dshutson Wrote:
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> From my understanding, the D&RGW most often used a
> water hose to empty the pans. Presently on the
> C&TS, we use compressed air which is effective but
> messy. You'll note the visible fly ash clung to
> the locomotives in the vicinity around the firebox
> as a result of this method. Needless to say, it's
> good practice to turn off the air pump while
> blowing out the pan or the air cleaner will become
> plugged immediately.
>
> I have been successful using a water hose in the
> absence of compressed air; however, one must be
> careful not to splash water up into the grates and
> fire bed.
I have seen videos and witnessed ashpan cleanout with compressed air. Makes no sense to me. It just creates all kinds of mess, and now you are breathing all that dust, and getting it in your eyes too. On the Strasburg I was taught to use a water hose. We had a piece of pipe with a bent nose for a spray attachment, and it worked fine. We were taught to avoid spraying the water up towards the grate, and it really was not hard or stressful.
Recall that many engines are built with water spray lines in the ashpan, fed from the injector feed. Water in the ashpan is perfectly normal.
The washing of ash is really only an issue where the ashpan has large flat areas that overhang the frame or wheels. On a pan like that shown for RGS 20, there is not going to be any ash accumulation. Our Danish engines have similar vertical sides, but no bottom dump. We have to rake the ash out through the dampers, from the pit. Our engines have plate frames and almost no access to anything from the side at ground level. Much maintenance and lubrication requires a pit. It is all very labor intensive and hard to defend - much of it was just legacy thinking and managerial inertia.
