Re: Oil? Coal? Wood?

davidtltc Wrote:
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> I have been told that it isn't wise to use coal in
> a wood burning stove, is the reason for this the
> wall thickness of the stove, and is this the same
> reason for fireboxes in steam Locomotives going
> from Coal to Oil?

You don't use coal in a wood stove because many wood stoves won't have proper grates, sufficient draft, or parts may be made out of mild steel that can weaken or warp under intense heat. In some cases wood that burns with considerable heat (such as osage orange) can cause similar damage. That's not an issue with locomotives since fireboxes will be made out of good-quality steel.

Wood-burning locomotive fireboxes didn't necessarily like coal fuel when the large-scale transition from wood to coal occured during the late 1860's through into the early 1880's. Most particularly you see copper fireboxes (a common material during the early days) fall almost entirely out of use during this same period. Steel was in universal use by the time oil appeared.

At times, at least during the 19th century, locomotives sometimes operated on coal & wood simultaneously in a mix. This was a modestly common practice with locomotives equipped with firebox forms that wouldn't work particularly well solely with wood but where coal was expensive.

The majority of oil-fired locomotives today probably burn diesel or similar light oils (or even waste oil) due to availability. During the steam era heavier oils (most notably #6/bunker-C) were most common simply because they were cheapest. In the early days straight crude was used.