The Traveling Engineers' Association to Improve the Locomotive Engine Service of American Railroads Part 8

14. Q. How is a brake cut out?

A. By closing the cut-out c.o.c.k in the cross-over pipe and bleeding the auxiliary reservoir.

15. Q. How would you bleed an auxiliary reservoir?

A. By holding open the release valve on the reservoir until all air has escaped.

16. Q. How would you bleed off a stuck brake?

A. By holding open the auxiliary release valve until the brake piston starts to move toward release position.

=OIL BURNING LOCOMOTIVES=

1. Q. What are the fireman's duties on arrival at the enginehouse previous to going out on an oil burning locomotive?

A. In addition to the duties usually performed on any engine, the fireman should observe the condition of draft pans and arch, observe the condition of burner and dampers; try the oil regulating valve; see that the burner is properly delivering fuel oil to the fire; see that the oil heaters are in working order; that the fuel oil is heated to proper temperature; and see that proper supplies of fuel oil, sand and water have been provided as well as the necessary tools for handling an oil fire.

2. Q. How warm should the oil be at all times in the tank.

A. Warm enough to flow freely at all times, usually about 112 degrees.

This temperature is about that which the hand can bear on the outside of the tank.

3. Q. If the oil is too warm, what happens?

A. Many of the good qualities of the oil may be lost by keeping it too warm, and the burner is more difficult to operate and does not work as well when the oil is kept at too high a temperature. Should the oil be too warm, it will give off too much gas which would be liable to cause an explosion in the oil tank.

4. Q. What tools are necessary for firing purposes on an oil burning locomotive?

A. The tools necessary for firing an oil burning engine include sand horn, brick hook, and a small iron bar to be used in cleaning carbon from the mouth of the burner.

5. Q. What is liable to happen if the heater valve is open too much?

A. If the heater valve is opened too much it would be liable to burst the heater hose as well as to heat the oil to a too high temperature and place an unnecessary strain on all the heater connections, causing them to leak.

6. Q. What should be done on approaching stations where additional supply of fuel oil is to be taken?

A. Shut off the fire, close safety and main oil valves, remove any lamps that are so close as to be unsafe when manhole cover is open.

7. Q. What care must be exercised in the use of lamps, torches or lanterns about oil tanks whether hot or cold?

A. Never permit oil lamps or oil torches to be carried within ten feet of the tank opening. Only incandescent lamps or pocket flash lights should be used around oil tank manhole when taking oil.

8. Q. How can oil in the tank be measured without taking a light to the manhole?

A. By inserting a measuring stick into oil in tank and taking stick to the light for reading.

9. Q. What precautions must be taken before entering tanks that have been used for oil to clean or make repairs?

A. Oil tanks, before being entered by workmen, should be thoroughly steamed and cooled before being entered. For safety they should be steamed from six to eight hours.

10. Q. How should the fire be lighted in an oil burning locomotive?

A. First see that no one is working under the engine, that there is the proper amount of water in the boiler and that it will flow through the gauge c.o.c.ks, that there is no acc.u.mulation of oil in the ash-pan or fire-box or existing leaks throughout. If there is no steam in the boiler, the steam connections can be made to the three-way c.o.c.k at the smoke-arch that will answer for blower and atomizer. If there are twenty pounds of steam in the boiler, it can be operated with its own blower.

If oil in the tank is too cold to flow into the burner readily, it must be heated. Open the front damper and put on the blower strong enough to create the necessary draft, open the atomizer valve long enough to blow out any water that might be in the steam pipe to the burner, then close the valve and throw a piece of burning waste in front of the burner and open the atomizer valve enough to carry oil to the burning waste and open the regulating valve slowly until the oil is known to be ignited.

Watch the ignition through the hole in the fire-box door, then regulate the steam and oil supply to suit. Be sure that no oil is wasting below the burner or an explosion may result that will prove disastrous.

11. Q. Should the fire go out and it is desired to rekindle it while bricks are hot, is it safe to depend on the hot bricks to ignite the oil without the use of lighted waste?

A. No; depending upon the heat from the firebricks to re-light the fire is dangerous and forbidden.

12. Q. What is termed an atomizer, and what does it perform?

A. The atomizer is a casting containing two long ports with an extension lip; the upper port is for oil and the lower one for steam. The lip aids the steam in atomizing and spreading the oil, which, when properly mingled with the air and ignited, will produce combustion. The atomizer is located just under the mud-ring and pointed a little upward, so the stream of oil and spray of steam would strike the opposite wall a few inches above the bottom if it would pa.s.s clear across the fire-box.

13. Q. In starting or closing the throttle of the locomotive, how should the fireman regulate the fire, in advance or after the action of the engineer?

A. In starting an oil burning engine the oil should gradually be brought up as the throttle is opened and the movement and amount of oil should be kept slightly in advance of the action of the engineer in order to prevent an inrush of cold air as the engine is working, which would result in injury to the fire-box and flues. When the throttle is to be closed, the fire should be reduced very slightly in advance of the closing of the throttle. This is to prevent the engine from popping off and black smoke drifting back over the train.

14. Q. Is it necessary that the engineer and fireman on an oil burning locomotive work in perfect harmony and advise each other of intended action at every change of conditions?

A. Yes; they should work in harmony with each other on any locomotive.

The fireman should watch every move the engineer makes, and the engineer should advise the fireman of every intended change of the throttle, so he can operate his valves accordingly and save fuel and avoid black smoke.

15. Q. What is the effect of forcing the fire on an oil burning locomotive?

A. Forcing the fire is very hard on fire-box sheets and flues, and will cause them to leak. An even temperature should be maintained in the fire-box of any locomotive.

16. Q. Is a careful regulation of steam and oil valves and dampers necessary to obtain the most economical results?

A. Yes; the fireman's oil valve should be opened just wide enough to permit a sufficient amount of oil to be fed to produce a good fire, but not wide enough to waste oil or produce a volume of black smoke.

17. Q. How can you judge whether the combustion is good or bad, so the valve may be regulated accordingly?

A. By the color of the fire in the fire-box. When it is a dull red color, the temperature is below 1,000 degrees and combustion is incomplete, dense black smoke will issue from the stack. If it is a bright red, the temperature will be about 1,800 degrees and combustion very good, and no black smoke will appear from the stack.

18. Q. How should the flues be cleaned from soot when running, and about how often is this necessary?

A. By placing a small quant.i.ty of sand in an elbow shaped funnel or horn, and by inserting same in an opening provided in fire door while engine is working hard, allowing the exhaust to draw the sand through the flues, thus cutting soot and gum from them in its pa.s.sage and discharging it from the stack. It is necessary that the flues be cleaned of soot on leaving terminals or sidings where the engine has been at rest for any length of time, and also as often as found necessary to aid the engine in steaming. This depends to a great extent upon the degree of perfection with which combustion is obtained. Attention should also be given flues just prior to entering points where engine is to be put in roundhouse or otherwise detained in order to leave the flues clean, as this will aid in putting engine under steam with little delay where the blower alone is to be relied on for draft.

19. Q. Is the injudicious use of the blower particularly injurious on an oil burning locomotive?

A. Yes; the injudicious use of a blower is injurious to any boiler. The cold air drawn through the fire-box is hard on the sheets and flues and will cause them to leak.

20. Q. Is the blower more injurious when a light smoke is emitting from the stack or when a dense black smoke is emitting?