Here in Cass WV, the ladies here mostly prefer to where their diamonds proudly. Here we see #11, a Lima 1921 graduate sporting a typical "Cass Diamond" stack. A Cass diamond is pretty close in size and shape to a stock Lima diamond stack, but seems to be more or less home grown to fit the local conditions.
Unlike most diamond stacks around these days, a Cass Diamond is the real thing - it keeps the hot cinders from setting the world on fire. Cass locomotives have no spark arresting netting in the smoke box. This interior of Heisler #6 shows the basic necessities: exhaust nozzle, with a blower ring around the top and a petticoat pipe to direct the exhaust steam up the stack. Whatever hot cinders and sparks that come off the fire and through the flues, go right up the stack.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/2015 05:56PM by Earl.