Convention videos - Safe-Ending Flues (and more!)

[NW Mailing List]

Thanks for the responses Rick - very informative!

On the boiler washing front, I’ve seen (in Cyclopedias) the various tips used to reach into various places in the boiler. I’ve always wondered if it was possible to get to the tubes and flues in the center of the barrel?

Matt Goodman 

> On Jul 11, 2025, at 3:42 PM, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
> 
> Matt,
> As far as I am aware, the American Locomotive Company was the only locomotive builder that had a furnace large enough to heat treat a welded locomotive boiler. As I understand it, the Santa Fe also had a few engines that were fitted with welded boilers, but used a non-locomotive builder to fabricate them.
>  
> Yes, with the efficiency of a welded boiler at or very close to 100% efficiency, thinner steel could be used for the same working pressure as compared to a conventional riveted boiler. That lowered the cost for the steel and the overall engine weight.
>  
> To my knowledge, C&O Kanawha #2789, and Santa Fe 4-8-4 #3768 are the only welded boiler locomotives still with us from the steam era. Since then, there have been multiple new welded locomotive boilers built ranging from the new T-1 replica you mentioned, to the ex C&NW #1385, along with a good number of smaller locomotive boilers.
>  
> The tubes near or at the bottom of a boiler are always the last ones to dry off after the boiler is drained. That is because the tubes above them will drip on them as they dry. Additionally, the bottom of the boiler courses will also capture what drips off everything which creates a very damp environment (especially at the bottom) until all the water evaporates. That means they are much more likely to rust quicker than the ones above them.  If the railroad doesn’t do a good job of removing the built-up scale at the bottom of the barrel during the boiler wash, the lower tubes won’t completely dry which will cause a “premature death”.
>  
> I’m glad we cleared up what kind of “goo” was used for caulking in fireboxes!
>  
> Rick Musser
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