Re: bring a cold engine up to steam much faster

Hugh,
Correct me if I’m wrong, but the advantages of the gas producer system are only apparent on the road, with the greatest advantage at high outputs. The issue the D&S faces is smoke produced when on standby in the yard, and when kindling a new fire, where the gas producer system would have little or no effect.
We have installed over-fire tubes (without jets) in all of our engines, and they do significantly reduce the amount of smoke in a given situation. However I agree with Earl that kindling a new coal fire is a very smokey evolution for about a 45 minute period, and I know of no way to avoid embarrassing amounts of smoke during this time. Perhaps the addition of over-fire jets would help, but I doubt it since the smoke of a brand new fire is just too cool to ignite regardless of how much air is added.
Linn has passed along what information we have on over-fire tubes and jets to Steve Jackson to try.
In the end, if (and I think that it’s a bid if, regardless of how loud the @#$%& yell) the government forces the D&S to be smoke free in Durango, I think converting the engines to oil burning will be the only practical solution. Then (in an idling situation) the amount of smoke produced is entirely under human control, and the average thirty-something soccer mom sitting in front of the Durango McDonald’s waiting for the light in her Conquistador V8 (with the AC turned on high) while taking young Ashley to her riding lesson ½ a mile from home won’t have to worry about all of that terrible polution being made for no good reason.