In watching several videos of solid fuel Live Steam operation, I see a couple of difficulties that seem to be experienced by every "fireman" in the Garden Scales.
The first problem is containing the fuel on the shovel without it spilling all over as the fireman attempts to get it from the source pile "to", and then "into", the fire-box.
The other probem is, once the shovel is in the fire-box, the problem is getting the fuel off the shovel and distributed around the grate without damaging the locomotive, derailing it or even knocking it over! The shovel is introduced through the fire-doorway and shaken side to side or an attempt is made to flip it forward to knock the solid fuel off the shovel and in the process it is very easy for the non-scale fireman to damage something.
In full sized practice the strength of the fireman is not enough to do much more than possibly dent the shovel when it hits the sides or bottom of the fire-door opening, but in the garden gauge sizes, even though the shovel is scaled down to fit, the fireman is still way over scale and quite capable of damaging the shovel or the locomotive just by accidentally moving the shovel too fast or too far in any direction.
Some people have made shovels that reduce the problem of fuel spillage as it is carried and inserted into the fire-box doorway. Instead of a miniature of a real coal shovel that is just a flat plate with short walls on three sides or a shallow "V" or rounded shape, this design is usually a tube shape with a partial slot in the top to facilitate loading the shovel; the inward curved sides at the top helping to hold the fuel in place. But getting the fuel off of this type of shovel is then even more complicated than the flat plate shovel. Trying to rotate the device to pour the fuel off the sides is often difficult or impossible to accomplish and just shaking it requires much more violent shaking to get the fuel to go up and over the curved sides. It seems that what usually happens is the fuel is withdrawn with the shovel and it falls on the floor of the cab at the base of the fire-door opening.
After considerable thought about this I have come up with a design that I'd like someone to try, as I don't have a solid fuel locomotive to try it myself. My design is of the tubular shape, as above, but contains a piston that will hold the fuel in the firebox while the shell of the scoop is pulled out from under it. See the drawing below:
The dimensions should fit the locomotive it is to be used with.
The shape and size of the scoop should be such that it just fits into the fire-door opening. It can be either circular or squarish to contain as much fuel as possible, yet slide freely into the opening. The length of the scoop should be just short of the depth of the fire-box. The handles need to be short enough to fit in the area between the backhead of the boiler and what ever is directly behind it (usually the tender). That space also needs to be long enough to fit the handle(s) of the shovel and the fireman's hand (handles plus a thumb thickness?).
The idea is to fill the scoop with the piston fully withdrawn in the scoop. Then put it in the firebox and press the thumb of one hand on the large button on the end of the long thin handle to hold the piston "ears" (sticking out slots in the side of the scoop) against the backhead. Then pull the thicker handle (using the index finger on the small tab sticking up) back against the spring to withdraw the scoop from the firebox. The piston will block the fuel from coming with the scoop and it will fall off the end as the scoop is withdrawn. Thus distributing the fuel along the center line of the grate. When the whole shovel is withdrawn from the firebox, a rake can be used as usual to distribute the fuel to the sides to form an even fire-bed.
The piston "ears" are in slots to help hold everything in alignment. The spring helps to keep the user from accidently pushing the piston forward while carrying the fuel to the firebox.
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Possible problems I see are:
1. Small particles of the fuel could wedge between the piston and the scoop and cause binding.
2. Chunks of fuel could also get wedged in the slots and bind things up.
3. The available space may not be enough for the length of handles necessary for the scoop to be withdrawn. About an inch or two more that the depth of the firebox would be needed on the outside, between the backhead and the tender (or whatever is back there).
If someone would like to try it, and is willing to send me the pertinent dimensions of their engine, I will be willing to make ONE and send it to them to experiment with. I need to know:
A.-Depth of the firebox between the firedoor and the rear tube sheet.
B.-Width and Height of the firedoor opening and the general shape (round, oval, square with rounded corners, etc.).
C.-Thickness of the fire door opening.
D.-Assurance that the piston "ears" can fit beside the fire-door opening without damaging anything (I will keep them to about 1/4 inch long).
E.-Distance between the boiler backhead at the firedoor and whatever obstruction is behind it (such as the tender).
And note that the final product I send may or may not resemble the drawing! (I'm thinking there needs to be two of the little sticks on the thicker handle for the index and middle fingers!)
If someone just wants to take the design and run with it... be my guest, but write an article about it for Steam in the Garden magazine!!!! If no article shows up before I (and my cohort) get done then I will write one.
