Firing 101 | How does a COAL FIRE change as the STEAM TRAIN works?

[@Skidd2]

I wasn't a train guy until you and Kan started playing together... your videos have really helped me appreciate steam locomotives EDIT: It's videos like this that show how much passion you have for these things... THAT is contagious! EDIT 2: fixed grammar 😀

[@The_cestelin_Holland]

I don't know about hyce until he showed up on the the straight line railroad

[@roadtrain_]

It never ceases to amaze me how the same Hyce that giggles like a child whenever he blows up an oil well can also deliver such informative content. You're a gem.

[@onnelli]

It's so cool to see what an actual fire does having seen the recreation of what it does in the DeRail Valley mod you've showed off a few times!

[@BandanRRChannel]

I remember seeing one of your previous member only videos, with the camera mounted high on the tender, and seeing how different the fire was at different parts of the run when the door opened up. Very cool to see it up close! (No GoPros were harmed in the making of this video. The fishbowl, however, could not be repaired)

[@xenowreborn]

10:33 Ah yes...The song of Peaches' People 'The Rhythm of the Flames' and a beautiful melody it sure makes!

[@Carstuff111]

Thank you, seriously I thank you for this. I need to show it to a friend of mine because I was explaining to him the differences between wood, coal and oil fired steam locomotives. And this is perfect for showing how slow the actual thermal process is in steam vs internal combustion! You guys rock!

[@srajfnly2]

Thank you Hyce

[@Rio_Grande_Foamer]

glad to see the 101s back!

[@AtkataffTheAlpha]

9:26 "yeah it looks like hell in there" Looks like a healthy roaring fire in a steam locomotive to me. Beautiful and dangerous sight. Fishbowl cam is one of your best pieces of equipment

[@MainlineThruTheRockies]

Many cameras were harmed during the making of this video

[@kd1841]

LOL YES!😂😂

[@Hyce777]

Thankfully no, haha

[@MainlineThruTheRockies]

@@Hyce777 well, a glass fishbowl was harmed in the making

[@bradenlord8481]

10:43 That damn laugh is so infectious. I love that your having so much fun!!! Keep up the good work Hyce!!!

[@PowerTrain611]

These 101 videos are my favorite. Awesome stuff! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us, Mark!

[@emilpersson8250]

At my railroad we just got one of our locomotives running this last autumn. This is a locomotive type that is known for having an undersized boiler but it was much easier to fire than our other running locomotive that is both bigger and considered a very easy locomotive to fire. Can it be the fact that we made sure to wash out the boiler thoroughly? Fun fact we found at least two wrenches between the firetubes.

[@joshuamarkloff9671]

You should get some pyrex, make sure it is the old borosilicate glass that can withstand some thermal shock.

[@domstrains3984]

I now know why our fire girl on 1225, is constantly doing weird maneuvers with her shovel. Never knew it was so intricate! I like it

[@CMDRSweeper]

When our favourite Hyce throws the coal in there and steps on the pedal to open the firebox, it does remind me of the best part of the "Polar Express" movie. You can actually see for a couple of seconds while the train is "drifting" on the ice, the fire man stomp on the pedal and does the same movement that Hyce does and the firebox door shut and open just as quick as it does on this locomotive.

[@TheOneTrueDragonKing]

These videos ROCK Hyce. Love the sound of your whistle, love the behind the scenes stuff. Peaches and her fire both looked beautiful. Love this behind the scenes stuff. Wishing you high greens my friend!

[@1940limited]

Ingenious putting your camera in a jar of water so you can photograph the fire. There's so many aspects to operating a steam locomotive. Fascinating.

[@sypheria]

idk about the rest of you guys watching but i feel like hyce could just post videos of yall at the museum running the steam engines and i could never stop watching. Truly amazing that we get to see all of the things we do because of one man's love for trains. Keep up the good work!

[@alwaysbearded1]

I once lived in a converted school bus.The window nearest the wood stove was cracked from radiant heat they added a heat shield later. Maybe a design change for fishbowl #2? Maybe as simple as a foil layer as a heat shield except where the lens is? Glass on a wood stove is mineral glass which would work. But simpler than building your own tank; Pyrex! Look for laboratory glass. Hyce, engineer, musician, mad scientist.

