How Do Steam Locomotives Work - Steam Engines Explained
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- This was probably one of the hardest things to animate, especially the rods and cranks. With more time I would've been able to fully and properly animate them - but, alas. Time was my enemy.
The video explains how steam locomotives use a fuel (usually coal) to start a fire and get water boiling, in order to create steam, which drives the reciprocating piston. Much like a piston in your car, although there there's one tiny "explosion" that happens when the piston is on the top of the stroke (along with a few other pistons).
In reciprocating steam engines, pistons get pushed and pushed, meaning: They get pushed by pressurised steam from both sides, alternating (obviously). Using this back-and-forth motion, using a smart connection to the drive wheel - offsetting it from the center - you can get that wheel to move. And thus, move the train (and whatever it's pulling).
There are different types of steam engine, the most popular one (and the one used in most steam locomotives) is the reciprocating piston engine. A piston moves left and right, pushed by (super)heated steam. This directly drives the wheels.
A few things were skipped in the animation, such as the steam whistle or how the safety valve works. I also left out the superheater, because of time constraints. Basically, what a superheater does, is run the steam entering the main steam pipe and rerouting it passed the firetubes, thus further heating the steam. This to make absolutely sure the water in the steam is too hot to condens in the pistons.
Of course there is more to the story of locomotives and trains than just how they work, the whole idea of moving cargo by train is interesting. As is the rules of the road - or rail, rather - that apply.
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Very rarely such a complex mechanism is explained so simply, making amateurs to understand easily.
I already knew all of this stuff, but it was still really cool and informative to people who don't like trains!
Who cares
@@andribartolozzi ikr
It's not complex
It’s not complex at all
Many of the early "boiler explosions" were actually caused by inattentive firemen allowing the firebox crown sheet to become uncovered and exposing to excessive boiler heat.
Oh cool I didn't read up on reasons for these explosions and assumed it was down to pressures. Thanks!
What is the crown sheet?
@@bobbyhill4715 The firebox is a hollow cavity that kind of "sticks up" into the part of the boiler that actually holds water. If you look in the animation at about 1:19, you can see that the section of the boiler directly above the firebox only has a little water on top of it since it is so much higher than the rest of the boiler. That metal sheet needs the water there to sort of "wick away" the heat, otherwise it will get way too hot and become unable to contain the pressure from within the boiler, resulting in an explosion.
The reason an inattentive fireman might cause such an explosion is because the locomotive "consumes" the water in the boiler. The steam that exits the boiler to be used in the cylinders doesn't get put back, it just vents to the atmosphere. So by means of a steam-powered pump or a magical little device called a "water injector", water is pressurized and forced into the boiler to replenish the lost water. Turning the water injector on and off when necessary would have been the fireman's job, so a distracted or incompetent fireman might allow the water level to drop below the top of the crown sheet, resulting in the crown sheet buckling and the boiler bursting.
@@IntoTheOrdinary also many of the early accidents involving boiler explosions is due to wear and tear plus bad maintenance. One locomotive in the 1840s exploded about a mile from Rugby Station in the UK, it's boiler skin was so badly corroded it was no thicker than an egg shell
i love trains
There's a new fuel that's just now being used for steam locomotives. It's called torrefied biomass, or "brown coal" which burns hotter and more evenly than coal, and is much, much cleaner. It makes no smoke or soot. They tested this on small steam locomotives at the Milwaukee County Zoo and proved to be successful. A group is now restoring a full sized steam locomotive called Santa Fe 3463. It'll be converted to this new fuel and will run performance tests to see how much more successful steam locomotives could have been. While steam locomotives look slow and clunky, they were very reliable, powerful, and fast machines. What really killed them was maintenace costs. However, because they haven't had a chance to fully develop in their revenue years, it was later believed and proven, that steam locomotives can be just as cheap in labor as diesels.
Amazing!!
@KvAT torrefied biomass is organic waste (think sawdust or wood chips) that has been heated to make it chemically similar to coal, and then compressed in to briquettes. Its carbon neutral and burns like coal
@@danc101 Carbon neutral, after all that work is done turning it into torrefied biomass?
@@tomr6955 factories that produce such fuels are typically powered by wood waste making them carbon neutral. If they're not using carbon neutral energy then I agree it rather defeats the point of it.
There are several other problems besides the fuel inefficiency, maintenance, and pollution:
- much more work-intensive to operate (although modern automation might reduce that somewhat)
- it takes a long time to prepare. Big steam locomotives had to start their fires at least 10 hours before their scheduled start if they were cold. This costs both fuel and labor, and causes inflexibility in the scheduling.
