White and Black Smoke

[NW Mailing List]

Some examples....

 UP 8444 shows proper steaming technique, as she rolls her train thru Hondo 
TX at track speed...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEQaeKtitDI&feature=related
NW 611, shows a "clear stack" as well..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6lWBp2APrQ

A lot of the smoke you see on rail fan videos, is "theatric smoke", that is 
put on for the benefit of the fans, many of whom tend to EXPECT it.

Remember one of the conditions, that was placed apon O Winston Link, about 
takeing photographs of locomotives, showing "excessive black smoke"

Andy Jennings



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 12:50 PM
Subject: Re: White and Black Smoke



> The white smoke is not actually smoke, but steam.  At the risk of sounding 

> pedantic, steam locomotives exhaust the steam from their cylinders up the 

> stack, which induces a draft in the firebox. Especially on cold days, this 

> is seen as a huge cloud of white "smoke" coming out of the stack.  The 

> black smoke usually indicates that the fireman is tending the fire, and is 

> in fact smoke.  In steam days, black smoke was enough to get a fireman in 

> serious trouble with the railroad, because it indicates coal going out of 

> the stack unburnt.  This not only wasted coal, but made more work for the 

> folks who cleaned the soot off the equipment.  Very hard working could 

> also make black smoke, as the intense draft would literally lift the fire 

> off the grate.

>

> A properly fired & working locomotive should generally show little or no 

> smoke, and I have seen several pictures that show less exhaust than a 

> diesel!

>

> Kenneth Rickman

>

> NW Mailing List wrote:

>> Good morning.

>>  I am not worried about my Arrow not arriving yet and will not be posting 

>> when it arrives.

>>  The purpose of my post this morning is to inquire as to why on many of 

>> the programs that I watch on RFD TV (Trains and Locomotives) some of the 

>> smoke is black and some is white.  What is the cause of this? Have a 

>> great weekend and thank you in advance for any responses.

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