Big coal stove.

If you think your coal stove is tough to get started,...….



Paul

Awesome video....thanks for sharing!!

Yes awesome! Im a third the way thru it. Im gonna have to convert this to a VHS tape so my Dad can watch it (seriously).

Imagine the heat and smoke when loading that beast. Maybe it says later in the video but what size is that firebox?

They don't say how big the firebox is, but going by how big some of the wood is he's throwing in, and then how he's throwing the coal, I'd say it's at least 4' x 4',... maybe even longer to the front.

Look closely at how much fines are getting tossed in with each shovel full. And some of us complain if there's a coffee mug worth of fines in a 40 pound bag of coal.

There's a special vent in the shed roof over the smoke stack that must be a very good at venting, going by the thick volume of smoke coming out the stack.

But that's the king of puff backs to fill that shed with smoke. Even much less than that'd have your wife screaming at ya !

Paul

Thanks for posting that !

Good video. Noticed a bad practice though. A cotter pin had only one leg bent. Always bend both for insurance against one leg failing. I have seen it happen

franco b wrote: ↑

Fri. Jan. 04, 2019 10:51 am

Good video. Noticed a bad practice though. A cotter pin had only one leg bent. Always bend both for insurance against one leg failing. I have seen it happen

With the size of those cotter pins, I don't think they are worried.

Not much side loading on the pin and whatever side load there is, is still against both legs of the pin, not just the bent one. Plus, you'd need a large hammer just to unbend that one leg. They work harden at the bend, so unbending them to have the pin come out takes much more force than bending them the first time.

Paul

Sunny Boy wrote: ↑

Fri. Jan. 04, 2019 11:34 am

They work harden at the bend,

They also sometimes partially fracture at the bend and break off later. Vibration then lets them drop off. The bend frequently is against a sharp edged hole. Easy enough to bend both legs for insurance.

Cool video! Lots more to go wrong than leaving the ash door open.

Did I miss the portion of the video that showed the primary air inlet shutter? I did see what appeared to be fixed secondary air in the split load door.

You didn't miss it, Scott. That's the one part about the fire they didn't show.

From what I've read the primary air intake is at the front of the firebox feeding in through doors under the grates in the floor of the firebox. Forward movement helps force air in. Otherwise there is a steam blower in the stack that increases the draft through the firebox when needing more air being drawn through the fire.

I wish William was still with us because he worked as a steam train fireman and knew all the fine details of how to maintain the fire for the right amount of steam that would be needed for the track conditions ahead. A tough job !

Here's part two of operating some of the controls of #491.


Franco, your not going to be pleased,... there's lots of shots showing cotter pins with only one leg bent.


Here's more on how to use the fire controls. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetail ... =117906786

Paul

Franco's not alone. Im a cotter pin double leg bender myself!

I am too, but I don't worry seeing just one leg bent either.

I've worked with cotter pins for many years on sailboat rigging, which takes beating. And then 40+ years working around 80-90 year old antique cars that got bounced over rutted dirt roads. Antique cars use dozens of old cotter pins - from tiny 1/16 inch to 3/8 inch diameter - holding steering linkage, suspension pivot points, carburetor linkages, brake linkages, drive shafts universal joints, and wheel bearings on..... I've yet to find one with any broken legs. Guess I've been lucky.

Paul

Thanks SB.

WRT cotter pins, aircraft piston engines vibrate quite a bit as well as do flight control surfaces. In 36 years I’ve never seen a cotter pin fail. They are probably made of superior steels though.

When I was working on aircraft everything was safety wired!