A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central heating, boiler-based power generation, cooking, and sanitation.
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so their tenders are necessary to keep them running over long distances. A locomotive that pulls a tender is called a tender locomotive. Locomotives that do not have tenders and carry all their fuel and water on board the locomotive itself are called tank locomotives.
The British Railways BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 is a class of steam locomotive designed for British Railways by Robert Riddles. The Class 9F was the last in a series of standardised locomotive classes designed for British Railways during the 1950s, and was intended for use on fast, heavy freight trains over long distances. It was one of the most powerful steam locomotive types ever built for British Railways, and successfully performed its intended duties. The class was given the nickname of 'Spaceships', due to its size and shape.
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 hot gases generated in the firebox are pulled through a rack of tubes running through the boiler.
The three L-1 0-8-8-0 steam locomotives of the Erie Railroad, built in July 1907 by ALCO, and numbered 2600, 2601 and 2602 ; were unique in that they were the only articulated camelback locomotives ever built.
A footplate provides the structure on which a locomotive driver and fireman stand in the cab to operate a British or continental continental European steam locomotive. It comprises a large metal plate that rests on top of the locomotive frame, usually it is covered with wooden floorboards. It takes up the full width of the locomotive cab, and in depth it extends from the front of the cab to the coal bunker on the tender. The cab and other superstructure elements are in turn mounted on it. On some locomotives, the footplate is extended beyond the front of the cab to form a walkway around the boiler – usually referred to as the "running board" or "foot board" – to facilitate inspection and maintenance.
A camelback locomotive is a type of steam locomotive with the driving cab placed in the middle, astride the boiler. Camelbacks were fitted with wide fireboxes which would have severely restricted driver visibility from the normal cab location at the rear.
A fireman, stoker or watertender is a person whose occupation it is to tend the fire for the running of a boiler, heating a building, or powering a steam engine. Much of the job is hard physical labor, such as shoveling fuel, typically coal, into the boiler's firebox. On steam locomotives the title fireman is usually used, while on steamships and stationary steam engines, such as those driving saw mills, the title is usually stoker. The German word Heizer is equivalent and in Dutch the word stoker is mostly used too. The United States Navy referred to them as watertenders.
A pulverized coal-fired boiler is an industrial or utility boiler that generates thermal energy by burning pulverized coal that is blown into the firebox.
A boiler or steam generator is a device used to create steam by applying heat energy to water. Although the definitions are somewhat flexible, it can be said that older steam generators were commonly termed boilers and worked at low to medium pressure but, at pressures above this, it is more usual to speak of a steam generator.
A shell or flued boiler is an early and relatively simple form of boiler used to make steam, usually for the purpose of driving a steam engine. The design marked a transitional stage in boiler development, between the early haystack boilers and the later multi-tube fire-tube boilers. A flued boiler is characterized by a large cylindrical boiler shell forming a tank of water, traversed by one or more large flues containing the furnace. These boilers appeared around the start of the 19th century and some forms remain in service today. Although mostly used for static steam plants, some were used in early steam vehicles, railway locomotives and ships.
The SR Merchant Navy class is a class of air-smoothed 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotives designed for the Southern Railway by Oliver Bulleid. The Pacific design was chosen in preference to several others proposed by Bulleid. The first members of the class were constructed during the Second World War, and the last of the 30 locomotives in 1949.
Córas Iompair Éireann No. CC1, generally known as the Turf Burner, was a prototype 0-6-6-0 articulated steam locomotive designed by Oliver Bulleid to burn turf and built at CIÉ's Inchicore Works in Dublin. CC1 shared some, but not all, of the characteristics of Bulleid's previous attempt to develop a modern steam locomotive, the Leader. Like the one completed Leader, CC1 had a relatively short career and was never used in front-line service. It was the last steam locomotive to be constructed for an Irish railway.
Boilers for generating steam or hot water have been designed in countless shapes, sizes and configurations. An extensive terminology has evolved to describe their common features. This glossary provides definitions for these terms.
The South African Railways Class 12 4-8-2 of 1912 was a steam locomotive.
The South African Railways Class MG 2-6-6-2 of 1911 was a steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in Transvaal.
The South African Railways Class GM 4-8-2+2-8-4 of 1938 was an articulated steam locomotive.
A coal shovel is a shovel designed for shoveling coal, coke or similar fuels, and on occasions does a double duty removing ash from the fireplace, firebox or furnace.
The Cape Government Railways 3rd Class 4-4-0 of 1884 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.
A blowback is a failure of a steam locomotive, which can be catastrophic.
