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same question, new thought.....?
recently i had asked the forum about what chemicals were added (if any) to water systems to keep them from freezing. i had rationalized that if they add chemicals to water for anti-foaming and scaling, then why not to keep water from freezing in water towers and tenders (when the locos werent in motion) in the winter months.
the answers sufficed, for those circumstances. since that time i cycled my weekly desktop picture to the latest: NYC's Empire State Express of WWII vintage. a train that is equal rival to that of the SP's Daylight or SR's Crescent in beauty! as i starred intently, it hit me! track pans!!!!
for those who dont know ( and for yall left coasters too ), track pans are exactly that. a pan like device affixed to the tops of the ties betwixt the rails and filled with water. allowing passing locomotives with 'water scoop' equipped tenders to be refilled on the fly (at significantly slower speeds).
now here we have small amounts of water, only used so often, and not moving. track pans were in use as far as i know on NYC, MC, and maybe one or two others big ones (Pennsy??) . mostly in the northeast from michigan thumb over to NY. around the great lakes area we all know water in those conditions wouldnt take any time to freeze.
would the same answers from before still apply, or not? now ive never really considered tracks pnas being as simple as they are, but im left wondering were they heated possibly? if we can heat switches, why not track pans??
EDIT: ok 3 days now. dont we have any NYC fans around here? no steam-ologists with experience in water scooped tenders? i sense more sleepless nights.
3 Answers
- ?Lv 69 years agoFavorite Answer
An interesting question!
Here in the UK 'Water Troughs' (as we call them) were common on main lines, but I can't recall ever reading about any problems in freezing conditions. Train services on the main lines were fairly frequent, with several trains an hour over most troughs, I would imagine. This would prevent more than a thin film of ice forming, except in the most extreme conditions.
However, I await other answers to your question with interest!
Source(s): Retired UK Train Driver, lifetime of interest - 9 years ago
Track pans were high maintenance and had significant drawbacks. Generally two crewman were needed to maintain the track pans (more like 600 foot long water troughs) and, to prevent freezing, the water was kept moving. The amount of water splashed out while drawing water was significant spraying the first car beyond the tender and possibly passing trains. These track pans were seen primarily on the east coast about every 40 to 50 miles (in "jerkwater towns").
Norfolk & Western Railroad chose to add a tender to the train to just carry water for the engine so the train wouldn't need to slow at all - an advantage when negotiating a mountain climb. Also, maintaining speed eliminated the need for helper engines.
The anti-foaming, anti-scale water additive was developed long after steam engines were abandoned for diesel-electric engines so the boilers had to be routinely purged of mineral concentrated (called blowing down) caused by heat and high pressure.
- Anonymous9 years ago
Track pans were not heated as far as I know, they were filled very shortly before the approaching train was due.
Heating switches is not as reliable as you would think, we are fighting switches that are iced up on a daily basis during the winter.