- the piston drive leads to significantly more wear and tear on the tracks
- you need different locomotives for different tasks, high-speed passenger locomotives have big wheels so they can go fast, but they have less tractive force. To pull heavy cargo, you need smaller wheels and can't go as fast.
- even if you have cheap bio-fuel, it might be more efficient to liquefy it and use it in internal combustion engines, as they are more efficient than external combustion engines.
- they need a lot of water, which requires its own infrastructure
I'm not saying that modern biofuel-burning steam locomotives aren't viable in some niche roles, but steam locomotives have many disadvantages even if you disregard the smoke and soot.
As a lifelong railroad nut, I can appreciate a video such as this, and would certainly be interested in a more in-depth video about steam locomotives.
Thanks for giving the answer to the question that haunted me for decades: why does the exhaust smoke made a puffing sound, it could even escape on its own. Well, the excess steam from the piston is responsible. You made my day. SALUTE!
Glad to help! :)
The boiler/ fire box is running at negative pressure (slight vacuum) therefore the only way gases/ steam could go is through the chimney.
What the video didn't explain was that venting the used steam into the smoke box and out of the chimney creates a partial vacuum (Venturi effect), which draws more air through the coals, making them burn much hotter. It's called a blastpipe. It was an important development which improved the power and efficiency of locomotives.
Students loved this video! Thanks. U ate that.
This is a probably the best explanation that I've seen on the subject.
We often don't stop to think that things , we laugh at , or have become synonymous with obsolete technology " my old steam powered computer..." are not still completely understood by most of us . I have had a childhood fascination for steam engines. Wish you had made this video longer.
Most likely my favorite video explaining how steam locomotives work. I mean, I already knew how they work, but I still like to watch videos like this sometimes. It’s just such a high quality video with an easy explanation. Well done!
Can't imagine how big of engineering Masterpiece this would have been in the 1700's even today blows our mind.
Fun Fact: Steam trains were first invented in 1804
I would lile to see a video that is more in depth of how steam locomotives work.
Simple but concise explanation . .
Forgot to mention about the whistle - when the blowing mouth of the whistle is opened through a lever-pulley, the high pressure steam finds another way to get the damn out of the boiler. The whistle, as u know, is made up of a material like brass, or a conch, like that, such that when air is heavily blown through it, it vibrates vigorously and produces a loud sound. Since the steam is blown out of the boiler with high pressure, the whistle produces loud noise to Scare and Alarm the people to Get Out of the Track, as the Train is Coming
thank you, i dont know how fresh air went in the fire box but now i know
My 2.5 year old loved this explanation! He loves trains and can't wait to learn more about them!
Very useful - helped me understand and then explain to my 4 year old grandson how a steam train works. As another comment said, it's rare that something that is quite complex is explained so easily and clearly. It is easy to understand the principles involved. Well done!
As someone who has been learning this stuff all their life I can say that this video does a really good job at explaining these things to those who are new to this. Good job!
This technology is hundreds of years old and it still a complex marvel of engineering
Great explanation! I’m searching for references to draw one and this makes it easier to understand. Thank you!
At first I didn’t get it but now it makes sense why the explosions were lethal. People mentioned a crown sheet, which is the top of the firebox. Without the water at the top of the firebox from the result of water levels dropping, an inattentive fireman not regulating water levels, the crown sheet weakens due to heating up more because there’s no water to keep it cool, as a result, the pressure in the boiler releases through the firebox effectively steaming everyone in the cabin alive.
At first I was thinking the actual boiler explodes outside and wondered how extreme it would be to kill people inside, still possible, but the pressure releasing into the cabin makes more sense.
Great Video. Next could be to show how new water enters the already pressurized boiler. Thanks
I want to include steam trains in my dnd world (assisted with magic), and this has given me a much clearer idea of where to begin thinking about how steam trains would work in a magical world (and therefore how steam energy could be used in other areas of the world), I just love the Aesthetic of steam trains so much
Nicely done, though if you were ever going to re-do this, it might be worth mentioning that the action of the exhaust steam being shot up the stack creates a draft on the fire by sucking air up through the grates and through the firetubes (the smokebox is sealed so tightly the blast creates a partial vacuum inside it, and the only way that air can come in and fill this vacuum is by coming up through the grates and through the tubes), so the faster/harder the locomotive is working, the harder the fire will burn, and so the boiler can keep up with the demand for steam from the engine.
