This is a question of little import, but I’m just curious. When passenger cars were steam heated and cooled, was the steam from the locomotive regulated down to a lower pressure? I find it hard to imagine that up to 300 psi steam was carried through the whole train.
IIRC there was a regulator and pressure gauge on top of the boiler in the cab. It was usually set to 50PSI.
One big thing to remember about steam heat was that, unlike the brake and signal hoses between cars, the steam line had to be manually disconnected before uncoupling a car.
And, before switching cars in or out, the steam was cut off at the engine and the line opened at the rear of the train, so there would be no pressure in the line, making it safe to connect or disconnect cars. This could be done before the train stopped at the point of switching.
Disconnecting and connecting steam lines was the work of carmen, not the train & engine crew of the train.
Yes, but whenever I rode north on the IC to or through Jackson, Miss., the flagman would signal the engine crew to reduce (shut off) the train heat, and he would open the valve at the rear of the last car. Perhaps this was done on no other road; I do not know.
Thank You.
At engine change points, such as New Haven and Harrisburg and South Amboy, often the steam and hot water had to be cleared well before reaching the station in order to speed up the engine change. So approaching these stations, there was a noticeable temerature drop in the cars.
[quote user=“Kootenay Central”]
Here is some information that might be of interest to younger folks who missed steam, steam-heated passenger trains and the era before train radio, and some of the good, and bad, that went with it.
As was previously mentioned, the rear steam valve on a passenger train would be opened from inside the last car to blow out any steam in the line, but, also to heat up all the piping in the train and remove as much water as possible in freezing weather.
On most SOU & N&W passenger cars there was no inside valve control. Had the operating control just under steps of cars.
Terminal stations had steam lines from a stationary boiler plant to heat departing passenger rolling stock in the station before the road engine was brought down.
N&W would keep spare coaches at Bristol, Va. hooked up all winter and in very hot weather to run A/C.
In addition, there were special electric jumper cables from station power to charge the lighting batteries under the cars. These cables were hung up under the roof on hooks and they were brought down and hung back up using a long stick with a hook on the top end.
Maybe where you were but in Bristol they used motor generators (2 different one some kind of AC and a DC motor generator pulled by tractors.)
The Conductor or Trainman on the moving train would then signal ‘Shut off Train Heat’ on the air communication system on the Signal Line on a passenger train, the pull cords usually in the vestibules at the end of the car.
N&W, SOU, and L&N used 6 pulls to signal turn off the steam heat.
The Enginemen would then shut off the steam stop valve at the Turret.
A long train of, say, 20 or so cars would require more steam than an 8 car train, and the Trainmen could signal ‘Increase Train Heat’ on the Signal Line if the rear cars were cool.
Do not know that signal?
Thanks, everyone for all the info. There are so many details involved in operating trains that outsiders like me don’t even imagine.
Bleeding active steam out of the steam line and actually working with the steam line connections are two different things. Yes it was the train and engine crews responsibility to bleed off the active steam…it was the carman job to actually disconnect and connect the steam couplings, which required tools to activate the locking mechanisms. After the carman completed his task(s) then the train and engine crew would re-charge the steam line.
And the PRR and Neew Haven. Possibly the NYC also.