[@CobetcknnKolowski]

Fish bowl cracking? That's why you have 4 sides! Always so great to see GoPro footage around the loco!

[@kholdanstaalstorm6881]

The Pepsi gates of Mount Doom... Too bad that Hyce need a new aquarium, hopefully it's not too expensive or hard to get.

[@VAXHeadroom]

"Hope you guys love this as much as I do". No Hyce, nobody loves this as much as YOU :)

[@dylanlewis3666]

Not to patronise, but you're very knowledgeable, and it's clear you really love what you do. Great video.

[@michgeeson278]

Its a joy to watch the videos you produce and the respect you show your locomotive when on the footplate, I think its worthy to note how @10:00 you physically step back to view the dials and gauges to see if all is OK on the locomotive, its funny how much more clearly you see things with a little distance and how better it is with context to the rest of the controls

[@silmarian]

Is cold air in the firebox a thermal shock issue or just an efficiency one? Also, it could be neat to see what happens to an ice cube that gets chucked in there. Don’t know if it would even show up on camera, but…

[@pubbarian]

I believe he has mentioned in previous videos that it is a thermal shock issue for the grates

[@Hyce777]

Depends! If it's close to the sheets / tubes, cold air surprisingly entering (big hole in the firebed) is absolutely a thermal shock concern. The door being open, more of an efficiency thing.

[@b43xoit]

I have seen a crew member throw an aluminum drink can into the fire. I suppose it just burns up.

[@FJX2000_Productions]

I’ve fired a locomotive once or twice 😉 it’s a very satisfying art and does require skill for sure

[@AtkataffTheAlpha]

You know it's an awesome train ride if hyce's whistle is on the locomotive. Choo choo!

[@The_Canadian_Railfan]

loving it hyce im happy to see the 101' are back

[@corpsimmons575]

Idea: pump water into a PC radiator, with heat resistant pipes (steel or something) which run into the firebox to the fishbowl. That way you have a longer lasting cooled down gopro

[@IndianaNorthWestern]

You would need a MASSIVE radiator, and you'd end up becoming another boiler in a boiler lol

[@Hyce777]

That's been suggested, but really, making sure the glass doesn't heat cycle is the thing to figure out... lol. that's what killed this. The camera was more than fine.

[@b43xoit]

Try borosilicate glass.

[@ducewags]

@@b43xoit Can it go from a freezer, to a hot oven?

[@b43xoit]

@@ducewags "Can it go from a freezer, to a hot oven?" [borosilicate glass] Yes, I think it can. Now if you put it on top of a hot piece of iron in the oven, it may crack or shatter. But I think that if it is only being heated in there by the hot air, it will survive.

[@BigRigginRoger]

you're a great fireman, hopefully soon, i want to take my kids down there and experience a ride on the steam train some summer

[@Ronald.Golleher]

Cool shot of the sports model in the ending credits!

[@alexanderc.4654]

You guys are living my dream. Highball, railroaders.

[@billtheunjust]

Good job on synching the audio to the fishbowl cam.

[@NSaw1]

I like the ending! Beautiful view of 476 with the foreground light on the drives and the background light on the various steam! Also great video as always! Love seeing all the views you don't see much of :3

[@kainhall]

