 Section of typical British boiler and firebox. The firebox is the 'spotty' area on the right of the image, although the spots actually represent stays. The brick arch, firetubes and grate can also be seen. In a steam engine, the firebox is the area where the fuel is burned, producing heat to boil the water in the boiler. Most are somewhat box-shaped, hence the name. // The term steam engine may also refer to an entire railroad steam locomotive. ...
Fuel is any material that is capable of releasing energy when its chemical or physical structure is changed or converted. ...
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated under pressure. ...
In the standard steam locomotive firetube type boiler, the firebox is surrounded by water space on five sides. The underside is not so surrounded. If the engine burns solid fuel, there is a grate covering most of the bottom of the firebox to hold the fuel. An ashpan collects the solid combustion waste below. Combustion air generally enters at the base, and the airflow is usually controlled by damper doors. There is a large brick arch (made from firebrick) at the front of the box which directs heat and flames back towards the firedoor at the rear. Without the arch, flames would be sucked straight into the firetubes and only the front of the box would receive heat. Both the brick arch and the bars of the grate require periodic replacement due to the extreme heat to which they are subjected. Scheme of steam locomotive. ...
This page is a candidate to be copied to Wiktionary. ...
Firetubes are attached to one wall of the firebox (the front wall for a longitudinal boiler, the top for a vertical boiler) and carry the hot gaseous products of combustion through the boiler water, heating it, before they escape to the atmosphere.
The metal walls of the firebox are normally called sheets, which are separated by stays. Since any corrosion is hidden, the stays may have longitudinal holes, called tell-tales, drilled in them which leak before they become unsafe. The crown sheet is the top of the firebox.
Normally the top of the firebox is semicircular to match the contour of the boiler, however the Belpaire firebox has more of a square shape and is usually made as large as possible within the loading gauge, to offer the greatest heating surface where the fire is hottest. A loading gauge is the envelope or contoured shape within which all railway vehicles, engines, coaches, and trucks must fit. ...
The Wootten firebox was very tall and wide to allow combustion of anthracite coal waste. Its size necessitated unusual placement of the crew, examples being camelback locomotives. Anthracite coal Anthracite (Greek ΑνθÏακίτης, literally a form of coal, from Anthrax [ΆνθÏαξ], coal) is a hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster. ...
The Erie Railroads L-1 class were the largest camelbacks built, and the only articulated ones. ...
Some fireboxes were equipped with a so-called combustion chamber which placed additional space between the fire and the boiler. This allowed more complete combustion and thus greater heat. A combustion chamber is part of an engine in which fuel is burned. ...
The fireman's chief duty on a steam locomotive is to maintain the boiler water level so that it covers the firebox crown sheet at all times. Otherwise, the latter will desiccate, overheat and weaken, and a boiler explosion may result. Boiler explosions are catastrophic failures of boilers, particularly boilers of locomotives. ...
Different Types of Firebox | Normal round-top firebox |
 A 4-8-2 locomotive with a normal firebox. The round top of the firebox make attaching the boiler easier. | | Belpaire firebox |
 A PRR N1s. The flat sides and square corners show the shape of the Belpaire firebox. This offers a greater heating surface, increasing the efficiency of the engine. | | Wootten firebox |
 An Erie L-1. The Wootten firebox can be seen as the large construction just in front of the tender. Note the unusual position of the drivers cab. The fireman was left exposed between firebox and tender. | Download high resolution version (5778x1611, 1129 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Download high resolution version (5778x1611, 1129 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Union Pacific Railroad class MT-1 4-8-2 #7000. ...
A PRR N1s. ...
Download high resolution version (829x477, 115 KB)Pennsylvania Railroad N1s locomotive #7246 photographed in 1919 at Youngstown, Ohio. ...
Download high resolution version (829x477, 115 KB)Pennsylvania Railroad N1s locomotive #7246 photographed in 1919 at Youngstown, Ohio. ...
PRR N1s #7246 at Youngstown, Ohio in 1919, when less than a year old. ...
A PRR N1s. ...
Erie Railroad L-1 steam locomotive at Port Jervis, New York, 1911. ...
Erie Railroad L-1 steam locomotive at Port Jervis, New York, 1911. ...
L-1 #2601 at Port Jervis, New York, June 1911. ...
A British tender locomotive Steam locomotives often haul a tender, which is a special railroad car designed to hold the locomotives fuel and water. ...
See also
A flue is a pipe or channel for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, furnace, boiler, or generator. ...
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