Hot ashes

[doilum]

As I admired the box of 20 3D printed fireplaces a daft question crossed my mind. A station like Selby would have had around twenty open coal fired some of which must have burned around the clock on winter. Some poor employee would have had the early morning task of raking out the grates and disposing of the ashes. Having been brought up with this task as a child I appreciate the volume of as involved, perhaps two or even three barrow loads on each platform.

What did they do with the still glowing ash? Selby apparently had a rubbish wagon parked in the end of the horse dock, but glowing ash would have quickly had it burning. Sluice the ash and shovel the sloppy mess? Has anyone previous experience of this thankless task?

[Paul H Vigor]

44 minutes ago, doilum said:

As I admired the box of 20 3D printed fireplaces a daft question crossed my mind. A station like Selby would have had around twenty open coal fired some of which must have burned around the clock on winter. Some poor employee would have had the early morning task of raking out the grates and disposing of the ashes. Having been brought up with this task as a child I appreciate the volume of as involved, perhaps two or even three barrow loads on each platform.

What did they do with the still glowing ash? Selby apparently had a rubbish wagon parked in the end of the horse dock, but glowing ash would have quickly had it burning. Sluice the ash and shovel the sloppy mess? Has anyone previous experience of this thankless task?

My childhood domestic ash-shovelling involved depositing said ash on an ash path we had in the back garden.

[Michael Hodgson]

In the days before central heating, domestic ash was generated, but in fairly small quantities - you didn't need a wheelbarrow at home for it.  We didn't have plastic wheelie bins back then, we had galvanised dust bins.  I always assumed the term derived from the dusty residue from the standard form of heating.  The dustman didn't collect masses of the sort of stuff that goes to recycling today - we didn't have plastic packaging, paper bags were common and inflammable waste would be thrown onto the fire rather than in the bin.  And the council emptied bins every week.  Common sense dictated that you didn't tip glowing embers into the bin, though metal bins could withstand hot ashes rather better than the plastic bins now in use. 

[doilum]

But if you had to empty twenty?

[bécasse]

33 minutes ago, doilum said:

But if you had to empty twenty?

Old-style galvanised pressed steel bin mounted (temporarily for the purpose) on a sack-barrow. Ashes then dumped in the goods yard, different spot each day.

[Wheatley]

Back in the day when everything was surfaced with cinders I suspect most of it was disposed of as per Becasse's answer. Later on, at Appleby in the 90s I think it went in the bin although a lot was just chucked it in the car park (mostly potholes separated by tarmac), I'm not sure what Settle did with theirs but I suspect the same.

 

Coal bunkers often had two compartments, coal in one ash in the other. At Dodworth, Hellifield (I think), Blea Moor and Settle Jcn signalboxes it went in the second bit of the coal bunker (from where it largely blew away), at Barnsley Jumble Lane it went in a metal bin which I presume the railman emptied because we certainly didn't. At Skiers Springs it went out of the window onto the ballast but they were heathen scruffs. 

 

I can't imagine anyone sluicing it anywhere other than a loco shed, ash could be brushed off your shoes and trousers but grey sludge was a different matter. Dumped somewhere convenient until it cooled down then shovelled up would be more likely.  

 

 

Edited October 5, 2023 by Wheatley

[Forward!]

In the early 1990s they still had a proper fireplace in Barnetby station!

 

 

 

[doilum]

Liking the idea.of a separate ash bin. Each day the previous day's ashes would be cool enough to throw into the rubbish wagon and the cycle continues. I have volunteered to build the rubbish wagon.

[Michael Hodgson]

Wood ash is useful as a fertiliser and might be thrown on an allotment etc.

Coal ash not so, but can be used in small quantities to increase pH of acidic soils.

[Martino]

Back in the ‘50s and early ‘60s my parents had a coke fueled AGA. Its ashes were removed each morning and put in the metal dustbin.  I don’t remember there ever being a problem with fire.  All organic kitchen waste was put on the compost heap.   My grandmother (born 1901) would weekly start a conflagration in her metal dustbin to ‘sanitize’ it!   Eventually they rusted/burned out and had to be replaced. Mind you she burned everything for which she no longer had a use.  He favourite phrase was “what do you want a book for?  You’ve already got one”.   But I digress massively .

