Nostalgia & History > Midweek menu - Cool air from steam

I ran the jpg from the midweek menu post below about the Florida East Coast steam powered AC through OCR and here is the result. Only a little touchup on paragraphing was required. A very clear explanation and text.

Cool Air from Steam

All dining cars on the Florida East Coast Railway are now air-conditioned. Coaches, lounge cars and the majority of Pullmans on "The Tamiami" and "Havana Special" now have this feature which adds so much to the comfort of train travel during the summer period.

Florida East Coast Railway coaches and dining cars have been equipped with the latest and, up to now, the best type of air-conditioning at the railway's own shops in St. Augustine. The particular system used to auto-matically cool and purify the air in these cars is one chosen after long experiment and practical certainty as to its adaptation to rail service.

Strange as it may seem, steam from the locomotive is employed to actuate the cooling agency. A high vacuum is produced in an evaporating unit under the car by means of steam issuing from a nozzle at high pressure. The vacuum so produced reduces the temperature of the water in the evaporator. This cold water is pumped to a conditioning unit inside the car over which warm air from the outside is constantly circulated and cooled to the desired temperature. Before being released this air is thoroughly filtered to remove any impurities. This is scarcely necessary as the Florida East Coast Railway uses oil-burning locomotives which produce no soot or cinders. After being filtered and cooled the air is gently distributed through a series of ducts on each side of the car ceiling, so designed as to eliminate drafts.

Thermostats inside each car automatically regulate the operation of the various units so that a uniform temperature is maintained regardless of outside weather conditions and temperature changes. When the weather becomes cool, the same system also functions as a heating unit without alteration.

One advantage of this particular system is that its operation is independ-ent of train movement, being just as effective when the train is standing still as when moving at high speed.

Air-conditioning is rapidly being installed on the principal trains of the South. The Florida East Coast Railway, by virtue of its continuous double track and smooth roadbed, gives you a smoother, faster ride plus cool air-conditioned comfort.

Some years ago I had acquired some SP employee timetables that listed passenger equipment and the AC equipment on the cars. I was somewhat mystified by the notation that some cars had "steam ejection" AC, until someone explained how it worked. Thanks for posting this historical piece.

Thanks for posting this. I like it in part because it shows that there was once a time when railroads (and other companies as well) had people capable of putting out press releases that presented factual technical information in a way that didn't talk down to the general public while still being understandable. Today it seems everything is buzz words and fluff. It would sure be nice to have some of these folks (like you, John Bromley) back.

Gordon