Pete, Ed and List,
"Turning steam into the pipe" only made sense to me from the point of view
that the diner needed some steam or the passengers would relish some
warmth.......they were a demanding lot. Bill
----- Original Message -----
From: <PSHedgpeth@a...>
To: <BRHSlist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2001 9:14 AM
Subject: Re: [BRHSlist] pre-air brakes
> This is somewhat timely for me, but I think that the spinning brakewheels
is
> beyond any semblance of reality and purely a figment of someone's
imagination.
>
> I was reading, just yesterday evening, a "True Tale" in a 1942 issue of
> RAILROAD.
> The writer was a fireman and spoke of THE SWEENEY.
>
> The SWEENEY was a pipe that connected the cylinders (steam) to the main
air
> reservoir. It's purpose was to supplement or replace the function of the
air
> pump in the event of failure or overheating of said pump.
>
> The valve was similar to an angle cock and was opened when additional
help
> was needed to increase the pressure in the main reservoir. The SWEENEY
> apparently worked when the valve was opened and the engine had been
reversed,
> by using the pistons within the cylinders to pump air into the main
> reservoir.
>
> According to this fireman's story (Atlantic and Pacific..later part of
Santa
> Fe in Arizona) the SWEENEY was an experimental kind of thing and only to
be
> used in the event of a dire emergency. You can see that it would have a
> tendency to force steam into the main reservoir and in severe cold (which
> were the conditions in the story) said steam would condense to water then
to
> ice in the brake pipe with resulting disastrous conditions.
>
> How's that for something new and different. I'm sure there's nobody on
here
> old enough to remember the SWEENEY.. The story I'm referencing occurred
about
> 1901.
>
> Let's have comments. I think that the spinning brakewheels are beyond
> imagination.
>
> Pete Hedgpeth
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
>
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