Re: Odd question about sand domes

Hi Jeff,

It sounds like the sand and/or dome chamber is too wet and the moisture is being cooked out of it as the temperature builds up in the dome. First, the dome needs to be dry when empty. It also needs to be able to breathe. The gasket may be part of the problem. Second, the sand needs to be dry. Some railroads had coal stoves in their sand houses. The stoves had a large iron funnel on top that was filled with sand. The sand heated and dried out, then flowed down into a chute or buckets to fill the dome. This was called "baking" the sand. The drier it is, the better it flows through the delivery pipe to the rail.

Stewart