I love American steam but this loco takes the cake!! I have seen pictures of this engine before and it resembles that of an american Steam loco with Pyle generator & headlight and many other apurnaces. Great job at making this video for all of us steam fans and not for Cockroach2008
Great video..love those steam locos. I had the opportunity to pick an 1830's vintage loco up in Chicago back in the 80's and deliver it to the Essex Steam Train Depot in Essex Connecticut for refurbishing < I was a trucker back then>
Back in 1970 I happened to be in NJ where I helped and watched Nickle Plate 759 come to life from ice cold to a full head of steam. What do you use to build a fire on the grates when no regular firewood is available? Why old railroad ties of course, it took just over 7 hours to finally get enough steam to run the blower and finally get the smoke out of the cab. Prior to lighting the fire I spent a few hours crawling under the brake beams but on top of the ties to grease the brake beams and driver boxes, gawd I wish I was that skinny again. When we finally had steam for the blower it also meant we had steam for the cab heaters. Oh yeah the boiler from ice cold to working pressure expands horizontally as much as an inch and a half. And yes it is fascinating listening to her come back to life, without any compressed air to run the blower so the cab was full of smoke until finally we had steam for the blower, not fun with a cab full of smoke.
It is indeed. This is a ''Detroit'' lubricator and is used to lubricate the air pump, cylinders and valves of the loco. To quote Wikipedia; The displacement lubricator was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1860 by John Ramsbottom. It operates by allowing steam to enter a closed vessel containing oil. After condensing, the water sinks to the bottom of the vessel, causing the oil to rise and overflow into delivery pipes for delivery to the valves and cylinders.
I'm a member of a steam preservation group. on the 1st Jan every year we fire up our 0-6-0 EX-GWR locomotive but not before we each take a dump in the firebox. It's something we've done every year since 2009. Call it superstition...
Southmead Lad. I've been playing with loco, ship, traction engine and stationary boilers for over 35 years and haven't had any problems either. We just follow best practice and common sense. We still don't dump in the firebox. Still weird.
No, they usually just fall through the fire bars and down into the ash pan, then they just stay there until they're scraped out at the end of the day with the rest of the ash and waste.
Aleksandar Katic That's what a hydrostatic lubricator looks like in service, if a locomotive built with a hydrostatic lubricator remained in service on a big railroad more than likely the replaced the hydrostatic lubricator was replaced with a mechanical lubricator, which used steam only on a heating circuit to keep the oil warm and the mechanical lubricator pumped oil into the areas the mechanical department wants it to. And are adjustable to increase or decrease the oil flow to each individual point pumping precise amounts of oil which saved the railroads money. There are two mechanical pumps on each steam locomotive, one is marked engine oil the other is marked lubrication which supplies oil to any point needed for lubrication. Best example of modern steam power using mechanical lubrication to its advantage is Norfolk and Western class J passenger power which could run 500 miles before needing service, but that class of engine was all roller bearing on all axles and rods and when needing service generally took one hour to completely service the engine. So that takes us basically from 1860 when the hydrostatic lubricator was invented to the end of steam in the United States. The Norfolk and Western didn't retire steam locomotives because they liked the Diesel locomotive, they did so because all the companies that provided the auxiliary systems went out of business and it would have been too expensive to build all the systems themselves. Because of N&W belief in steam they were the last class 1 railroad to retire steam power in 1960.
Many thanks Peter, I've had the privilege of driving 1271 around the loop at Paekak and your video brought all the memories back to life. Thanks again!
I didn't think I'd ever get to see one of these wake up and go to work. I'm so happy that some of the old steam engines are receiving the love and care they need to roam the rails once more. Long live steam!
Compressed came from an air tank or generator. Its used to draw the initial draft, and initial boiler filling. After steam pressure is built up enough, steam can be used to keep the draft and run essential equipment.
A very interesting video. I worked as a stationary operating engineer for over twenty years for a large hospital. I ran a battery of four 150 ton Scotch marine boilers. All of the boilers throttling was automated. Just about the only thing I had to do was to make sure the boiler feed water had the correct chemicals and that the deaerator was functioning properly. I had to check boiler operation once an hour, but these guys had their work cut out for them. Very labor intensive compared to what I had to do with managing the boiler plant.
Fuck man total RESPECT to the poor engineers back in the day who had to do this every day or every week. We're so lucky today all engineers have to do is turn a switch or a key and then the train is on the way.
Wow - great video leadingtruck, love the removable blower ring, i guess it must be a NZ thing - I use a pedestal fan sitting on a milk crate til I've got about 30PSI - gets the job done! Adding notes of whats happening is a fantastic idea.
Old steam engines are amazing! I'm stymied at the amount of lubricants that these beasts use and without that life blood very bad things can happen. I can only imagine what would have happened if a bearing seized up on one of the main wheel bearings where the piston arm is converted to power.
There is something special about Steam engines. I know it's a machine and not really living but it's almost as though it's more than that. I don't know really how to put it into words.
I ask of a possibility . Is there a J or K that requires a new boiler ? The reason I ask is that I love steam , and would like to see what is possible with a " modern upgrade " . For instance , a new LPG powered boiler ( but keep the outer barrel ! ) . They are reasonably efficient aren't they ? How about having certain other mechanical functions improved ? I am sure there are some candidates . Is there room for some computer assist ? Much appreciate your thoughts.
A 17 ton three foot guage 4-4-0 takes about 1.5 to 2 hours to fire up from cold to being able to move a train. I have done it numerous times and with a propane fire.
