12-30-2008, 06:28 PM
nkp_174 Wrote:Another thing to consider with smoke...
The classic image is of a steam locomotive billowing out black smoke.
In truth, black smoke is typically a sign of a poor fireman. White smoke is what you are supposed to see. Further, if you watch enough videos, you'll notice that locomotives do not billow smoke all the time...sometimes there is practically no smoke. In the 765 pictures I took a couple years ago, there is not a single picture of black smoke...and a few with almost no smoke.
Sometimes the fireman would throw sand into the fire to clean out the flues. It would then belch heavy black smoke. I suspect the sand loosened carbon from the flues which then produced the black smoke, but I don't know for sure.