7:45 i LOVE how, from my auto mechanics standpoint, that the engine will make more fire the harder its worked like how a TRUE!!! "free steaming" engine will always make the same/more steam than it needs.... due to the increased draft . now sure, you need to be able to feed it (preferably pre-heated) water and coal.... in the right amount, time, and location . but simply the fact that steam generation VS steam usage is pretty close..... VS 100% or 1% (like, all or nothing... like a diesel injector on an inline 6) its just amazing to me . the fact the people who designed these boilers (with no electronics or computers) were able to get the ratios and math THAT CLOSE! simply amazing . . . . i really dont think most people can appreciate the mechanical PERFECTION!!! that is a "true free steaming" engine im sorry if that comes off as "elitist" (not the right word for it... but close) thats not my intention.... we only know what we know (and my mechanic butt learns everyday) . like..... imagine your car has a 300HP engine, but the fuel pump/injectors cant pump/spray fast enough once it gets to its peak torque RPM so while its capable of 300HP... if you upgrade the fuel pump..... it can only SUSTAIN 200HP (with short ~3 second bursts of 300HP..... before it runs out of fuel) . . i currently have a 350 chevy small block V8 with a 4 barrel Q-jet carb and mechanical fuel pump..... that sucks the bowel dry on HARD acceleration yet a steam engine from the 1880s doesn't have that problem . a STEAM ENGINE!!! can make that 300HP from idle to redline..... and not slow down AT ALL!!! . . . and yes, i know that steam engine is making WAY MORE than 300HP but you get the idea.... i hope . im HORRIBLE at getting whats in my brain to my mouth/fingers i either ass-u-me that you know nothing and over explain.... or ass-u-me that you know it all, and under explain . . . . . like.... i could say..... Your oxygen sensor is bad. . VS . your complaint was poor fuel economy, so i looked at the short term and long term fuel trims... which were +30%.... also saw the bank 1 sensor 1 O2 sensor was slow to react (aka, slow to go up and down in voltage) so i checked the ethanol sensor, and it is reading within 2% of what it should so its not a bad flex-fuel sensor also checked the fuel pressure (because if its low, it will not atomize correctly) and it was perfect so i decided to replace the O2 sensor which instantly started to "pulse" its voltage reading much faster/better and your long term fuel trims dropped from +30% to +5% due to the 10% ethanol fuel so its fixed now . and i actually cut that short.... i could go farther into it LOL . . . their is a TON of stuff in my head... that just cant get to my mouth (especially when i cant write/plan it out first) and, again, i either leave out TOO much, or leave in WAY WAY too much . my brain is not "free steaming" lol my brain is a 12V cummins on a -40F day.... all the fuel, and no fire but once it gets going and is able to do its job..... its a damn good reliable workhorse that will treat you good for 500,000 miles

[@davidstrainsandlego]

Love seeing these little details of steam locomotive operation

[@spagelsmegal]

Next time I get the chance to be in the cab I hope to watch the fire like you’ve pointed out today Mark keep up these great vids

[@StuckOnAFireHydrant]

Another awesome firebox video! I think you need to upgrade that fishbowl though lmao! 1/2" thiccc glass and drill some holes and get a junkyard radiator and water pump and hang it off the side it top of the engine and have an actively cooled fishbowl 😂 I'd love to see the inside of the cylinder or dynamo looks like to see what those look like up close! Also I think we need another steam train cooking episode, the internet seems to love those lol! Every time you post one I see The Drive post an article soon after !

[@LucasL512]

Hey! Thats me! Apologies for getting in the middle of the tender view!

[@Mike_Squires]

As soon as I heard the engineer whistle off I was like "is that your whistle?" Nice to see it's getting used since the original Colorado crossing event last year!

[@kelvinelrick807]

Nice use of your safety glasses. :) Also, the whistle on the Heisler in RRO! sounds amazing.

[@PikaPetey]

Is it possible to choke out a firebox? Like.... adding too much coal? Is there a point in pushing a steam engine that it doesn't matter anymore cause the fire and heat is so immense it just eats coal immediately?

[@Johndoe-jd]

I know that it is possible to choke out a fire with standard gauge. The big boys, challengers, and 9000s where know to burn half and vaporize half when at tonnage (when they burn coal). With larger engines it is hard to choke out the fire but when the engine is working hard, near tonnage or at tonnage you struggle to choke it out. I have no idea about the narrow gauge engines. Maybe the k-36s and k-37s would be hard to choke out. If I had either near me I would try it out but I only have a standard switcher near me.

[@jpwoolsey4383]

Hyce, using a fish bowl to keep the camera cool is brilliant! It just goes to show how hot coal fires can get. I know that it can get pretty toasty when I'm next to my forge at welding heat but I can't imagine how hot it must be when the fire doors open, especially with that large of a thermal mass. Anyways stay hydrated and cheers from the western slope.

