firing up a steamer

Model Railroader Prototype information for the modeler
1

How long would it take to fire up a steamer to get enough pressure to move? Like, how long would it take to get a Berkshire up to steam, so you can use it?

2

From scratch without a house steam source, it takes a few hours to get steam up to an operating presure.

During the service days of steam, the railroads used round house steam to warm the boilers after a wash out of the boiler, you could get the locomotive back in operation in about an hour. This was done quickly when a locomotive was needed by using house steam from a stationary boiler to bring the engine back to life.

CZ

3

Also, it depends on when the loco was used last and the practices of the railroad. Many railroads, if the loco was just going for daily servicing at a terminal, would not even drop the fire, unless a problem was found that required it. If it was to be inactive for a while, they may bank the fire, meaning it would take an hour or so to get it back up to pressure. Even if the fire was put out and dumped, they would just allow the pressure to drop as the boiler cooled naturally. The it would depend on how long it had been coolin.

Practices differed from one railroad to another, and one era to another on the same railroad, possibly from one terminal to another on the same railroad.

4

There have been several threads about this, mostly in the Trains/Steam and Preservation forum. The concensus seems to be that, starting from dead cold, the boiler should be heated to full operating temperature over a long period, frequently a full day. Rapid or uneven heating will cause stress buildup, leading to eventual failure.

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)

5

Here is a link to firing a cold oil fired loco.

http://www.sdrm.org/faqs/hostling.html

I have been to Disney in Florida and they have oil fired NG steam locomotives. Forgot to ask if they keep the boiler water hot somehow and then light off the burner in the morning. It can strain the boiler fittings if the water cools off.The cabs can get quite hot in warm weather which can be much of the year.

Rich

6

A cold engine will need at least six hours. The heat produced by the fire is not the limiting factor but you would heat up all the steal really slow not to damage the engine.