[40152]

21 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

In the days before central heating, domestic ash was generated, but in fairly small quantities - you didn't need a wheelbarrow at home for it.  We didn't have plastic wheelie bins back then, we had galvanised dust bins.  I always assumed the term derived from the dusty residue from the standard form of heating.  The dustman didn't collect masses of the sort of stuff that goes to recycling today - we didn't have plastic packaging, paper bags were common and inflammable waste would be thrown onto the fire rather than in the bin.  And the council emptied bins every week.  Common sense dictated that you didn't tip glowing embers into the bin, though metal bins could withstand hot ashes rather better than the plastic bins now in use. 

I recall my folks’ galv bin back in the 70s having the words ‘No hot ashes’ stamped into it for just this reason. Although by then they had a gas fire, causing a curious young ‘152 to ask what this hot ash business was all about. They told me that when they had a coal fire, they just emptied the grate into a metal bucket which they left outside until it cooled before putting the contents in the bin.

[TheQ]

17 hours ago, doilum said:

Liking the idea.of a separate ash bin. Each day the previous day's ashes would be cool enough to throw into the rubbish wagon and the cycle continues. I have volunteered to build the rubbish wagon.

The previous days ashes would still be hot under the surface, you need several days for it to cool down.

 

We are somewhat traditional here, we have a compost heap, and a multi fuel fire. 

Papers that otherwise would need shredding go on the fire to produce heat for us.

Some paper and card board is used to start our regular bonfires, as we clear our jungle and trim back trees and hedges. Wood ash gets used on the garden.

 

We have an ashes heap  which at the moment, eventually that gets mixed in with cement to make a base layer with ballast for a foot path, or in shed foundations. Once those tasks are completed it will go in the bin each summer it will have cooled down by then.

 

Many years ago a bin lorry in the middle of Salisbury caught fire just after it had collected the bins from a coal fired chippy. I saw it go past, the bin lorry driver got a award for driving the lorry away from the busy city market / center of town out into the open.

[AMJ]

The "No hot ashes" still exists on the majority of plastic wheelie bins.  Other than the metal axle they burn well - I have disposed of a couple onto a fire.

 

I think that ash would have been disposed of throughout the site and when cold could have been thinned down.  

 

There were many minor lines that had ash ballast rather than rock so that could have used up a fair quantity.

[cctransuk]

15 minutes ago, AMJ said:

... I have disposed of a couple onto a fire.

 

Bl**dy irresponsible thing to do - the combustion products released to the atmosphere don't bear thinking about!!

 

CJI.

[Siberian Snooper]

When we had coal fires the ashes were spread over the garden, unless dad had some sort of building project in mind, in which case they went there, as a base layer.

 

 

[D826]

Lots of the trains to Watford Tip, near the triangle of lines on the Met South of Rickmansworth, were loco Ash.

 

Generally conveyed in the 30 ton General Purpose bogie open wagons. Hauled by LT Panniers, and I assume before that by Met F class.

 

The trains also took general refuse, pway waste, hard-core from demolition of LT Neasden power station to the tip.

 

My Dad was foreman at Neasden LT steam shed.

 

Good photo of a wagon, load on fire, being taken to be doused at the water column at the end of Watford Met platform in the wonderful book, Red Panniers - Lightmoor Press.

 

Loads of pictures of Dad in that book.

 

He got loco ash/ a smut in his eye once which led to him visiting Moorfields eye hospital.

 

Was most insulted when they asked if he'd visited any 'ladies of the night' as it might be syphilis. He was furious !

 

Best regards

 

Matt Wood

 

 

Edited October 12, 2023 by D826
Huge gaps between paras

[doilum]

I had forgotten about the loco ash. The products of twenty fireplaces would be small beer compared to twenty locomotives on shed.

[Wickham Green too]

On 05/10/2023 at 18:15, Siberian Snooper said:

When we had coal fires the ashes were spread over the garden, unless dad had some sort of building project in mind, in which case they went there, as a base layer.

Ours went in the holes in the road* outside ................................. and got washed out next time it rained !

 

* Unadopted - it's still a mud surface ................. an' the potholes are still there.

[doilum]

48 minutes ago, Wickham Green too said:

Ours went in the holes in the road* outside ................................. and got washed out next time it rained !

 

* Unadopted - it's still a mud surface ................. an' the potholes are still there.

School caretakers stored ash for use in winter on icy paths. Made a disgusting mess in the corridors and classrooms . Now they close the site on H&S grounds.