Another important part is the fusible plugs, which are installed in the top of the firebox (called the crown sheet), and are made of an alloy that melts at a lower temperature than the metal of the firebox itself. Under normal operation, so long as water is kept above the crown sheet, it will keep the firebox cool enough to not melt or distort even though the water itself is boiling hot, but if the water falls below the crown sheet, the metal will get so hot it can melt and the pressure will cave in the firebox, causing a boiler explosion.
The fusible plugs prevent this by melting and popping out should the above situation happen, causing all the water and steam to go rushing into the firebox to put out the fire, thus preventing said explosion.
+Shipwright1918 super comment! Yes there are a lot of intricasies and details left out, sadly. These are things I came across but ran out of time. :(
Into The Ordinary
Totally understandable, this is just a basic explanation video after all. I imagine it would possible to do entire videos based on various aspects of a steam locomotive and its operation, but this is just a "get your feet wet" primer for those unfamiliar with steam engines.
All in all very nicely done, you covered all the basics quite well.
+Shipwright1918 Thank you :)
when all the water/steam is all used up, do you need to cool everything down to refill the boiler with water? do you put the water down the chimney?
Diesel Fitter
There are devices called injectors that use steam to feed water into the boiler by using the venturi effect through sets of nozzle cones to overcome the pressure.
The fireman operates the injectors and adjusts them to maintain a flow rate which will keep the water level up, using a device called a water glass to monitor the level. In practice, while running there's almost always a constant flow of water being forced into to boiler to make up for all the water being used up to make steam.
Early locomotives used pumps for the feed water, powered by steam or the motion of the locomotive itself.
In later steam locos, feedwater heaters often supplemented injectors. Basically these were turbine and piston pumps that ran the water through coils that were put up in the smokebox around the bottom of the smokestack (aka the petticoat pipe) so the water would be heated by the exhaust steam and flue gases to lessen the cooling effect on the boiler which occurs when injecting non-heated water, which among other things can knock the steam pressure down, which can be an issue when you need a lot of power to keep moving the train, say up a steep hill.
Amazing animation and a very neat explanation of the working...Thank you!
I am really very happy to see your animation and explanation. Your effort is a good one.
Thanks I really needed to know how the exhaust works in the piston!
They always start with a history lesson.
STEAM LOCOMOTIVE IS GOING GOOD
This very effective video to understand external combustion engine thank you
Only small complaint. At the end of the video explaining that the exhaust steam exits through the smokebox and this creates a partial vacuum drawing more heat through the tubes from the fire. Venting the steam in this way was deliberate. It made the steam engine much more efficient.
Hello, thank you very much for the explanation. My friends, I want to tell you that perhaps at 1:44 you wanted to say "casualties" in the text box, instead of "casulaties":
"In the early days, there were *casualties* from exploding steam engines."
And again, thank you very much for the video! :D
This is an awesome video on how steam engines work, I was confused before but this video helped me have a better understanding of how steam engines work
easy to understand much information which i needed for my school industrial revolution assessment about steam engines :)
Great explanation. I always wondered what made the smoke "puff" as the engine worked. Thank you.
Well, I could'nt find it. Played it couple of times over. Please enlighten me?
@@chamagical The narrator didn't come right out and say it. However, the puffing is sort of explained from 2:51 to 2:57. The steam from the drive cylinders is exhausted into the smoke box. Each time the cylinder is exhausted it puffs more smoke out the chimney. At very slow speed the interval between puffs is very pronounced. At high speed you can't really tell. Hope this helps.
Thanks!! What a beautiful and simple explanation for a complex system!
Wait . . . .the air is sucked in from underneath?
I never knew that and ive been on many a steam train in my life . . . . . Isnt it wonderful when a random video gives you a completely new piece of information . . . . . . . i dont know how to make toast anymore though . . . . . . .
and to finish it off, the characteristic "choo" sound is the steam being thrusted through the chimney at regular intervals (due to the mechanics). The reason this is done that way is to create a lower pressure environment in the smoke box in order to pull the smoke along with it through the chimney and prevent it from going back to the cab.
This is much better than what "Let's grow up" made.
