Hallo, I need to have some information on the stam heaters fitted to first generation diesels like ALCO PA, EMD E series. This is due to OPS considerations (reducing axle load) on my free lance railroad. what I actually need is a workable idea on: - how much water did these locomotives carry (water tank size) - how much these things weigh so that I can make an estimate on how much weight I will save on the locomotive by removing this kind of equipment.
You might try seeking locomotive operator's manuals out there on the Internet. These might give you some specifications on water capacity. Many locomotive steam generators were made by Vapor Clarkson, so you can look this name up as well.
I was surprised to learn that the Santa Fe had passenger service diesels which, like a steamer, carried more water than fuel. But then, they used a lot of huge Vapor Clarkson 3000s to feed hungry steam ejector air conditioners. Most used the Vapor Clarkson 2250. This gives you some idea. It's no home hot water tank. You need a crane to lift it out. But I suspect those full water tanks outweighed this and the dynamo too (can't have passengers stumbling around in the dark).
Well, I can give a very few specifics, but limited to the Milwaukee Road. Of those I have available, they seem to have used the Vapor model 4625. E9A= 1350 gallons E9B= 2550 gallons FP7A= 1750 gallons And an oddity here, they bought three EMD SD7 units, (509-511, nee: 2209-2211), which were fully plumbed for boilers, except no boiler was ever installed. Nobody knows the story behind these units, except that most fans believe they were actually "double" fuel tanks. They were not, as delivered, but were altered to that status by RR shop forces. Before that modification, their water tank was rated for a mere 1200 gallons. And their "second" generation FP45 was 2750 gallons.
I thought i read somewhere they were gonna' be used for branchline passenger runs, like up on the Northern Montana Div., and elsewhere? Must've changed they're minds mid-build....
To date, nobody has ever found documentation about how or why they bought these SD7 units. Use on the NMD is one of various rumors. Of course at that time they were still operating branch line trains elsewhere, such as Wisconsin, South Dakota and Iowa. One other story is they were a cancellation by another railroad. I doubt we will ever know.
Thank you for the information, i tried on the internet but all (many) operational manuals i came across (boiler and locomotive) did not give the boiler weight figure. I was able to get that the PA had a 1K gallon water tank, so that is almost four tons gone, hopefully the boiler will get a like figure (as acptulsa said it needs a crane, so I figure something around 3 to 4 tons).
The B&O bought a series of F3's equipped with steam generators. I believe they had water capacity of 1000 gallons. The water capacity was their downfall in B&O passenger service. When used on a train out of Chicago coming East they would be out of water on arrival at Garrett, IN. The engines were finally put into freight service but still retained their passenger gearing and were assigned to operate on the Chicago Division between Willard, OH and Chicago.