Roy Reynolds This is a 70 tonne (69.1 long tons, 77.4 short tons) NZR Ja-Class 3'6" gauge 4-8-2, I believe it takes around 6-8 hours to go from cold to running (Don't quote me on that, I've only worked on much smaller tank engines on the same gauge.) Also, a propane fire in a steam locomotive?
What is the steam turbine @7:36 used for, and also, what does the 'big pump' do that is shown @8:05? I'm going to take a guess that the turbine make electricity for lights and stuff, and maybe the pump is used to move water around?
@leadingtruck Thankyou for sharing this with us mate! i bookmarked this! My great grand dad Tom stinson was a steam loco tech/driver over here in oz. As im sure you know we have High quality iron ore fields and there were sooo many stories shared from him! one was of him delivering iron ore loads to the docks and greeting the Japanese captain and as he asked what the iron ore was for the Japanese captain laughed and made a gun sign with his hands and went bang. This was shortly before the war.
Thanks for taking the time to shoot and edit this. As someone that only works on steamboats it's always fun to watch your guys tricks for everything. I like the compressed air stack ring for the initial draft.
love the Vanderbilt style tender (what we call them here in the US) Good ol' PN dynamo whine, and the NZ 5 chime whistle (GREAT sounding as are the South African 3 and 5 chimes). Glad to see you backed 1/4 turn off of the turret. That way if someone jumps up there, there is some slack to let them know it is already open instead of them trying to force it open. There are enough video's with commentaries. I just like hearing the sounds of the engine being brought to live instead of someone talking over it or worse yet, using a computer generated voice to narrate it. Great job!
Yes! Amen. Thanks for uploading! I always knew that the trainmen of days of old worked their tails off, but my gosh: seeing what goes into just getting a locomotive started, in a procedure-by-procedure start-up like that, really brings it home.
THE WHOLE BOILER EXPLODES!!!!!!! I have actually seen that train and my family got a private tour of that set Used to pass it all the time and was cot in the filming of the night shoots shut high way down for a couple hours Sadly the clock tower fell down and then the year we moved out of California that whole set burnt to the ground in one of many wild fires that year A bit of trivia the bullets used in the saloon were real not blanks
I always wondered how they start up and what you have to do. Thanks for sharing, it answered many questions I had. Still curious what the other parts are, but I will find out eventually
Here in Britain it was very rare to light a fire in a steam engine from cold . If not needed the fire would be left banked up , a low fire so to be ready when needed . I have been told it took three days to get a engine ready .If for any reason the fire had to be put out . One of the reasons it took so long , is the fire had to be built up slowly, not to distort the fire box , with excusive heat in one spot .
what I would like to see is the fireing up a large US engine for I wonder how any pounds of presure is needed for the Stoker and air pumps and generator I never heard that
A neighbour, back in the 1950's, had the job as fireman (as opposed to stoker), and it was his job at 4 am each working day - rain, hail or shine - to drive the mile or so to the local rail yards to clean out and then fire up the steam engines, the job you see being done here, neither of which was under cover. He used to return home after a 4 hour shift for his breakfast, and time out, to return another 5 hours later for his second four hour shift, when he would shut the locos down by 5 pm. Almost everything stopped at 5 o'clock back in those days. Old Jack was happy to retire when diesel engines appeared on the scene.
If you did have to move the loco a reasonable distance you could pour some cylinder oil down the snifter valves which would drain down into the cylinders, but I personally wouldn't do this for more than ,say a few km's. If you were towing the loco for a long distance, you would either remove the connecting rods so the pistons and valves would not move at all or tow in steam so you can get the detroit lubricator to work.
My question is when you're first starting it, how do you get the boiler filled with water before you get enough pressure for the steam powered water pump/injectors to work? I know in the old days if it was used each day the boiler may never be empty since it would be filled with water from the previous day, but I would imagine that they had to have some way to fill the boiler with water for when it did get emptied for maintenance or something.
Usually on preserved lines and museums now, I of course can only speak from my experiences in Australia, we fill the boiler right up while the loco is cooling down from its previous run, the rule is, as soon as you step onto the footplate of a loco, always check the gauge glass before anything else, thats the first priority. As for after boiler maintainence, that I cannot tell you as i have not expericened this yet, then once the loco has raised steam, we usually perform a boiler blowdown to remove any scum which has acumulated on top of the water in the boiler.
Yes you would fill it right up at the end of the day. Because if you go and leave it with an empty boiler there is still heat. Then your going to have some problems.
Boilers have to be emptied and washed out after 100 hours service. Plugs can be removed to drain it. These same plugs can be used to fill the boiler when necessary
A very labor intensive process from a cold start. The video took less than ten minutes, but how many hours did it take before the engine was ready to run?
Excellent video. I know enough about steam locomotive to be dangerous (lol) but being a railroad engineer myself for CSX here in America I was able to figure out everything that you were doing. Just wish it was a bit longer with some naration.
I was going to ask the same question...but OK...I will ask the next logical question. Where did the compressed air from on a non-active locomotive.? Thanks
Steam engines are a pain in the ass. Any really intricate machine tasked with heavy work requires procedures, concentration and experience. The B-36 strategic bomber that flew just after the end of the Second World War had ten engines each with its own complicated starting and operational procedures. From the time the crew of ten boarded the aircraft to the time it was cleared for take off was often thirty to forty minutes plus another forty minutes to reach cruising altitude where the mission really began. The B-36 could fly half way around the world and return to base. That is a distance of about 25,000 miles.