Just as Armstrong said: one simple engine,a giant leap for mankind 👏👏👏
People need to realise what an important machine the steam engine was, and I’m not just referring to the locomotive. The first picture you show is of the Newcomen engine. While not a true steam engine (as it ran on vacuum, not pressure) it started the industrial revolution. There would hardly have been an industrial process that did not use the power of steam. Then the engine branched out into road, rail and marine use. The steam engine in all its forms is the most important machine ever invented. The further development of the engine lead to developments in engineering as well. As the engines got bigger, what are we going to make them out of and how are we going to make them? You could easily argue that just about everything we have and use today, we owe to the invention of the steam engine.
The never ending industrial revolution continues today and was all started by Thomas Newcomen and his engine in 1712. One wonders what society would be like today if the engine had not been invented back when it was and the progress of industrial and technological development did not take the path that it did.
explosions were caused when the boiler got too hot from there not being enough water, caused the Gettysburg boiler explosion around 25 years ago
We’re are an incredible species and every one of us has the power to do something great. Absolutely amazing inventions were in this era
The beautiful combination of fire and water
That helped very much. Thank you!
Well explained. Thanks!
Just returned from visiting Moscow train museum. Perfect mechanism!
Finding out information on locomotives can be difficult, especially steam locomotives. Its also hard to find demonstrative animations as great as you'res.
Can you give more animations on the special parts and components as well as the appliances the were developed by the railroads and railways for locomotives.
Great job. Thanks for explaining such a clear and easy way
This is such a good explanation of the reciprocating motion / engine, thank you!
In romania there is a small steam locomotive train called "MOCĂNIȚA" it was used to take coal to the factory but now since the factory repair other steam locomotives from Europe ,it is used to transport people . My uncle drives it
I'm just going to nip this trend in the bud, you can't mention the Steam engine without mentioning James Watt, Newcomen's engine had more in common with the simple steam motors that have been around since antiquity, Watt created a whole a new animal, I mean, your video basically described the Watt cycle. Yeah, it's nice that people give Newcomen credit for planting the seed but without Watt's nurture it would never have grown into a tree.
It's sort of like why no one can tell you who invented the first internal combustion engine but people have a vague notion of who Nikolaus Otto is, because Otto so revolutionised it that that it blew everything before it out of the water.
THis was fantastic and incredibly in depth
Fact: Steam engines like the one in your video actually use 4 cylinders, 2 outside 2 inside
Excellent Explication
Incredible. It makes so much more sense now!
Most of this I’ve been know LONG before I watched this video
(Can you guess how)
But this video gave me I few other details that I didn’t know and I liked how explained the steam locomotives were explained
Thomas the Tank Engine? Lol. Same with me, though.
Please don’t ever stop making these awesome videos!
It is really a good video for heat engine and thermodynamics !
It seems weird that I never learned this before now. lol
Great video!
One correction. All wheels connected by the rods are considered the drive wheels. That's really the only error but great explanation!
Good explanation.
WOW! that's incredibly explained
good explain. I hope to see an explain of caprotti gear box applied of steam egine.
However, after the process of the steam coming out of the boiler, there's another step which is also important, which is the superheating of the steam, the steam when it goes through the tube before it goes to the steam engine it gets first superheated in the superheater or superheating tubes which are small tubes inside the fire tubes, superheating the steam is important because it increases it strength, and reduces it's consumption, so instead of just trying to increase the pressure of the steam by just increasing the size of the fire or making the tank bigger for more water so that the temperature of the steam is higher, this process itself increases the pressure of the steam by increasing it temperature so that it's pressure is stronger and powerful and so that when the locomotive is moving it's not using much steam.
I just wanted to draw a train so I wanted to know how it works but it's actually very interesting.
my daughter loves the video she wont stop playing it!
Damn I love these videos. Was always curious but too lazy to research everything by myself XD
Thank you for making this video!!! I'm painting a steam locomotive for a friend and had no idea of how they actually work... 😅 I was trying to figure out if there is more than one place that steam or smoke come out of..
Tremendous explanation.. Thanks for being my friend
(WARNING. GOES OFF TOPIC)
steam locomotives use valve gears to change direction and speed. there is no valve gear in the video.i am only telling you this to tell some more information of steam locomotives.
example of use of valve gear: when a steam locomotive is ready to move. the driver moves the throttle to forward gear. the locomotive dosnt move yet because the valve isnt allowing steam in. as he increases the throttle. the locomotive finally moves.
if you are ever driving a steam locomotive. dont put it on full throttle when starting. it will wheeslip which will waste steam and might cause a boiler explosion. it depends what kind of locomotive your driving. the one that has sanders to put sand on the rails. or the early locomotives who didnt have sanders back then. there is a sand dome responsible for putting sand on the sand box. a pipe is then lead to the wheel which has contacts with the rail. then the sand is released for the locomotive to have contact with the sand on the rails. creating friction. however if your driving a locomotive with many driving wheels. it wont wheelslip if you pull it to much on full throttle.
unless the locomotive is very heavy. depends dont ask me im not a locomotive driver yet😅
Fortunately, modern steam engines (diesel, nuclear, coal, etc.) recycle the water through a condenser to retain as much of the water as possible for as long as possible.
