Steam & Excursion > Freight engines on passenger trains

In the old days when passenger trains were heated by steam a diesel would need to be equipped with a boiler to be an effective passenger locomotive.

Would a steam engine built to pull freights need to be fitted with any special equipment to heat a passenger train?

yooperfan Wrote:
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> Would a steam engine built to pull freights need
> to be fitted with any special equipment to heat a
> passenger train?

Steam line connector and a valve to turn the steam off or on.  No problems with steam. The engine has lots of it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/25 16:54 by ts1457.

There's a question -- how many freight engines
that would ordinarily never touch a passenger car
had the steam hose? How many 2-10-2s?
Any 2-8+8-0s? Some? all? PRR 2-8-0s?

timz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There's a question -- how many freight engines
> that would ordinarily never touch a passenger car
> had the steam hose? How many 2-10-2s?
> Any 2-8+8-0s? Some? all? PRR 2-8-0s?

Why do you continue to ask such REALLY strange questions?????  Any "freight" locomotive that was required to handle troop trains, would have been equipped with steam conduit connections.

SP Mikes were the power on the Klamath into Klamath Falls, standard assignment. And
that wasn't a mixed but a normal assignment. The Owl went over Tehacapi behind Cab
Forwards, left LA that way. Those were definitely freight locomotives with as Jack say,
steam lines.

Out 

There were some freight locos, particularly 4-8-2s and 4-8-4 that had the extra plumbing to heat passenger trains. Though they might be considered "dual purpose", not all of a given class would necessarily be equipped as such.

Victor Baird



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/25 18:41 by wabash2800.

The New York Central's 4-8-2  Mohawk locomotives were classed as dual purpose, freight and passenger.  I believe some of the passenger connections were removed as they were moved to freight service only in the mid-1950s

In 1968, when Ross Rowland’s High Iron Co. (HICO) restored former NKP 2-8-4, #759,
it had been fitted with steam heat, pressure regulated, and with a steam connection
under the coupler.

We surmised it was applied during WW2, for times when it hauled troop trains, etc.
We used the Steam heat when we had diner-cars, and when excursions operated
in cold weather.     

It had a securely mounted steam pressure regulator & Steam Heat
gauge, fireman’s side. Big and brass!

When we first tried to use it, we found that the primary pressure-regulating valve
was missing it’s internal, pressure-control spring.
We guessed at its spring tension, located a replacement spring,tested it, worked very well.
Mostly Luck.

Steam heat works best if the train had been “on steam” for an extended period.
Many terminals had Steam heat connectors and large power plants.


In excursion years, we tried to have the train pre-heated … in order to save coal —-
as when heating a string of coaches …. that had been off of heat, and the cars
were cold—in side the coach spaces.   It’s always best to preheat your train.
Steam or electric… by at least 24 hours.

I think the common rule was 10psi steam, per-car…. so, a 10-car
train would be 100 psi on fireman’s steam-heat, pressure gauge.
That’s pressure is for running in cold weather with a 10 car train needing heat.

When we would pre-heat car interiors, we adjusted —- lowered—-the Steam heat
pressure to the cars… so, that just a mere slow steam cloud exited from the rear-car.
When departing with the train, we raised Steam heat pressure accordingly…

There’s a whole safety-routine when stopping, with the intent of switching any of the train’s cars..

For later…

W.

Posted from iPhone

( Corrected from IPad )



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/20/25 16:25 by wcamp1472.

Are you sure that all the Mohawks were equipped? I was under the impression it was only the later ones.

Victor Baird


Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The New York Central's 4-8-2  Mohawk locomotives
> were classed as dual purpose, freight and
> passenger.  I believe some of the passenger
> connections were removed as they were moved to
> freight service only in the mid-1950s

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/25 22:16 by wabash2800.

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are you sure that all the Mohawks were equipped? I
> was under the impression it was only the later
> ones.
>
> Victor Baird
>
>
> Lackawanna484 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The New York Central's 4-8-2  Mohawk
> locomotives
> > were classed as dual purpose, freight and
> > passenger.  I believe some of the passenger
> > connections were removed as they were moved to
> > freight service only in the mid-1950s
>
> Posted from Android

You may be right.  I know there were multiple sub-classes of the L-2 locomotive.  I'll defer to the NYC experts on this one.

(It would make that the newer Mohawks were the survivors into the 1950s, so they would be equipped with passenger fittings)

We kept the steam line to the back of the tender of 1522. Removed the coupling that was on there that coupled with cars. Built a box that fit on the back of the frame above the coupler area with a steam coil in it and that's where we kept a supply of steam oil for service stops. Kept it nice and warm so it would pour into the lubricator when we refilled it when servicing.
Sounds strange I know, but worked like a champ.

HotWater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> timz Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > There's a question -- how many freight engines
> > that would ordinarily never touch a passenger
> car
> > had the steam hose? How many 2-10-2s?
> > Any 2-8+8-0s? Some? all? PRR 2-8-0s?
>
> Why do you continue to ask such REALLY strange
> questions?????

Chill out. What is so strange about it? It is a question. No one is forcing you to respond to every post.

> Any "freight" locomotive that was
> required to handle troop trains, would have been
> equipped with steam conduit connections.

Which really does nothing to answer the question, since it no where any where implied or expressed anything about a particular time period, let alone specifically around the time of WW2.

Texas & Pacific fitted steam hoses to 70   2-10-4's and 11   2-8-2 engines.  Most were fitted prior to WWII and were extensively put on  long  passenger trains prior to WWII and in WWII .   This supplemented 10  4-8-2 and 22  4-6-2  that had the hell used out of them during the war.

SP equipped Mikes and Decks with steam heat. SP 786 and SP 982 were both equipped with steam heat. Santa Fe did the same with some of their Mikes and 2-10-2's

Some of the wartime built S2 NKP Berks, including 765 were built with steam lines to haul troop trains. When 765 was used a to keep a passenger train warm overnight in Fort Wayne in December 1958, she became the last NKP Berk to be under steam while in employ of the railroad.

Posted from iPhone

I just learned that ALL the "big freight engines" on the UP (3700s, 3800s, 3900s, and 4000s) came from Alco with steam heat lines and associated controls in the cab.

So, it wasn't such a strange question afterall, was it, Jack..?

S_W