30 to 40 minutes from boarding the aircraft to takeoff?! No wonder they were all replaced by B-52's -- the B-36 could ONLY ever be used as a first-strike weapon and NOT as a deterrent, because if the Russkies struck first they'd have enough time to bomb the airfield twice over while the B-36's were sitting on the runway getting ready for takeoff!
Love steam. Never stop . Its very very cool . She IS alive, you do dig this ? She has pressure and heartbeat and temperature . And she IS beautiful. Its a steam operated firedoor , yes, off a foot valve . The thingy in the smokestack is a blower to force draft to get the fire ( wood ) going well. Yes, thats a generator , yes, for lights . The teapots ? you mean oil cans ? She needs oil in quite a few places internal and external. The valves....haha ! the answer is in a book !
That is what we call the 'shed blower' Which runs on compressed air. It creates a draft for the fire (ie helps draw air through the grate, clears the smoke etc..) This is normally used until the boiler has enough steam to operate the locos own blower. I hope to remake this clip and add notes on whats going on. Cheers
same here...i just recently learned what that sound was coming from, ive always heard that sound before, but i never knew what it was, or exactly where it was coming from
twoPintTerror The hydrostatic lubricator feeds oil to the engine valves and main Pistons and use 600 weight oil, there is a needle valve which controls the number of drops of oil that are fed to the valves and cylinders at generally 6-8 drops a minute. Generally you fill it before you leave the engine house and it is more than enough for the day but every engineer makes sure he has extra 600 weight oil and plenty of lubricating oil for journal boxes and other motion work.
Thanks for some insight on igniting and steaming up a coal-fired locomotive. BTW, is sand needed to remove the wood residue from the tubes and flues, once the fire is on the coal? (The wood leaves creosote deposits on the tubes and flues during the first half-hour of the ignition process.)
Hai ! Friends I go back to my teen age in 1965 iam school boy daily travel by this train really I enjoy four years with my friends "oh"what a sweet day I thanks to indian railways and treir staff thankyou from tamilnadu sathya.
As a young boy in the 40's before all regulations if you asked politely the engineer would let you ride in cab . the engine would pick up grain cars from village elevators and deliver down branch lines to CNR mainline. Those were the days when a prairie boy could get the thrill of a lifetime before safety rules spoiled it for next generation.
I agree, narration or captions would've been nice. As an engineer at a heritage railway I recognize all the steps the crew takes but I wouldn't dare to post comment as I don't know that engine. (Differences: Why is he monkeying about in the smokebox and why hasn't the previous crew cleaned the grate? Details, details). I'm tempted to bring a camera and document how "we" do it. Oh, 4-5 hours won't cut it, it's should be about 10-12 hrs.
Would have loved a commentary on what each valve was for and why they check or change each bit. Loved the sound of the dynamo spinning up. Good video anyway.
Every time I see someone emerge backwards from a smoke box, I expect them to blink slowly through sooty eyes, like Oliver Hardy in the chimney-sweep film.
Esteemed Gentlemen; It would be greatly appreciated, not only if you could add some narration, maybe even in the form of subtitling, but also give us a brief history of the locomotive: its age, size, gauge, where it served, when it was retired, when/where/how it was restored and put into service again... There is so much that we could learn from this video! Thanks awfully. Warmest regards, Dave Bogan
@toplinkengineman i always thought it was customary to check the boiler had water in it before light-up, other wise it would be like boiling an empty kettle
I think many people disliked closed the video immediately when they saw the diesel loco start up. Very interesting to see the cold start though - I did wonder how they got draught with no steam, and now I see! ;)
+Steve Wright Would be fun to see if draft would naturally establish through the steam locomotive's boiler.Presumably it would, since many flues are higher than the fire and the chimney (smoke stack) would also increase draft.
Steve Wright if the wind is blowing the right way and the loco is still warm from the day before its not too bad, if not you just stay out if the cab as much as possible till you've got the pressure to crack the blower.
I've fired up a S class NKP class 2-8-4 using just natural draught with an ice cold boiler using old railroad ties cut up into 3 foot lengths and your looking at just to reach 150 pounds steam pressure right around 24 hours. Remember the boiler is a pressure vessel and with a boiler that size it expands more than an inch and 1/2 in length from ice cold to hot at 150 pounds working pressure being 275 PSI. The wood he used is a lot easier than using old railroad ties. I didn't have old journal waste to start the wood on fire so I improvised and poured right around 3 gallons of diesel fuel onto all the pieces of old ties I threw into the firebox and even using 5 minute fusses it still took two attempts to finally get the fire going. 19 hours later I finally had steam out the blower but no pressure on the steam gauge and even then you don't run the blower wide open. You close the firebox door and keep the blower low enough to keep smoke out of the cab and bring the boiler pressure up very slowly. The locomotive in this video has a small firebox where the engine I was waking up has 100 square feet of grate area and while it is stoker fired you can't use the stoker until you build up your fire and level it off then build up the bank in a horseshoe shape so when you go to work the draught doesn't tear the fire apart. Not a fun thing to do in March and you sure do appreciate the heat when you can turn it on in the cab. Yes diesels are easier to fire up but steam is like some else said you bring her to life.
The first batch of these J Class were made by North British . They have plate frames , just like a British loco. Many aspects of the boiler design are British. But its fair to say that we cherry picked . We had run US locos , and they have their strong ( and weak ) points . I dont think Oliver Cromwell is simpler . I know Tangmere isnt ! They are just different . But they are all beautiful to me :-)
I think the one thing that is lacking in this video is some narration. It would be great to actually hear, with some of the not so obvious steps, what was actually being done. Pretty cool though.
