Leader model

I've mentioned before that a friend in California was a professional fireman on oil-fired engines. He did all the things that his coal firing equivalent did. It was just less physical effort.

These days he is in demand to fire engines guesting on tourist lines, railfairs etc.

"Christopher A. Lee" wrote

Maybe, but somewhere in this thread someone suggested that many steam locos on tourist lines are single-manned, so the second man can't be doing too much.

John.

ISTR that one important difference is the anticipation needed for steam demand. An oil burner needs a fairly fast adjustment to the oil supply to cope with demand. A Coal burner can have the cushion of a ton or so of fuel at red heat which can very quickly be brought to white heat and generate more"instant" energy than an oil jet . Works the other way as well,easier to shut down an oil supply than to cool a coal bed down.

G.harman

It's not so much a question of what the second man is doing as what the first man (the driver) is doing. Oil-fired steam doesn't require anyone to physically shovel coal, which is the most time-consuming aspect of firing, so it's possible for one man to operate both the driving and firing controls rather than having two men, one for each role. But that's adding to the driver's responsibilities, and depending on the complexity of the route and the type of locomotive that may not necessarily be practical even if it is possible. If it takes the driver's attention away from the line (and signals) ahead to any significant degree then it may well be undesirable from a safety aspect.

Mark

On Feb 14, 2:54 pm, Mark Goodge

No need for AI, just a dumb system based on GPS and route knowledge could control the boiler to provide steam when needed.

MBQ

In that case depending on the time difference required, the driver changes the position of the regulater handle but the regulator itself is computer controlled and doesnt act on the drivers request until it has suitably adjusted the burner.

Cheers, Simon

A few years ago I took a trip on the 1888 Train near Mt Rushmore in South Dakota. They told us that, early in the 20th century, it was decreed that locomotives in that State should no longer use either wood or coal but run only on used automobile engine oil. Boy could you tell that they still do!!

We found that was too dirty, blocking the atomiser nozzle and in the end used "regular" (bunker C?) oil.

Or even easier - just give the driver an extra handle to play with!

Cheers Richard