The fireman's rolling furnace
The engineer's command center
The mind-bending physics of water and draft
Life on the footplate
chrisd The Automatic Stoker
The steel screw feeds the boiler while we watch the tracks ahead.
chrisd Firemen manually moved ten to twenty tons of coal per trip, spreading it evenly across the grate to prevent cold spots.
chrisd Stoke the locomotive's firebox to learn how steam pressure drives the train.
Fireman's massive diet: A hard-working steam locomotive fireman could burn up to 6,000 calories during a single shift—more than twice the average daily recommendation!
An enclosed chamber in a steam engine or boiler where fuel is burned to produce heat. Stokers shoveled coal from the tender into this chamber to keep the boiler's water boiling.
Approximately what percentage of a steam engine's water is lost to the atmosphere after being used?
Which resource did a standard steam locomotive tender carry in the greatest volume and weight?
What did thick black smoke billowing from a steam locomotive's smokestack usually indicate?
What mechanical device was invented to feed coal into the firebox of giant 20th-century locomotives?