The Wootten firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives. The firebox was very wide to allow combustion of anthracite waste, known as "culm". Its size necessitated unusual placement of the crew, examples being camelback locomotives. The Wootten firebox made for a free-steaming, powerful locomotive, and the cheap fuel burned almost smokelessly; the combination made for an excellent passenger locomotive, and many camelbacks operated in this service.
4-6-0 camelback locomotive, complete with Wootten firebox.
History
John E. Wootten was the Superintendent of Motive Power for the then Philadelphia and Reading Railroad (later simply the Reading Railroad) from 1866, and General Manager of the system from 1876. He saw the vast spoil tips (piles of anthracite waste) in the area as a possible plentiful, cheap source of fuel if he could develop a firebox that could burn it effectively. Through experiments, he determined that a large, wide firebox with a slow firing rate worked best, with a thin layer of the fuel and moderate draft.
The typical locomotive firebox of the day was long and narrow, fitting in between the locomotive's frames. The successful design of a trailing truck with the firebox mounted behind the driving wheels had not yet been developed. Wootten instead mounted his huge firebox above the locomotive's driving wheels. The problem now arose that with a cab floor at the then standard tender deck height, it would be impossible for the locomotive's engineer (driver) to see forwards around the firebox shoulders. Instead, a cab for the engineer was placed above and astride the boiler. The fireman, however, remained at the rear with minimal protection from the elements.
In later years these fireboxes were adopted in several large classes of engines, particularly express passenger engines with a trailing truck, so that the large grate area could give sustained high power output using standard coal. For example, the UK Gresley Pacific Class A4 locomotives, of which "Mallard" holds the world speed record for steam traction, used a wide firebox.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wootten fireboxes.
January 12, 2023
wootten, firebox, this, article, does, cite, sources, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november, 2008, learn, when, rem. This article does not cite any sources Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Wootten firebox news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Wootten firebox is a type of firebox used on steam locomotives The firebox was very wide to allow combustion of anthracite waste known as culm Its size necessitated unusual placement of the crew examples being camelback locomotives The Wootten firebox made for a free steaming powerful locomotive and the cheap fuel burned almost smokelessly the combination made for an excellent passenger locomotive and many camelbacks operated in this service 4 6 0 camelback locomotive complete with Wootten firebox History EditJohn E Wootten was the Superintendent of Motive Power for the then Philadelphia and Reading Railroad later simply the Reading Railroad from 1866 and General Manager of the system from 1876 He saw the vast spoil tips piles of anthracite waste in the area as a possible plentiful cheap source of fuel if he could develop a firebox that could burn it effectively Through experiments he determined that a large wide firebox with a slow firing rate worked best with a thin layer of the fuel and moderate draft The typical locomotive firebox of the day was long and narrow fitting in between the locomotive s frames The successful design of a trailing truck with the firebox mounted behind the driving wheels had not yet been developed Wootten instead mounted his huge firebox above the locomotive s driving wheels The problem now arose that with a cab floor at the then standard tender deck height it would be impossible for the locomotive s engineer driver to see forwards around the firebox shoulders Instead a cab for the engineer was placed above and astride the boiler The fireman however remained at the rear with minimal protection from the elements In later years these fireboxes were adopted in several large classes of engines particularly express passenger engines with a trailing truck so that the large grate area could give sustained high power output using standard coal For example the UK Gresley Pacific Class A4 locomotives of which Mallard holds the world speed record for steam traction used a wide firebox Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wootten fireboxes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wootten firebox amp oldid 1043592016, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
