Water quality

dbx Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was just wondering that ( well, actually for
> quite awhile ) ...
> I never put tap water in radiator of car
> (minerals) -
> are steam engines treated similarly ?
> Think the flues would last longer with 'cleaner'
> water.

Some were, some weren't. depended on the road, the local water quality and finances. One of the reasons certain lines, like UP and AT&SF went big for diesels early on, to save the cost of water treatment. I think D&RGW was another, btw, west of Grand Jct. There are stories of how bad the water was there all the way back to narrow gauge days.
A lot of the reasons diesels replaced steam so fast are not so much about performance as about such ancillary costs.
Hank