Re: What is it ? Snifter valve ?

The locomotives on the C&T and such have snifter valve's, when you crack the throttle, they pop up and close, When you shut the throttle off "although not all the time" they open up, drop down and vent steam out into the atmosphere. One of the nightwatchmen's job is to make sure these valve's are open and venting to prevent the locomotive from rolling away by itself..

If you are riding right behind the locomotive, you can tell when the engineer opens the throttle because the snifter valve will make a ssssh pop sound and the steam will vent quickly and then stop when the valve seats and the engineer throttle's up!!! If you watch a locomotive start up in the morning in chama or such, the steam will vent out of the snifter and then pop close, just before the locomotive begins to roll..

Carlos Llamas