'Scuse my ignorance. I understand why a steam loco needs coal and water. Why does it need sand?
Sand get put down under the wheels to give better traction.
HD
Plain and simple…Traction.
BTW modern diesels still use sand to get started just like steam did.
Which is the same reason that diesels also need/use sand. That’s why sanding towers are still part of locomotive servicing facilities.
Regards
Ed
not only did the steam locos use sand but the modern day diesels use it too…the air pressure from the air compressor is applied to a sand hopper aboard the engine and the sand is sprayed in front of the wheels on the locomotive to provide traction when pulling heavy loads, especially when the locomotive first takes off…if you ever pass a siding or a yard, look by the sides of the track and you will see small piles of sand especially by the turnouts…chuck
The fireman on a steam locomotive would also use sand pulled into the fire box while the engine was working hard to clean out the flues of combustion residue to improve the heat transfer and make the engine produce steam better.
Will
A picture is worth 1000 words. That’s 5 of them on the left. The photo was taken last fall.
There’s one photo in the book on the N&W Y-class mallets that shows the upgrade track on a grade, completely covered with crushed sand. It was also all over the drivers of the loco in the picture.
Cleaning sand-fouled ballast is a necessary expense, so it was no surprise that an SP employee made trade headlines some years back by redesigning the sand nozzles on a loco to reduce sand consumption by 90% or so.
not only do steam and diesel locos use sand for traction so do streetcars , at least here in Toronto they do
What kind of sand and how much do they hold on a diesel and where is it put in? Anyone have a pic of a sand tower or them loading sand into a train?
Speaking of sand… If you can find a nice pile of it, it works great for scenery. The gound cover around the shack is sand I got from UP out here in Arizona.
[:D]
I knew diesels used sand for traction- but i didn’t know steamers did- how does it work on a steamer? (i mean how it’s applied to the rails)
On top of the boiler there are usually two dome shaped structures. The forward dome had hatches on them for filling with sand. From the base of the sand dome run small diameter piping down the boiler to just in front of several or all the drivers. The heat from the boiler helped keep the sand dry to help with its flow to the rail for enhanced traction when called for.
Will
AHA! that’s what the domes were for- so it’s basicly gravity-fed to the rails? i suppoes there is an “applicator” in front of each driving wheel. Whaen did steamers start using sand? i can’t imaging the first ones did.
Why do you use sand for your cars when you get stuck in ice…TRACTION!!!
Victor
Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]
There were steam domes also.
Sand was not used on the very first loco’s, but early on. Ever seen a civil war era loco?
http://www.locomotivegeneral.com/faq.html
Sand dome in front, and a steam dome behind.