There're types of steam loco with condensers but not all of them since the system is too clunky and complex on such a small scale unlike on steam ships. And there's still no nuclear powered locomotive
Diesel don't need a condenser, they use a radiator. 😁
Modern steam engines use modern boilers that don't burn expensive fuel like diesel. Often bunker oil (ship's) or powdered coal or natural gas.
What about steam engines who don't have cylinders like the E2s and other common tank engines?
They have internal cylinders. Instead of being outside the frames of the chassis, they were between the frames, and the connecting rods were connected to one of the axles of the wheels (these axles were specials so that it could work properly. Check on google for "locomotive with inside frame cylinders" for more explaination because i have bad english it can be not clear what i'm sayin lol)
@@ThomasG2-Chuklenuts Thanks
The cylinders are hidden in the frames, driving a crank shaft
The first practical steam locomotive was invented and manufactured by Richard Trevithick in 1804 and on the 21st February of that year, it headed the first ever steam-hauled train between Penydarren and Abercynon. Blenkinsop came later.
Great presentation!!! i think we would love more detailed explanation too.
Thank you i was always wondering how that thing works!
This was really awesome! You made it so easy to understand, thank you!
It would be good to do a video on how to scrap a steam locomotive. Now that we have better forms of locomotive, it becomes important to scrap the steam locomotives and recycle the metals. There is lots of steel, copper, brass , and phosphor bronze. It is important to know where these metals are and the best way of cutting the locomotive apart so they can be salvaged.
Fun fact: the cilinders don't always have to be shown on the locomotive a majority have outworde cilinders (like a MLW U1F) but some say like a small tank engine have in word cilinders. (like a LBSCR E2 or LNER J50) It really all depends on the billder and what it's intended work is.
Damn, train always bursting the safety valves in Thomas and Friends. Those drivers are trying to blow up the damn engines
do you mean the whistle?
@@evenjam7331 no, the safety valve. Gordon burst his in the episode " Edward, Gordon, and Henry" also known as "Henry Saves The Day" in the USA
I wonder how the pistons start at the beginning when there's no "used steam" to complete a rotation
i think each side is offset on its action position. so one can always be pushed.
I think I understand your problem: used steam is not needed to complete a rotation, it is the fresh (live) steam on the other side of the piston that "pumps" it out of the cylinder. It does not matter, during the very first stroke, if instead of used steam, there is air, or colder water vapour or whatever on this side of the piston: it gets pushed out. Now the engine is only halfway through the rotation. Next comes the return stroke where live steam is admitted on this side and it pushes out what is now USED steam from the first stroke......
A bit inaccurate with number of cylinders, but close enough for the audience.
No, plenty of engines had 2 cylinders
@@TrainBoi227 Not all had 2. Therefore inaccurate.
Nice. Simple and clear.
A great and easy to understand explanation. Thanks
Good explanation. You should hava just mentioned two more things
1) that the smoke pipes and used steam pipes are connected before the exhaust chimney so that the pressure of the used steam would create suctiin effect that apart from increasing the effectiveness of the smoke exhaustion also sucks oxygen into the firebox thereby improving combustion.
2) Explained how the breaks work.
Excellent film, the best explanation I have seen so far, well done :)
Great i needed this i need it for my science project
THANK FOR YOU INFORMATION
would love to see a more in-depth video! of course if you had the time, as you said it was quite hard to animate. either way great job!
i understood the overview about locomotive fire tube boiler
nice video sir
Diesel and electric locomotives next please!
Very nice explanation :) The animations were very simple and effective!
deeply thanks!!
Great video, could you make another that goes more in depth on how they function?
I would love to see a more in depth view of the steam locomotive!
7 year old me watching this: "Ah now i can make my own train!"
Crazy to think how on earth people first figured this out
Please make a video about working of EMU trains
so basically working as a fireman/driver in the train was like working as a petard
Great explanation mate