Re: Fuel Oil Heating CPR Selkirks
- From: "Dennis Storzek" <dstorzek@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: cpsig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2006 12:55:41 -0000
--- In cpsig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Doug Hately" <d.hately@...> wrote:
What do modern day excursion steamers burn?
I always thought it was home heating oil (diesel fuel).
I believe the only thing that bunker C oil had to recommend it was
that it was cheap. If I recall correctly, it is the residue left when
the refining process removes the lighter fractions that become fuel
and lubricating oils. The one great drawback for modern use is it has
to be heated to flow, and so has to be maintained at elevated
temperature, even in storage. Most modern operations use grades of oil
that flow at ambient temperature so as not to have to heat them.
The firing apparatus on an oil burning steam locomotive is extremely
simple; the burner is just a block of steel with a rectangular slit
and a steam port opposite. 200 PSI steam will atomize anything that
will flow in front of the steam port. The firing valve is a simple
rotary valve with a triangular port; the further it is turned, the
larger the opening.
My limited experience was at the Illinois Railway Museum, about thirty
years ago when they were running a little oil fired 2-6-2. They
started out with No.2 fuel oil, but then made arrangements with an oil
recycler, who would just unload in the tank car that was used for oil
storage. The recycler started to use the museum as a disposal point
for loads he didn't want to take in for reclaiming. Once he delivered
a load of used paint thinner. We knew something was wrong when we
found the spillage had stripped the paint off the tank car. Even that
material was useable, although very prone to flashing if the fire went
out momentarily. Another truckload of used motor oil diluted it and
solved that problem.
Dennis
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