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John King said:
@Anyone Are the big inverted cone funnels spark arrestors, or for some other purpose?

I've only ever seen them on American steam locomotives.
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According to a poster on Quora.com: Why do steam locomotives have funnels?

"What we Americans call the stack, the British call the chimney, which is more descriptive of it’s function. Hot gases rise, and if channeled in a vertical tube, can create a strong draft, sucking in air at the bottom. Factories, power plants and steamships can have tall chimneys, but railroad locomotives have clearance issues which limit the height, generally to around 15’. So they make the stack as tall as possible and still clear overhead structures.

Now to answer your question, the stack’s function is to create a draft through the firebox to promote combustion. If by “funnel” you mean the shape of the stack, early locomotives burned wood, which gave off sparks which were a major hazard, igniting fires in the surrounding countryside and passengers’ clothing. To try to trap the sparks, many different shapes were patented, with different combinations and arrangements of internal screens and baffles. After the civil war railroads transitioned to burning coal, with less (but not zero) sparks, and the elaborate diamond, funnel and cabbage shaped stacks were replaced by simpler straight stacks.

A final note on the induced draft. A very early breakthrough that made railroad locomotives practical was to direct the exhaust steam from the cylinders up the stack, drawing the gasses from the firebox with it. This dramatically increased the rate of combustion and hence the power generated. Compared to stationary or ship borne engines, locomotives sought to maximize power within size and weight limits and were willing to pay the expense of lower efficiency."
 
Roboticspro said:
According to a poster on Quora.com: Why do steam locomotives have funnels?

"What we Americans call the stack, the British call the chimney, which is more descriptive of it’s function. Hot gases rise, and if channeled in a vertical tube, can create a strong draft, sucking in air at the bottom. Factories, power plants and steamships can have tall chimneys, but railroad locomotives have clearance issues which limit the height, generally to around 15’. So they make the stack as tall as possible and still clear overhead structures.

Now to answer your question, the stack’s function is to create a draft through the firebox to promote combustion. If by “funnel” you mean the shape of the stack, early locomotives burned wood, which gave off sparks which were a major hazard, igniting fires in the surrounding countryside and passengers’ clothing. To try to trap the sparks, many different shapes were patented, with different combinations and arrangements of internal screens and baffles. After the civil war railroads transitioned to burning coal, with less (but not zero) sparks, and the elaborate diamond, funnel and cabbage shaped stacks were replaced by simpler straight stacks.

A final note on the induced draft. A very early breakthrough that made railroad locomotives practical was to direct the exhaust steam from the cylinders up the stack, drawing the gasses from the firebox with it. This dramatically increased the rate of combustion and hence the power generated. Compared to stationary or ship borne engines, locomotives sought to maximize power within size and weight limits and were willing to pay the expense of lower efficiency."
Click to expand...
Thanks for that information, Edd.
 
Good Afternoon,

The train car being towed by the Union Pacific engine is one of the EC-4 Track Geometery Safety cars used to verify levelness, smoothness, and a whole variety of mechanical/geometric measures. First time I have ever seen one "in the wild"...:). Note also that it is traveling in the opposite direction of normal flow...oncoming traffic beware!

Regards,

Edd
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A bit of a photo shoot in Grunewald yard today. 182 007 as it appeared in the rearview mirror:
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DSCF0369_AP by Kaltpfote, auf Flickr

Group shot with two class 182 "Taurus" locomotives, a class 101 lurking in the background. The 182's are often claimed as the best electric engines in Germany and I kind of agree.
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Single shot of the Austrian NightJet train, which is being hauled by class 101 locomotives on German tracks. These engines have been the backbone of our long distance fleet since the late 90s. Last year the first units were scrapped and their numbers are decreasing, newer InterCity double-deck trainsets and expansion of the ICE network have taken over quite a bit of their former duties.
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DSCF0393_DxO by Kaltpfote, auf Flickr
 
Good Afternoon,

I headed back to our favorite private train crossing in Reno, spotting a pair of Union Pacific freight haulers within an hour of each other. I was surprised to see a Kansas City Southern hitched as a follower; I guess you use whatever is available at times...:). My grandson appreciated the wave (three-finger salute) from the engineer, along with a couple of extra blasts from the horns...:drinks:.

Regards,

Edd

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A few from a visit in early June to the miniature railway at Stapleford Park, near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire.

"With nearly 2 mile of scenic track, the one fifth scale SMR (Stapleford Miniature Railway) is home to the East African 31 class 2-8-4 oil burning loco, superb scale British LMS Jubilee, GWR Saint, the mighty NYC Niagara and NKP Berkshire American locos as well as the Curwen Warship Diesel and Curwen Atlantic.
The railway opens twice per year to the public, the second weekend in June and the three day August bank holiday."
fsmr.co.uk

Home

Welcome to the Stapleford Miniature Railway The 10 ¼” SMR is based in Stapleford Park near Melton Mowbray Maintained and operated by the "Friends of the Stapleford Miniature Railway" With nearly 2 mile of scenic track, the one fifth scale SMR is home to the East African
fsmr.co.uk fsmr.co.uk

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After cycling 16 miles down the steep hills from Devil's Bridge to Aberystwyth, we thought we'd treat ourselves to a ride back on the Vale of Rheidol steam train.
In the booking office we were welcomed with the news that there was an extra charge of £10 per bicycle on the train and that the single fare was not the £16 we'd been quoted, but £27.50 each. So, having coughed up £75 for the one hour trip, we set off.
Hopefully, you'll enjoy the ride too, though be warned, this is image ultra-heavy.
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We thought our bikes would go here, in the luggage compartment.

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But we were guided to one of the open compartments near the front of the train.
I was told to just lean them against the side, but was warned that the journey was a bit rickety, so to be prepared for them to fall over!
Hence, I locked them to one of the uprights.
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We were then asked where we'd like to sit. Everyone else had gone into the covered carriages, but I said we'd sit with the bikes in the open carriage and enjoy the atmosphere .
Stop laughing now please
.
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First stop was Nantyronen (I missed the Nant) to take on water and oil the wheels.

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Overlooking the upper section of the River Rheidol near the hydro-electric power station.

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We then stopped at Aberffrwd.
The line is single-track but there's another train travelling in the opposite direction at the same time, so we halted there at the passing place.
I was just ready to take some sensational shots of the passing train, when my SD card got full!
I had to spend a frantic few minutes deleting old files, so I could carry on taking photos.

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Finally, journey's end.

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Our friendly fireman and driver.

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Cooling off, ready for the return journey.

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The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that my cycle helmet was hung upside down on my handlebars during the journey, with my cloth cycling cap within.
It was only after getting off the train that I noticed that my cap was covered in thick soot (as we later discovered was our hair).
Now we know why the driver and fireman's hats are always black!
Obviously it wasn't the wisest decision to travel in the open carriage just behind the engine; but I'd do it again.

I hope you enjoyed the ride.
Any donations to the astronomical fare gratefully received. :th_salute:
 
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