Has anybody ever modeled a fire steam locomotive? Evidently they were quite common during the steam era in settings where a locomotive with an open fire would have been a hazard. I’ve never seen one produced commercially but it seems they’d fit in nicely with a steam-era layout.
Here is a link to a site that has quite a bit about them.
I’ve built a lot of stuff over the years but never one of these. They are an odd sort of duck.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireless_locomotive
see ya
Bob
I don’t know of any commercial models of fireless steam locomotives. This is a little unusual, in that they were found across the country in industrial settings and some of them lasted well past the usual “end of steam”. In the summer of 1969, I rode the New York Central “James Whitcomb Riley” from Cincinnati to Chicago, and just north of the passenger station in Indianapolis was an operational fireless steam (I think 0-4-0) that was used to serve the steam plant there.
While 0-4-0 was likely the most common wheel arrangement for fireless steam, the largest one produced was an 0-8-0 built by Heisler and still on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania:
Bill
I know that Steamtown has a fireless locomotive from the original Blount collection, an 0-6-0, I think.
I don’t know of any company that makes these engines, but it would be really neat.
Certainly shouldn’t be too hard to make one, since the ‘boiler’ is straight and cylindrical, not tapered and there’s no firebox to worry about.
–Randy
… or you get one from Trix, Marklin´s 2-rail DC brand. Look here:
This might be better asked on the Prototype Information thread but can someone please explain how a “fireless” steam locomotive works?
Thanks
Dave
These locomotives were used largely by industries which had some need for steam for the regular operation of the business. Thus it was easy to use locos that relied on that steam. They were use in local yard service and never strayed very far from a steam source.
They functioned exactly as any other steam propelled loco except… they did not boil their own water. They would charge these locos with what ever steam under pressure that they might have used for other in house functions.
When looking at a fireless cooker you will find a stack and usually at least one dome. They exhaust was conducted the same as an on board fire boiler would have. The dome was necessary as they still needed a dry pipe to prevent water from arriving at the pistons.
see ya
Bob
West side models made one in brass…
Guy
That link is not really useful as it wants to know the numbers or the name of the loco…
Sorry for that.
Here is a picture:
Bob got the explanation just perfect. We had a large furniture and box manufacturer near my home as a kid and they shunted a lot of cars to and from the main ACL off property ready track, back and forth.
They had two Porter “fireless cookers”. Porter seemed to be the #1 manufacturer of these pressure bottle engines and most were 0-4-0 and a few 0-6-0. This large multiacre business had steam going all over the plant and a large steam house and generator station attached to the plant. So, there was a lot of steam on hand 24-7. I used to watch the puffers hook up to their steam fill points. They could do quite a bit of work on a fill…A lot more than you might think.
They certainly were not pretty, but pretty is never important when work is to be done. They functioned well, but side clearances were an issue that had to be considered.
Richard
I’ve actually been working on such a project!
A friend gave me a short Bachmann Vanderbilt tender, and I didn’t have a use for it. One day I was looking at it and thought that it’s rear end ( with ‘‘head’’ light and ladder on either side) looked like a loco. After research, I found that it (with work) could resemble a ‘‘thermos bottle’’. I’ve been on the look-out for a 0-4-0 chassis (an 0-6-0 would be tight), but all I can find are ones with open-frame motors. I plan to use a cab I have from an old Lima 0-4-0 shifter.
I have several. They are fireless and run on electricity.
If memory serves me some years back one of these “fireless cookers” got first place honors in one of the locomotive categories at an NMRA national.
That sounds cool! I hope you’ll upload some photos.
These Porters (S1 & S2) worked the GN tie plant in Somers MT. One is on display in Somers, the other in Polson.
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It seems to me the big problem with these prototypes is the limited power pickup.
Besides the fireless steam locos, there were also compressed air locos. Many were very small, for use in mines. The Homestake Mine in South Dakota had some Porter compressed air locos in use up until the 1980’s.
Larger compressed air locos were often used in explosives plants, due to the obvious need to avoid any sort of flame or spark.
Then there was something called a “caustic soda locomotive”, which was also fireless but had some other unpleasant issues and never really caught on.
as a matter of fact yes I have made two fireless locomotives in HO scale they are the Somers lumber company’s S-1 and S-2.
https://www.tinkercad.com/things/6opT3bDap0k-somers-lumber-co-s-1-ho-scale-shell
this is a link to the custom 3D shell design I have for my wheel chassis