Exactly, no commentary means a lot of pretty pictures but no sense. Also showing gauges without any units is absolutely meaningless, they could be counting potatoes for all I know.
Not wanting to flog a dead horse but I agree with everyone. Not knowing anything about steam trains nothing made a lot of sense. Ive gone away with many questions from an otherwise good video. Like why do you stick the angles halo down the chimney or were the steam noise is coming from on a cold boiler. Can we get a rerun with dialog maybe
the halo was to help create a draft with air and by steam noise on a cold boiler what do you mean by that? did you mean when they were moving the engine with the diesel or when they were starting it up?
Loved it, still so confused on what exactly is going on but thanks for posting. I too would love a break down with either captions or dialog, more of a where doing this because.... But you showed us more than we normally see, maybe one day I can bribe a Disneyland RR Engineer to teach me more.
Very well made! I come from Switzerland, but I am training as driver on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway in England. One thing I was wondering: isn't putting a shed blower heating the boiler up too quickly?
Wow, what a process. Wish everything was labeled or listed or something, like all the valves, and what he's doing with that bar after he opens the firebox doors? Are the doors pneumatic and operated by a foot-switch? And what's with the valves outside of the cab? Are those just closed when you shut the locomotive down? What's the thingy in the smoke stack? What's with the "teapots" in the cab? Is that a steam turbine at 7:40? Do they use that for electricity for the light, or what?
If you go to Lenno's Garage you can see him fireing up on of his steam cars. Fifteen to twenty minutes is all it takes. With a Locomotive more warming and valves and grease cups to fill....Just like when I am on a job with my 1950s dozer you just cant fire it over and go to work lots of greasing has to get done first.
***** Not a pain in the butt at all. It's those extra things you have to do that makes them better than diesels! It's a labor of love. Think of the millions of people who lost their jobs when diesels came in. We are seeing history repeat itself in the supermarket with self service checkouts. The easier we make things, automation of jobs etc, the more unemployment. Steam tech will always be better in more ways than one ( :
Thank you. Still, I would be concerned. Is there a way to get oil into the cylinders from the top which would hopefully coat the cylinder walls and the rod coming out of the cylinder? I have seen steam jetting from around that rod on each forward stroke.
![How To Fire Up a Steam Locomotive [4K]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xx9Q8PphAVo/mqdefault.jpg)
You don't turn on a steam engine you bring it to life.
Mark G correct! a steam locomotive is a slumbering beast and must be roused from its sleep properly.
I love American steam but this loco takes the cake!! I have seen pictures of this engine before and it resembles that of an american Steam loco with Pyle generator & headlight and many other apurnaces. Great job at making this video for all of us steam fans and not for Cockroach2008
Great video..love those steam locos. I had the opportunity to pick an 1830's vintage loco up in Chicago back in the 80's and deliver it to the Essex Steam Train Depot in Essex Connecticut for refurbishing < I was a trucker back then>
Back in 1970 I happened to be in NJ where I helped and watched Nickle Plate 759 come to life from ice cold to a full head of steam. What do you use to build a fire on the grates when no regular firewood is available? Why old railroad ties of course, it took just over 7 hours to finally get enough steam to run the blower and finally get the smoke out of the cab. Prior to lighting the fire I spent a few hours crawling under the brake beams but on top of the ties to grease the brake beams and driver boxes, gawd I wish I was that skinny again. When we finally had steam for the blower it also meant we had steam for the cab heaters. Oh yeah the boiler from ice cold to working pressure expands horizontally as much as an inch and a half. And yes it is fascinating listening to her come back to life, without any compressed air to run the blower so the cab was full of smoke until finally we had steam for the blower, not fun with a cab full of smoke.
It is indeed. This is a ''Detroit'' lubricator and is used to lubricate the air pump, cylinders and valves of the loco. To quote Wikipedia; The displacement lubricator was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1860 by John Ramsbottom. It operates by allowing steam to enter a closed vessel containing oil. After condensing, the water sinks to the bottom of the vessel, causing the oil to rise and overflow into delivery pipes for delivery to the valves and cylinders.
I'm a member of a steam preservation group. on the 1st Jan every year we fire up our 0-6-0 EX-GWR locomotive but not before we each take a dump in the firebox. It's something we've done every year since 2009. Call it superstition...
Southmead Lad That's so screwed up!
You say that but consider this: we have had no derailments or boiler explosions since we have been dumping our arse filth in the firebox...
Southmead Lad. I've been playing with loco, ship, traction engine and stationary boilers for over 35 years and haven't had any problems either. We just follow best practice and common sense. We still don't dump in the firebox. Still weird.
perhaps we'll stop and see what happens...
Southmead Lad Lol. Good luck. All the best!
No, they usually just fall through the fire bars and down into the ash pan, then they just stay there until they're scraped out at the end of the day with the rest of the ash and waste.
