't they Graeme Hearn

"Graeme Hearn" wrote

Never had any interest in RU I'm afraid, although it was nice to stuff the Aussies at something for a change. Mind you now the England RU team have an ex-RL player captaining the side and a whole host of ex-RL coaches, they might learn to play rugby how it was intended. ;-)

John.

G'day John, In my younger days I played both games. But i prefer Rugby League. I = have been a Penrith Panthers supporter since I moved from Queensland 30 = years ago. I still support Queensland in the State of Origin. Do you support Hull? Graeme Hearn Go the Maroons

"Graeme Hearn" wrote

Hull FC (not KR) and Wakefield Trinity.

John.

In re the sand supply in small U.K. loco depots, I know that they didn't have sand supply towers like the Continent and the States, so where was the sand kept (in bags perhaps?), and how was it dried? I can't even remember how we did it here in Victoria. Regards, Bill.

"William Pearce" wrote

It was generally stored 'loose' in sand houses. I assume there was some sort of furnace in these for drying sand, which was then fed into the loco sand boxes by hand.

John.

In message , John Turner writes

Only since the 'professionals' took over from the 'amateurs'... Bunch of fairies the lot of them.

In message , Graeme Hearn writes

Graeme, if it wasn't for JW, England would never have won the World Cup, England are one man team and unbelievably arrogant to boot. Thus why we always celebrate when something happens to him, and see them English types lose.

Some of the larger GWR sheds had stationary boilers for powering machinary in the repair/lifting shop, but this was normally located inside a boiler house. Occasionally a withdrawn loco was used to provide steam in lieu.

David