[@jrdrager]

So cool! Would like to see a full days running in cab as a Timelapse!

[@tylerodonnell-paccione7523]

hmmmm.... saving this as reference for when you finally do the thing you've threatened me with before lol this footage is honestly spectacular and watching how the fire changes is absolutely mesmerizing!!

[@Ash007YT]

I'm now a train guy. Hyce I'm now converted from Aircraft to trains.

[@Mr.crisskombat]

Love the color of the fire every cool fish tank video of the firebox

[@maxwellwalcher6420]

ooooh looks great in the firebox.

[@patricksheary2219]

Hi Mark that was amazing to see how the fire reacts as the loco moves, draft created and all that. Tending the fire is for sure an art. Also excellent views and description from you on what to look for in an efficiently burning fire. A beautiful sight for sure. Omg! As always I learn so much from you Professor. BTW great idea to use the glass jar. Thanks again Mark for another A+++ tutorial. Oh and may I add loved hearing your whistle again, fab sound!

[@Hyce777]

Cheers Patrick!

[@Doribi117]

These 101 videos have got me heavily into trains, and stuff like this one makes me wanna drive a steam train

[@vinceargado9892]

I’ve *never* seen the inside of a firebox. So cool!

[@JonathanColemanTrains]

I like the ending for all of the names

[@Pamudder]

Fascinating! There's so much going on with the fire. Thank you for sharing this.

[@PatrickKCompton]

That's so cool Hyce! Thanks for making these videos! 🚂

[@railroadactive]

6:10 This message has be brought to you by PETB People for the Ethical Treatment of Boilers.

[@andrewreynolds4949]

Amazing! Videos or pictures like this could totally be used for training classes

[@lordsherifftakari4127]

Firebox = a Fire Elemental's Paradise on earth

[@themidnightbanshee5927]

You can imagine animating this in game would be a task and most people don't have reference of a locomotives firebox

[@sycamorevalleyshops2841]

Can you go through some of the past and current boiler treatments? We use the lsb8000 in the steam tractors out here in ca. Just a thought for another video.

[@marcotron08]

The return of the fishbowl!

[@Engineer5344]

mark, i noticed that for years both at D&S, C&TS and CRM. you guys use pretty tiny coal shovels for firing. wouldn't make life easier if you guys used bigger sized coal scoops as on standard gauge locomotives?

[@Hyce777]

it's all about being proportioned relative to the size of the box, and the firedoor. You need to get the scoop moving fast for the distance, and a scoop that is heavier and bigger in size makes that harder without nailing the side of the firedoor.

[@Engineer5344]

@@Hyce777 gotcha. ok

[@andcrafter4790]

i love the sound of the Huber 6

[@hipeopleidkwhatisgoingon]

electric boogaloo, fishbowl cam vid number 2

[@jonelyackett]

Das Hot, you know what else is hot? 101 videos. I cant wait for the next one.

[@notarealname6347]

After watching this, I wonder if the fire would act the same way in a wood burner. Having grown up & live a mile away from NSRM-Carson, I’ve seen how the fire dances in an oil burner (having gotten cab rides in both the 8 and 25 a long time ago). So I would be curious to see how the fire dances in the Inyo at its low OP of 75-80psi and the Glenbrook at its almost full pressure. While I have ridden behind NN 93 before, that was in 1999 and the dance in her wouldn’t be much different from what you showed off here.

[@SpaceyBrain]

If my dream to win the lottery ever come to fruition, I'm going on as a full time volunteer at our narrow guage here in Oregon. I have a Heisler calling my name. Thanks for sharing this passion with us Hyce ❤️

[@TubaSoundsandTrains]

This was fantastic, really great to see the differences in the fire based on load or draft. Great to see Jeff working the throttle (tell him Big Joe says hi), and wow, you are doing excellent work and sharing so much knowledge. Thank you!

