Re: suppressing fires

Hi, Chris:
The D&S system has been very successful. It consists of a tube of pressurized water that surrounds the cinder screen at the top of the stack. There are a number of ports from which water may be sprayed over the top of the stack. The device is controlled by a valve in the cab.
Maybe Floppo or someone else can add more detail to this descripion.
One possible downside for the passengers is that it rains wet soot all over the front of the train while in use, but when I was there in June, I didn't hear any complaints.
During the most dangerous part of the Summer when fire danger was it's highest, the MOW Fire Crew also did an excellent job finding and exstinguishing spot fires that still flared up.
It requires a constant and vigilant effort by the whole crew to make this work, but it is clear that the new system has been a great help. They were actually monitoring how many fires were caused by each engine, and if there seemed to be a problem with one in particular, as was the case while I was there, it was taken out of service and adjusted.
Another added benefit is that it allows a much more historically accurate appearance of the engines. And we all know how important that is....