All the best Western films show a steam train pulling up at a water tower, some bloke jumps out, pulls the hose-arm thing over the engine, pulls the rope and water floods into the thirsty beast.
But how did that water tower get filled in the first place? It's in the middle of nowhere. Some earlier train filled it maybe... but then how did *it* get water and... etc
Maybe they never really existed..
Cue Western music as train puffs away into the distance.
wind-driven pump from nearby river or spring?
Yeah. Google 'Rock Springs' They probably pumped it by hand..
or by horse-go-round or wind tower
NT
As others have said, well from a spring. Still common on domestic properties where I am (middle of nowhere :-) and I've never heard of anyone who's drilled a well and not got any water from it (although maybe they go deeper these days than they would have been able to "back in the day" - ours is 80', 2" bore)
(Always wondered incidentally, how they get water into the boiler on those old engines - do they have to dump all the pressure, allow water in, then wait for ages to build pressure up again? Or do they just pump fresh water into the boiler via steam-driven pump?)
cheers
Jules
Many were shown with a wind turbine close by or on top. So I am guessing it was pumped up from a well or spring etc.
Even more mystifying, where did all the women get the make up from?
After 1858 they could have used an injector as discovered/invented by Frenchman Henri Giffard.
Jules coughed up some electrons that declared:
Don't know about ancient american engines, but the unit I drove once, the water could be topped up on demand - in fact that was one of the fireman's jobs - to keep the boiler water level between two lines on the guage. So I guess it must be pumped in somehow - exactly how I don't know - didn't ask - too busy cursing the lack of a "lap" position on the brake control ;->
Cheers
Tim
gunsmith coughed up some electrons that declared:
80% of a tender is in fact water. 20% is coal.
Nor me. That's because if they don't get any water from it, it's not a well - it's just a hole in the ground. :-)
To think they could have used a crossflow heat exchanger, condensing waste steam for reuse and preheating the boiler air intake.
NT
Loved it. So right. I was put off from entertainment TV (and films) at a very early age by this sort of gaff. Though I have to confess to watching an Australian soap about a women's prison in the 1980's for the comedy factor in brick walls wobbling and similar.
Even more that more mystifying was how they never got dirty - in a washing sense that is! Yes - my OP was really how did they actually *fill* that gauge tank as well as source the water (groan). I get my Texan hat.
Almost identical to the injectors used to bring in detergent on a pressure washer.
And did the engine have a tender behind?
Pre-heating of boiler water feeds was used on some British locomotives, but was much more widespread on the continent - you can often see the pre-heaters above the boiler on continetal steam locos, which tend to have much more exposed workings than British locos.
Condensing was also used - a primitive version for early steam operation of the London Underground. More widespread and efficient used of condensing primarily to conserve water was too bulky and felt unnecessary as water troughs allowing locos to fill their tenders at speed were provided on the mainlines.
SteveW
But it only seems to work because you have "motive steam" available at a pressure higher than the boiler pressure. How does the motive steam get to a higher pressure than the boiler? is it heated again after it has left the boiler as part of the cycle? (I'm displaying my ignorance here)
Robert
Often, yes.
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