Aleksandar Katic
That's what a hydrostatic lubricator looks like in service, if a locomotive built with a hydrostatic lubricator remained in service on a big railroad more than likely the replaced the hydrostatic lubricator was replaced with a mechanical lubricator, which used steam only on a heating circuit to keep the oil warm and the mechanical lubricator pumped oil into the areas the mechanical department wants it to. And are adjustable to increase or decrease the oil flow to each individual point pumping precise amounts of oil which saved the railroads money. There are two mechanical pumps on each steam locomotive, one is marked engine oil the other is marked lubrication which supplies oil to any point needed for lubrication. Best example of modern steam power using mechanical lubrication to its advantage is Norfolk and Western class J passenger power which could run 500 miles before needing service, but that class of engine was all roller bearing on all axles and rods and when needing service generally took one hour to completely service the engine. So that takes us basically from 1860 when the hydrostatic lubricator was invented to the end of steam in the United States. The Norfolk and Western didn't retire steam locomotives because they liked the Diesel locomotive, they did so because all the companies that provided the auxiliary systems went out of business and it would have been too expensive to build all the systems themselves. Because of N&W belief in steam they were the last class 1 railroad to retire steam power in 1960.
This is good information. If I ever run across one of these, and someone has left the keys in it.......
Many thanks Peter, I've had the privilege of driving 1271 around the loop at Paekak and your video brought all the memories back to life. Thanks again!
It's so amaizing to see what goes into bringing a steam locomotive to life. Love it every time. :D
I didn't think I'd ever get to see one of these wake up and go to work. I'm so happy that some of the old steam engines are receiving the love and care they need to roam the rails once more. Long live steam!
Compressed came from an air tank or generator. Its used to draw the initial draft, and initial boiler filling. After steam pressure is built up enough, steam can be used to keep the draft and run essential equipment.
That is a lot of work. So how long does it take from start to finish to fire one of these great beasts up. It looks like hours.
A very interesting video. I worked as a stationary operating engineer for over twenty years for a large hospital. I ran a battery of four 150 ton Scotch marine boilers. All of the boilers throttling was automated. Just about the only thing I had to do was to make sure the boiler feed water had the correct chemicals and that the deaerator was functioning properly. I had to check boiler operation once an hour, but these guys had their work cut out for them. Very labor intensive compared to what I had to do with managing the boiler plant.
Fuck man total RESPECT to the poor engineers back in the day who had to do this every day or every week. We're so lucky today all engineers have to do is turn a switch or a key and then the train is on the way.
They would of just thought it a job but they deserve respect. Tbh you don't just flick a switch
Very interesting, I would have never guessed there was so much to do to operate this locomotive. Thanks for sharing.
Wow - great video leadingtruck, love the removable blower ring, i guess it must be a NZ thing - I use a pedestal fan sitting on a milk crate til I've got about 30PSI - gets the job done! Adding notes of whats happening is a fantastic idea.
They dont make em like this anymore. Beautiful piece of machinery. Thanks for sharing.
Old steam engines are amazing! I'm stymied at the amount of lubricants that these beasts use and without that life blood very bad things can happen. I can only imagine what would have happened if a bearing seized up on one of the main wheel bearings where the piston arm is converted to power.
There is something special about Steam engines. I know it's a machine and not really living but it's almost as though it's more than that. I don't know really how to put it into words.
Nobody Well said. It's like a living breathing 🔥hot 🐉dragon! ***
I ask of a possibility . Is there a J or K that requires a new boiler ? The reason I ask is that I love steam , and would like to see what is possible with a " modern upgrade " . For instance , a new LPG powered boiler ( but keep the outer barrel ! ) . They are reasonably efficient aren't they ? How about having certain other mechanical functions improved ? I am sure there are some candidates . Is there room for some computer assist ?
Much appreciate your thoughts.
A 17 ton three foot guage 4-4-0 takes about 1.5 to 2 hours to fire up from cold to being able to move a train. I have done it numerous times and with a propane fire.
Roy Reynolds This is a 70 tonne (69.1 long tons, 77.4 short tons) NZR Ja-Class 3'6" gauge 4-8-2, I believe it takes around 6-8 hours to go from cold to running (Don't quote me on that, I've only worked on much smaller tank engines on the same gauge.)
Also, a propane fire in a steam locomotive?
What is the steam turbine @7:36 used for, and also, what does the 'big pump' do that is shown @8:05? I'm going to take a guess that the turbine make electricity for lights and stuff, and maybe the pump is used to move water around?
Generator for electric lighting correct. Westinghouse air pump for the air brakes.
What a beautiful machine. I wish we had more large live steam locomotives in Christchurch. Thanks for posting and keep up the great work.
@leadingtruck Thankyou for sharing this with us mate! i bookmarked this! My great grand dad Tom stinson was a steam loco tech/driver over here in oz. As im sure you know we have High quality iron ore fields and there were sooo many stories shared from him! one was of him delivering iron ore loads to the docks and greeting the Japanese captain and as he asked what the iron ore was for the Japanese captain laughed and made a gun sign with his hands and went bang. This was shortly before the war.
That's really interesting , never think of "getting them started" --only after all that and heading along the tracks. Thanks--
Thanks for taking the time to shoot and edit this. As someone that only works on steamboats it's always fun to watch your guys tricks for everything. I like the compressed air stack ring for the initial draft.
What is this rounded thingy he put to chimney....some kind of heater? Is it electric motor at 7:34?
I think the new locos have those fancy keyless ignitions.
Loved the video. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
We see you pass through Shannon most Saturdays. Fantastic sight.
Thank you for this video I have always loved the steam locomotives as a kid and I still do. just an amazing machine
love the Vanderbilt style tender (what we call them here in the US) Good ol' PN dynamo whine, and the NZ 5 chime whistle (GREAT sounding as are the South African 3 and 5 chimes). Glad to see you backed 1/4 turn off of the turret. That way if someone jumps up there, there is some slack to let them know it is already open instead of them trying to force it open.
