Other formats

    TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 9 (January 1, 1929)

Steam Heating

Steam Heating.

At this season of the year steam-heating of passenger carriages is common throughout Europe, and in Britain there are few cosier spots in winter time than a corner seat in one of the “crack” expresses. Here, steam heating is accomplished by employing steam from the locomotive. The steam is taken from the boiler at full pressure and page 19 passes through a reducing valve before entering the train supply pipe. This reducing valve is adjustable according to requirements, the pressure required to carry steam through a long train being necessarily much greater than that for a short train. The steam pipe throughout the train is wrapped in non-heat-conducting material, and, for the discharge of water accumulating through condensation, special “drip-valves” are installed at suitable points along the train pipe. These are operated automatically through the expansion and contraction of ether in the diaphragm of the valve.

A Winter scene on the Austrian Railways.

A Winter scene on the Austrian Railways.

The heater in the carriages consists of a metal tube some five inches in diameter and varying in length according to the size of the carriage. Inside the heater is a cane rod, one end of which is fixed, the other end impinging upon a ball-valve which controls the admission of steam to the heater. Becoming hot, the heater expands slightly, but the length of the cane rod remaining unaffected by the change in temperature, the ball-valve is thus allowed to rest on to its seating, preventing the admission of any additional steam. As the heater cools it contracts, and the cane rod, being constant in length, forces the valve off its seat and automatically steam is again allowed to enter. Provided inside the carriage is a regulator enabling the passenger to adjust the degree of heat to his liking.