and he notes - You can see what Don is talking about on this site (click on the pix for enlargements):
http://www.trainweb.org/jlsrr/livesteam/bigboy-butterfly-firebox-doors/bigboy-butterfly-firebox-doors.htm The fire door shown was typical of Franklin Equipment Supply Co. doors found on most steam locos. On 'muzzle loaders' the piston operating the door was usually operated by a foot pedal. Don is correct, the 'dimples' or blind holes are to cool and relieve expansion in the door plates. Through holes wouldn't allow heat to escape into the cab due to the draft effect in the chamber as air is drawn up from the grates. Having ridden in many hand fired steam locomotives running at speed, I must admit I was always in awe of the fireman. With the foot plate bouncing around like a cork, he'd scoop a shovel of 'real estate', turn and step on the treadle and send it into the roaring firebox. All I ever saw was a white hot fire but somehow he knew where to direct the coal to keep an even flame. Even on a stoker fired loco the fireman would still add coal here and there to maintain a level bed of coals. The fireman had to be a dedicated employee, that's for sure. I say dedicated but not always happy. I remember one time I rode on the express from Boston to Lowell, Mass. It was only 25 or so miles and no need to stop for water. Anyway the locomotive was, by that time, a GP7 or an RS3 with steam heating apparatus for passenger service. But for some reason that day a P2d Class Pacific was substituted (3689 as I recall). All of the 3600s were hand fired and this guy had his heart set on an easy trick. Not! Talk about one ticked off fireman, he used cuss words that weren't in my vocabulary! I did ride in P4 Pacific No. 3713 on that same schedule in the last days of steam on the B&M. The loco was stoker fired but the fireman let me toss a few scoops. I managed to get one out of three into the firebox with the rest scattered on the cab floor. Firing a steam loco wasn't my forte! The locomotive spent many years on display at Boston's Museum of Science before it went to Steamtown in Vermont and then Scranton where it is today. Raleigh in chilly Maine... 6/2008, Don Thompson wrote: >Dear Rusty, >We almost made that mistake on our 2-8-0. In the early proposal >phase, we had the good fortune of having Howie Waelder looking over >my shoulder. I then learned about the MTH mistake. They too saw the >drawings for the butterfly doors on the firebox and assumed all those >holes were cored through to the firebox. Howie had a big laugh and >told me how funny that was. The last thing the fireman wants is for >heat to escape out of the firebox. Firing a steam engine was back >breaking work, why would anyone want to shovel even more coal? We >went down to the Black River & Western R.R. to check out the firebox >of old #60, a 20's era 2-8-0. Sure enough, the firebox door did not >have holes, but blind openings. According to Howie, this was to help >keep the the cool the firedoor, not the inside of the firebox. >Best, >Don > >On Oct 4, 2008, at 2:31 PM, thebrassbasher wrote: > > > I figured that it would be a good thing to drill the vent holes in > > the two fire box > > doors. > > > > > > > Rusty (J Rustermier) > > > > > > > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