There are enough video's with commentaries. I just like hearing the sounds of the engine being brought to live instead of someone talking over it or worse yet, using a computer generated voice to narrate it. Great job!
Easy to see why diesels took over so quickly, very skilled and slow to raise full head of steam, but still wonderful.
Fascinating - Thanks...! Gordon
Awesome! It would be great to see some description of what is going on and why!
This might give you some of what you're after ua-cam.com/video/xx9Q8PphAVo/v-deo.html
Yes! Amen. Thanks for uploading! I always knew that the trainmen of days of old worked their tails off, but my gosh: seeing what goes into just getting a locomotive started, in a procedure-by-procedure start-up like that, really brings it home.
Great video! And, what a beautiful locomotive. You guys are doing a great job keeping her in top shape. Keep up the great work!
you have to put in the colored logs to make it go 88 mph
1.21 GIGAWATTS!?
+clhound 1.21 JIGAWATTS!?
Back to the future.
THE WHOLE BOILER EXPLODES!!!!!!! I have actually seen that train and my family got a private tour of that set
Used to pass it all the time and was cot in the filming of the night shoots shut high way down for a couple hours
Sadly the clock tower fell down and then the year we moved out of California that whole set burnt to the ground in one of many wild fires that year
A bit of trivia the bullets used in the saloon were real not blanks
You lucky person, that is so cool.
I always wondered how they start up and what you have to do. Thanks for sharing, it answered many questions I had. Still curious what the other parts are, but I will find out eventually
The shed blower is really just to keep the smoke out of the cab until the loco can do it herself.
A bunch of little machines making up one big engine. Very cool.
Here in Britain it was very rare to light a fire in a steam engine from cold . If not needed the fire would be left banked up , a low fire so to be ready when needed . I have been told it took three days to get a engine ready .If for any reason the fire had to be put out . One of the reasons it took so long , is the fire had to be built up slowly, not to distort the fire box , with excusive heat in one spot .
what I would like to see is the fireing up a large US engine for I wonder how any pounds of presure is needed for the Stoker and air pumps and generator I never heard that
It is actually beautiful to see the love these men have for that old gal.
A neighbour, back in the 1950's, had the job as fireman (as opposed to stoker), and it was his job at 4 am each working day - rain, hail or shine - to drive the mile or so to the local rail yards to clean out and then fire up the steam engines, the job you see being done here, neither of which was under cover. He used to return home after a 4 hour shift for his breakfast, and time out, to return another 5 hours later for his second four hour shift, when he would shut the locos down by 5 pm. Almost everything stopped at 5 o'clock back in those days. Old Jack was happy to retire when diesel engines appeared on the scene.
I wouldn't mind that hella allot more interesting than siting writing reports all day
hughvane l
If you did have to move the loco a reasonable distance you could pour some cylinder oil down the snifter valves which would drain down into the cylinders, but I personally wouldn't do this for more than ,say a few km's. If you were towing the loco for a long distance, you would either remove the connecting rods so the pistons and valves would not move at all or tow in steam so you can get the detroit lubricator to work.
Only a true editing genius could have timed the turbo generator spooling up at 7:47 !
haha i get it
My question is when you're first starting it, how do you get the boiler filled with water before you get enough pressure for the steam powered water pump/injectors to work? I know in the old days if it was used each day the boiler may never be empty since it would be filled with water from the previous day, but I would imagine that they had to have some way to fill the boiler with water for when it did get emptied for maintenance or something.
Usually on preserved lines and museums now, I of course can only speak from my experiences in Australia, we fill the boiler right up while the loco is cooling down from its previous run, the rule is, as soon as you step onto the footplate of a loco, always check the gauge glass before anything else, thats the first priority. As for after boiler maintainence, that I cannot tell you as i have not expericened this yet, then once the loco has raised steam, we usually perform a boiler blowdown to remove any scum which has acumulated on top of the water in the boiler.
+Parkes RailwayTV the boiler has a top cap that can be removed when cool then filled up with water
Yes you would fill it right up at the end of the day. Because if you go and leave it with an empty boiler there is still heat. Then your going to have some problems.
Boilers have to be emptied and washed out after 100 hours service. Plugs can be removed to drain it. These same plugs can be used to fill the boiler when necessary
Injector dependant you can often attach a hose and fill it from there, saves opening the boiler.
You should always check the water, even if you have filled it earlier as it may not be correct and you don't want to dry fire a boiler.
A very labor intensive process from a cold start. The video took less than ten minutes, but how many hours did it take before the engine was ready to run?
depending on size a long time for me and lighting a c17 its about 4 hrs to operating pressure
+Jake Notpayingforyoutube i personaly dont i let it warm slowly in the morning while doing the other checks but it doest harm it at all
For those of us who don't know what is going on a commentary would be very helpful
so beautiful, I was lucky to ride a couple of times in India. I was in high school, now can't. timed have changed.
Excellent video. I know enough about steam locomotive to be dangerous (lol) but being a railroad engineer myself for CSX here in America I was able to figure out everything that you were doing. Just wish it was a bit longer with some naration.
I was going to ask the same question...but OK...I will ask the next logical question.
Where did the compressed air from on a non-active locomotive.?
Thanks
denny rane
Easy they pulled it out of the engine house every engine house has shop air.
