How do short runs affect locos?

[Fenman]

As I said only cooled down for major work ie a wash out if there was a small fault a fitter would often work on the loco when still in light steam

Apologies: I had assumed that the regular 12-15 days wash-out did not come under the definition of "major work".

 

Shows what I know!

 

Paul

[Londontram]

No prob I should have made my self clearer too. Regards Steve

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

We used the handbrake knowing that little steam was required to set a loco rolling (some of it was wasted blowing out condensed steam) but stopping it was another matter. One could have fun with engines barely in steam although it was hardly good practice and could lead to sacking. I took an Austerity 8F 2-8-0 almost to the throat of the shed complex and with the regulator open wound the reverser to just forward of mid gear and jumped off to change the points. The loco obligingly slowed to a stop further down the track and when the steam built up started to come back towards me. I climbed aboard and put it on shed using the hand brake. The folly of youth! 

These are the priceless recollections; what actually happened when authority was not looking too closely.

 

Whatever authority may have defined and put in the rule book, there was a way around. I can think of at least three experienced running shed engineer's memoirs and lectures, each of whom repeatedly found on assignment to a new location that the prescribed careful cooling and heating as boilers were taken out and into steam was honoured more in the breach than the observance. The resulting frequent fractured stays and tubeplate cracking anong other boiler troubles came down at a run when a proper regime was instituted and inspected for. (I found this information immensely helpful in my own early career in production engineering: looking for what was actually done with the expensive equipment, rather than what was specified...)

[Twright]

On the GlosWarks, I have been involved in fitting Kenlowe fan units to the radiators of the DMUs to replace the angle drives fitted by BR. This is because they continuously worked and on the shortish runs that we do, the engines never got up to working temperature like they did in BR days causing (I think) poorer fuel economy as they were too cold.

[Titan]

Don't they have thermostats? if they are working properly the radiator should not be in circuit when the engine is cold, so it should not make any difference whether there is a howling gale or zero air flow going through them.

[Twright]

I don't know for certain, I was only fitting them and that is what I understood.