Railroaders' Nostalgia > Sump Fire while running!

Is this still going on? Back in  the earlier Diesel days Sump Fires were not unheard of. The covered wagons were, of course the worst to encounter.
Not easy to get out account of not having enough room to really get a handle on the fire as well as the fire was really engaged under the engine block
and you had fumes to deal with. No body seems to talk about these occurrences but once you got involved you didn't forget it.!
I wonder on steam engines if the fire ever shot out of the firebox into the cab?

> I wonder on steam engines if the fire ever shot
> out of the firebox into the cab?

Well, Yeah! Can, and will, happen anytime the engineer closes the throttle and you've got the blower off with the door open.

-LD

The Fire Department in Boro of Sewickley, Sweetwater Township,PA kept a 1951 Mack type L 1000 GPM pumper for many years because they kept getting Penn Central/Conrail locomotive sump fires. PC would leave the locos idling at Conway for days, and when they finally started to pull a train the built up carbon sparks from the exhaust would settle back into the car body and catch the sump on fire. Sewickley would have a burning loco along a right of way road without a good water supply or street access. The Mack was small enough to get down the ROW road, and Sewickley placed about a dozen CO2 extinguishers on the running boards. They traded the truck in sometime in the 80's and it was bought by a private collector from Cleveland.  It is in original condition painted for Sewickley and still runs and pumps.  

trainsfireengine Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Fire Department in Boro of Sewickley,
> Sweetwater Township,PA kept a 1951 Mack type L
> 1000 GPM pumper for many years because they kept
> getting Penn Central/Conrail locomotive sump
> fires. PC would leave the locos idling at Conway
> for days, and when they finally started to pull a
> train the built up carbon sparks from the exhaust
> would settle back into the car body and catch the
> sump on fire. Sewickley would have a burning loco
> along a right of way road without a good water
> supply or street access. The Mack was small enough
> to get down the ROW road, and Sewickley placed
> about a dozen CO2 extinguishers on the running
> boards. They traded the truck in sometime in the
> 80's and it was bought by a private collector from
> Cleveland.  It is in original condition painted
> for Sewickley and still runs and pumps.  

That’s kool. 😎

Posted from iPhone

trainsfireengine Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Fire Department in Boro of Sewickley,
> Sweetwater Township,PA kept a 1951 Mack type L
> 1000 GPM pumper for many years because they kept
> getting Penn Central/Conrail locomotive sump
> fires. PC would leave the locos idling at Conway
> for days, and when they finally started to pull a
> train the built up carbon sparks from the exhaust
> would settle back into the car body and catch the
> sump on fire. Sewickley would have a burning loco
> along a right of way road without a good water
> supply or street access. The Mack was small enough
> to get down the ROW road, and Sewickley placed
> about a dozen CO2 extinguishers on the running
> boards. They traded the truck in sometime in the
> 80's and it was bought by a private collector from
> Cleveland.  It is in original condition painted
> for Sewickley and still runs and pumps.  


Any pictures?

Posted from iPhone

Doug Wetherhold
Macungie, PA