Steam engines are a pain in the ass. Any really intricate machine tasked with heavy work requires procedures, concentration and experience. The B-36 strategic bomber that flew just after the end of the Second World War had ten engines each with its own complicated starting and operational procedures. From the time the crew of ten boarded the aircraft to the time it was cleared for take off was often thirty to forty minutes plus another forty minutes to reach cruising altitude where the mission really began. The B-36 could fly half way around the world and return to base. That is a distance of about 25,000 miles.
30 to 40 minutes from boarding the aircraft to takeoff?! No wonder they were all replaced by B-52's -- the B-36 could ONLY ever be used as a first-strike weapon and NOT as a deterrent, because if the Russkies struck first they'd have enough time to bomb the airfield twice over while the B-36's were sitting on the runway getting ready for takeoff!
Thanks for posting!!! Love it!
Love steam. Never stop . Its very very cool . She IS alive, you do dig this ? She has pressure and heartbeat and temperature . And she IS beautiful.
Its a steam operated firedoor , yes, off a foot valve . The thingy in the smokestack is a blower to force draft to get the fire ( wood ) going well. Yes, thats a generator , yes, for lights . The teapots ? you mean oil cans ? She needs oil in quite a few places internal and external. The valves....haha !
the answer is in a book !
That is what we call the 'shed blower' Which runs on compressed air. It creates a draft for the fire (ie helps draw air through the grate, clears the smoke etc..) This is normally used until the boiler has enough steam to operate the locos own blower. I hope to remake this clip and add notes on whats going on. Cheers
The turbine provides electricty for headlights (and cab-lights).
same here...i just recently learned what that sound was coming from, ive always heard that sound before, but i never knew what it was, or exactly where it was coming from
What is the LH Valve and what is coming out of the top of the needle looking thing?
twoPintTerror
The hydrostatic lubricator feeds oil to the engine valves and main Pistons and use 600 weight oil, there is a needle valve which controls the number of drops of oil that are fed to the valves and cylinders at generally 6-8 drops a minute. Generally you fill it before you leave the engine house and it is more than enough for the day but every engineer makes sure he has extra 600 weight oil and plenty of lubricating oil for journal boxes and other motion work.
Thanks for some insight on igniting and steaming up a coal-fired locomotive. BTW, is sand needed to remove the wood residue from the tubes and flues, once the fire is on the coal? (The wood leaves creosote deposits on the tubes and flues during the first half-hour of the ignition process.)
Hai ! Friends I go back to my teen age in 1965 iam school boy daily travel by this train really I enjoy four years with my friends "oh"what a sweet day I thanks to indian railways and treir staff thankyou from tamilnadu sathya.
As a young boy in the 40's before all regulations if you asked politely the engineer would let you ride in cab . the engine would pick up grain cars from village elevators and deliver down branch lines to CNR mainline. Those were the days when a prairie boy could get the thrill of a lifetime before safety rules spoiled it for next generation.
aw man 50 things to do before your fired up steam locomotive even moves..now I want a train..for historic interests...
very exiting actually beautiful to see the love these men have for that old gal.
I agree, narration or captions would've been nice. As an engineer at a heritage railway I recognize all the steps the crew takes but I wouldn't dare to post comment as I don't know that engine. (Differences: Why is he monkeying about in the smokebox and why hasn't the previous crew cleaned the grate? Details, details).
I'm tempted to bring a camera and document how "we" do it.
Oh, 4-5 hours won't cut it, it's should be about 10-12 hrs.
Would have loved a commentary on what each valve was for and why they check or change each bit. Loved the sound of the dynamo spinning up. Good video anyway.
Listen to the jingle, the rumble and roar... I wish there were still steamers running past my place.
Shawn. Old West Hwy Duncan, AZ
great footage. wonderful DETAIL ! thanks to all .
More Please ?
Every time I see someone emerge backwards from a smoke box, I expect them to blink slowly through sooty eyes, like Oliver Hardy in the chimney-sweep film.
it's hard work operating a steam locomotive from start up to drive till the end
Esteemed Gentlemen;
It would be greatly appreciated, not only if you could add some narration, maybe even in the form of subtitling, but also give us a brief history of the locomotive: its age, size, gauge, where it served, when it was retired, when/where/how it was restored and put into service again...
There is so much that we could learn from this video!
Thanks awfully.
Warmest regards,
Dave Bogan
terrific video . love it . hope there are more coming ! many thanks from a waimate steam fan
👍Great video. The beast is ready.
Thank you, loved it.
@toplinkengineman i always thought it was customary to check the boiler had water in it before light-up, other wise it would be like boiling an empty kettle
Moving the engine a short distance out of the shed is not a problem. There will be sufficient oil in the cylinders.
I think many people disliked closed the video immediately when they saw the diesel loco start up. Very interesting to see the cold start though - I did wonder how they got draught with no steam, and now I see! ;)
+Steve Wright I almost did until I saw your comment.
+Steve Wright Would be fun to see if draft would naturally establish through the steam locomotive's boiler.Presumably it would, since many flues are higher than the fire and the chimney (smoke stack) would also increase draft.
Steve Wright if the wind is blowing the right way and the loco is still warm from the day before its not too bad, if not you just stay out if the cab as much as possible till you've got the pressure to crack the blower.