The first problem is containing the fuel on the shovel without it spilling all over as the fireman attempts to get it from the source pile "to", and then "into", the fire-box.
The other probem is, once the shovel is in the fire-box, the problem is getting the fuel off the shovel and distributed around the grate without damaging the locomotive, derailing it or even knocking it over! The shovel is introduced through the fire-doorway and shaken side to side or an attempt is made to flip it forward to knock the solid fuel off the shovel and in the process it is very easy for the non-scale fireman to damage something.
In full sized practice the strength of the fireman is not enough to do much more than possibly dent the shovel when it hits the sides or bottom of the fire-door opening, but in the garden gauge sizes, even though the shovel is scaled down to fit, the fireman is still way over scale and quite capable of damaging the shovel or the locomotive just by accidentally moving the shovel too fast or too far in any direction.
Some people have made shovels that reduce the problem of fuel spillage as it is carried and inserted into the fire-box doorway. Instead of a miniature of a real coal shovel that is just a flat plate with short walls on three sides or a shallow "V" or rounded shape, this design is usually a tube shape with a partial slot in the top to facilitate loading the shovel; the inward curved sides at the top helping to hold the fuel in place. But getting the fuel off of this type of shovel is then even more complicated than the flat plate shovel. Trying to rotate the device to pour the fuel off the sides is often difficult or impossible to accomplish and just shaking it requires much more violent shaking to get the fuel to go up and over the curved sides. It seems that what usually happens is the fuel is withdrawn with the shovel and it falls on the floor of the cab at the base of the fire-door opening.
After considerable thought about this I have come up with a design that I'd like someone to try, as I don't have a solid fuel locomotive to try it myself. My design is of the tubular shape, as above, but contains a piston that will hold the fuel in the firebox while the shell of the scoop is pulled out from under it. See the drawing below:
The dimensions should fit the locomotive it is to be used with.
The shape and size of the scoop should be such that it just fits into the fire-door opening. It can be either circular or squarish to contain as much fuel as possible, yet slide freely into the opening. The length of the scoop should be just short of the depth of the fire-box. The handles need to be short enough to fit in the area between the backhead of the boiler and what ever is directly behind it (usually the tender). That space also needs to be long enough to fit the handle(s) of the shovel and the fireman's hand (handles plus a thumb thickness?).
The idea is to fill the scoop with the piston fully withdrawn in the scoop. Then put it in the firebox and press the thumb of one hand on the large button on the end of the long thin handle to hold the piston "ears" (sticking out slots in the side of the scoop) against the backhead. Then pull the thicker handle (using the index finger on the small tab sticking up) back against the spring to withdraw the scoop from the firebox. The piston will block the fuel from coming with the scoop and it will fall off the end as the scoop is withdrawn. Thus distributing the fuel along the center line of the grate. When the whole shovel is withdrawn from the firebox, a rake can be used as usual to distribute the fuel to the sides to form an even fire-bed.
The piston "ears" are in slots to help hold everything in alignment. The spring helps to keep the user from accidently pushing the piston forward while carrying the fuel to the firebox.
Possible problems I see are:
1. Small particles of the fuel could wedge between the piston and the scoop and cause binding.
2. Chunks of fuel could also get wedged in the slots and bind things up.
3. The available space may not be enough for the length of handles necessary for the scoop to be withdrawn. About an inch or two more that the depth of the firebox would be needed on the outside, between the backhead and the tender (or whatever is back there).
If someone would like to try it, and is willing to send me the pertinent dimensions of their engine, I will be willing to make ONE and send it to them to experiment with. I need to know:
A.-Depth of the firebox between the firedoor and the rear tube sheet.
B.-Width and Height of the firedoor opening and the general shape (round, oval, square with rounded corners, etc.).
C.-Thickness of the fire door opening.
D.-Assurance that the piston "ears" can fit beside the fire-door opening without damaging anything (I will keep them to about 1/4 inch long).
E.-Distance between the boiler backhead at the firedoor and whatever obstruction is behind it (such as the tender).
And note that the final product I send may or may not resemble the drawing! (I'm thinking there needs to be two of the little sticks on the thicker handle for the index and middle fingers!)
If someone just wants to take the design and run with it... be my guest, but write an article about it for Steam in the Garden magazine!!!! If no article shows up before I (and my cohort) get done then I will write one.
