Re: Dumping the Fire (linked video)

Earl Wrote:
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> The 499 is sitting on the ash pit, so the cart
> must have something to do with cleaning fires and
> ash pans. Engines were not steam cleaned at the
> ash pit, that was done over by the roundhouse.
>
> Back when I was cleaning fires, we were forbidden
> to run the air pump on the engine to keep the dust
> and dirt from the fire cleaning process from being
> inhaled by the air compressor. We'd shut the pump
> down, dump the grates, then clean out the pans
> with a "wand" attached to the main reservoir on
> the locomotive, using the air left in the system.
> Invariably, we would run out of air and have to
> start the pump, build up the air again, shut the
> pump down, then finish the job. I'm thinking this
> tank-on-a-cart. might be to store air for this
> process. But, it's not a very big tank and would
> hold a lot less air than the reservoirs on the
> engines would... Then again, ALA would have had
> shop air and water out by the ash pit.... so who
> knows.
>

Sort of like this.... video: [vimeo.com]