Re: 489 First Revenue Run

Jimr260 Wrote:
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> Fire is fire, regardless of the fuel source. I,
> too, have been puzzled when you watch an oil
> burner and live flames are constantly flickering
> outside the fire box. Since any fire source can
> start a fire, it is difficult to understand why
> oil fired engines are considered a necessity to
> prevent lineside fires. I am a scientist and my
> mantra is "show me the evidence collected in a
> scientifically validated manner". Does anyone know
> of ANY well conducted studies that show oil fired
> leads to less fires???

I believe an oil fire is different because it doesn't have embers like coal fired locomotives. An ember can burn for a long time on it's own outside of the fire source it came from which poses more opportunity to ignite a fire. With an oil burner if a flame shoots out it is usually quick and very short lived and unless it immediately came in contact with something that would ignite the chances are dramatically less likely it will start a lineside fire. Maybe some of the Loop folks can chime in and let us know how many fires they've started in the past few yrs seeing they have oil burners. It is worth noting that with the use of 493 there were no reported fires being started by her. I'm sure we'll see the same data from 473, 480, and 489 as time goes on. Hoping others will comment who have had direct experience with oil fired steam locomotives.

William
aka drgwk37