[@Hyce777]

Will do! :)

[@Johndoe-jd]

9:20 is the grizzly reaper mowing? are the fires of hell glowing? Yes (rest of the movie quote here) And what does the fire look like with wheel slip

[@Hyce777]

Like chuffing, but faster... lol. I have yet to capture that on film.

[@ReggieArford]

@@Hyce777 Actually, you did! there was a bit of wheel slip, several times.

[@sappireflames0009]

you are very lucky. Wish I just ran steam locomotives all day. That is, you're very lucky in the winter, in the summer, you're made of sweat.

[@davekrochenski]

that's great, one hot curious notion rectified.

[@mafarnz]

I didn’t realize the firebox doors were pneumatically operated, I thought that foot pedal was just a mechanical linkage of levers.

[@jordonfreeman166]

Don’t forget 491’s binky!

[@MSCM2000]

happy to get too your videos after a long day at school

[@SkorjOlafsen]

Clever trick to film this, nice.

[@Tristan_S346]

Yay Hell Cam has returned!!!! 🤣

[@hackbyte]

Uh yeah, a cool followup to the black smoke in RO podcast recently. ;)

[@JamesPattersonGeepfan]

6:46, don't you think you already had enough ding-a-lings without the bell? ;)

[@crazyjack3357]

I wonder if you could go to cumbres and Toltec or the eureka and palisade and the the gopro in a fish bole with one of the wood burners

[@thefaulnt3562]

I always had thought of a steam train bed of coals like a blacksmithing coal bed but bigger, now I see that those are commonly far inferior (exept in flatness).

[@Idaho-Cowboy]

Fishbowl cam is back!

[@judybassett9390]

Fun and very interesting video. Thanks Hyce!

[@lixivian]

Now I'm curious to know what's done with the engine after daily use... like putting everything up.

[@barrageballoon4845]

I used to be a stoker I had to shovel coal 3 yards in to a hole one inch wider than the shovel

[@machinerygaming40]

Wow Mark, that was amazing.

[@darknut9696]

Were there any auto coaled narrow gauge engines similar to Big Boy and Challenger(?). I'm from UK so i don't know other auto coaled engines

[@nymx1]

What a show, beautiful! Wait a darn min that outro loco is not 491!?

[@Hyce777]

Nope ;)

[@AshAndSteam]

So near the end you mentioned that you wanted a small fire when you get to the roundhouse. Could you do a video on how to shut down the locomotive for the night? If you can't that's totally fine

[@Hyce777]

Good idea!

[@pokemontrainermichael5551]

An amazing vid from Hyce

[@crystalrock18]

Great video Hyce; I do have two questions though. Since we know these steam engines at the museum burn coal, what do you with the leftover ash after your trains have been dumped of the ash in the ash pits? Question two, how did you get he the name Hyce?

[@nielsleenknegt5839]

Now on the endscreen... that's a K-28, you don't have that at the museum so does that mean you visited the Durango and Silverton railroad? (Its not the cumbres& toltec, they have only 27's and 36's )

[@mattomon1045]

this is cool Hyce

[@nw611J]

Nice video Mark really cool to see this and to see how the fire dances around. Just wondering what whistle is on 91 right now I know she’s cold?

[@zapy9715]

So hypothetically think about how long do you think it would take to Cremate a large body... Asking for a friend.

[@Johndoe-jd]

it dependes. how large is your friend?

[@TrainBandit]

Was that you in 576.

[@3900Class]

Maybe a clear Pyrex container with a rubber sealing lid would keep water from dripping over the lens view? Might take the heat better.

[@Hyce777]

I will need to see about that. Cheers.

[@BrooksMoses]

@@Hyce777 : You might look into the old Pyrex "Flameware" saucepans (aluminosilicate glass, even better than borosilicate) to see if you could seal one of those to turn it sideways and look through the flat bottom. Those were designed for use directly on stovetops.

[@trainanimator8150]

what do you think the next 101 will be? hyce

[@snoopyloopy]

Great stuff!

[@gavinhayes373]

The Huber 6 sounds like the beginning of Bohemian Rhapsody

[@AtkataffTheAlpha]

Mark what was that thing that bounced at 3:27? It's by your foot and it looks like a brown leaf