I've fired up a S class NKP class 2-8-4 using just natural draught with an ice cold boiler using old railroad ties cut up into 3 foot lengths and your looking at just to reach 150 pounds steam pressure right around 24 hours. Remember the boiler is a pressure vessel and with a boiler that size it expands more than an inch and 1/2 in length from ice cold to hot at 150 pounds working pressure being 275 PSI. The wood he used is a lot easier than using old railroad ties. I didn't have old journal waste to start the wood on fire so I improvised and poured right around 3 gallons of diesel fuel onto all the pieces of old ties I threw into the firebox and even using 5 minute fusses it still took two attempts to finally get the fire going. 19 hours later I finally had steam out the blower but no pressure on the steam gauge and even then you don't run the blower wide open. You close the firebox door and keep the blower low enough to keep smoke out of the cab and bring the boiler pressure up very slowly. The locomotive in this video has a small firebox where the engine I was waking up has 100 square feet of grate area and while it is stoker fired you can't use the stoker until you build up your fire and level it off then build up the bank in a horseshoe shape so when you go to work the draught doesn't tear the fire apart. Not a fun thing to do in March and you sure do appreciate the heat when you can turn it on in the cab.
Yes diesels are easier to fire up but steam is like some else said you bring her to life.
What a tedious job. Respect these guys !
7:45 when the dynamo is turned on sounds like a turbo with boost building
They are truly a labor of love!
The first batch of these J Class were made by North British . They have plate frames , just like a British loco. Many aspects of the boiler design are British. But its fair to say that we cherry picked . We had run US locos , and they have their strong ( and weak ) points .
I dont think Oliver Cromwell is simpler . I know Tangmere isnt ! They are just different . But they are all beautiful to me :-)
It must be something to feel this beast come to life.
I think the one thing that is lacking in this video is some narration. It would be great to actually hear, with some of the not so obvious steps, what was actually being done. Pretty cool though.
Exactly, no commentary means a lot of pretty pictures but no sense. Also showing gauges without any units is absolutely meaningless, they could be counting potatoes for all I know.
+Mark Hubert. - Exactly. I can follow the obvious bits but some commentary would be good. The presentation is excellent though !
Not wanting to flog a dead horse but I agree with everyone. Not knowing anything about steam trains nothing made a lot of sense. Ive gone away with many questions from an otherwise good video. Like why do you stick the angles halo down the chimney or were the steam noise is coming from on a cold boiler. Can we get a rerun with dialog maybe
Mark Hubert I totally agree!
the halo was to help create a draft with air and by steam noise on a cold boiler what do you mean by that? did you mean when they were moving the engine with the diesel or when they were starting it up?
Loved it, still so confused on what exactly is going on but thanks for posting. I too would love a break down with either captions or dialog, more of a where doing this because....
But you showed us more than we normally see, maybe one day I can bribe a Disneyland RR Engineer to teach me more.
So what's the stuff in the long pump thing he's was putting in the gold tubes on the 8:30 mark?????
Either grease or oil, lubricating all the moving parts, cant have them over heating and siezing up when running.
I would love this guy to make another one and explain each step. A great starter vid though
Unfortunately there is NO commentary to go along with the video so we all know no more than we did when we started watching it.
Its still a relaxing video to watch
There are a couple of old 30's videos showing the ins and outs of making, starting, and driving the old locos. They are all very interesting
Very nice video. Like some others have said, It would be really nice for a longer video with some narration. Would really like to see that.
I love the details on the startup, you even included the lube. I still would like to have seen some comments on what was happening.
This is well explained: ua-cam.com/video/xx9Q8PphAVo/v-deo.html
those look like cut down chunks of wooden pallets at 2:44 wouldn't the nails in those melt under the firebox heat and build up on the bottom in lumps?
Very well made! I come from Switzerland, but I am training as driver on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway in England. One thing I was wondering: isn't putting a shed blower heating the boiler up too quickly?
Thank you for the very flattering compliment! I sincerely appreciate it!
Wow, what a process. Wish everything was labeled or listed or something, like all the valves, and what he's doing with that bar after he opens the firebox doors? Are the doors pneumatic and operated by a foot-switch? And what's with the valves outside of the cab? Are those just closed when you shut the locomotive down? What's the thingy in the smoke stack? What's with the "teapots" in the cab? Is that a steam turbine at 7:40? Do they use that for electricity for the light, or what?
@zombieX111222333, Sort of, the basic steam loco is still there, plus the odd mod-con thrown in.
This is what it used to take to get the world started everyday. :) Really neat, thanks for sharing! :)
If you go to Lenno's Garage you can see him fireing up on of his steam cars. Fifteen to twenty minutes is all it takes. With a Locomotive more warming and valves and grease cups to fill....Just like when I am on a job with my 1950s dozer you just cant fire it over and go to work lots of greasing has to get done first.
Now THAT's railroading!
As much as I love steam trains I gotta say they seem like a real pain in the butt to operate. I can kinda see how diesels took over.
***** Not a pain in the butt at all. It's those extra things you have to do that makes them better than diesels! It's a labor of love. Think of the millions of people who lost their jobs when diesels came in. We are seeing history repeat itself in the supermarket with self service checkouts. The easier we make things, automation of jobs etc, the more unemployment. Steam tech will always be better in more ways than one ( :
+KiwiPowerNZ Steam locomotives are nasty, polluting, and high maintenance. Cut them apart, break them up, and melt them down for scrap!
***** I've seen that same comment on a lot of videos haha
***** Just because I hold a different opinion to you, that does not make me a troll. Break all steam locos for scrap now!
+KiwiPowerNZ
Hardly accurate to compare a diesel engine to self service checkouts. They still require plenty of manpower to keep running.
Thank you. Still, I would be concerned. Is there a way to get oil into the cylinders from the top which would hopefully coat the cylinder walls and the rod coming out of the cylinder? I have seen steam jetting from around that rod on each forward stroke.