This has been in play for a bunch of years, and they ran the last coal burner a few days ago. Sad end of an era, but I understand.
Oil burners and ex White Pass dismals.
I’m OK with that. 
Unfortunate that they had to do this, but it is a much better solution then not running steam at all.
Exactly. I’d rather the D&S and CTS be around for a while longer than have to shut down.
So far, C&TS does not have this problem, but they are just one wildfire blame away from it.
Back when the D&S got blamed for that big fire, it came out that the state wanted to collect the cost of fighting the fire from D&S which would have bankrupted them. It was a much smarter move on the part of the state, and maybe the forest service, to restrict the use of coal rather than shutting them down and effectively dooming the town of Silverton.
We ( Durango Historical Socity - 315 ) have known this for the past two years… 315 being a coal burner was approved to run on the D&S only in the winter, and when there was snow on the ground. This limited it’s value to the D&S, as it could only be used for winter charters ( Photo or special events ), winter charters have very little chance of profit making… And now with the coming removal of all coal related facilities ( coal pile, ash pit and etc. ) the odds of 315 ever running on the D&S are slim…
BTW: as of Jan 2024… the fuel cost of running a “Oil” fired loco was a bit greater than twice that of a coal fired… But some of the savings comes from not having to keep it “Burning” all night and paying a Hostler…
One of the “unknowns” with oil firings is firebox fatigue, due to the fairly daily “Hot - Cold” cycling… ( Disclaimer, I have never fired a Oil fired Loco ) end of run, fire turned off… engine cools down and contracts, come morning fire up the blow torch ( oil ) and bring it right up to pressure and hot ( expands ), this repeated daily… with a working coal burner… it stays hot for weeks straight , never the contract and expand cycle. When we fire 315 up from cold, we strive for 4 hours from cold to full steam, to limit the thermal shock…And than when done running we just leave the fire overnight to burn out and slow cool down 14-20 hours…
We will see what the maintenance turns to in the next couple of years.
The C&T will have 3 K-36’s in oil this year… Mostly due to the threat by the Forest Service to closing the forest to coal burners, due to fire danger…
Don’t even get me started on the Forest Service fire and forest mitigation.
Best not to go there, unless you want to start a debate.
I was assuming there was a time when oil was cheap and other engines were converted to oil. I stumbled across this discussion about battery operated steam engines. No, don’t roll your eyes just yet…
Most of the discussion talked about impracticalities tender full of batteries, but they did mention the Swiss famously replaced their human hostler with an electric one in the early 1900s. And reportedly, the Norfolk and Southern use something similar called a sleeper for their diesels.
(Aside: Does the BNSF use sleepers @ctown2 Craig?)
Electricity to help run a Steam Loco
@Dave_Taylor Dave, Is there any practicality to using solar panels on the roofs during the day to charge a battery to run an electric heater to keep these boilers water near boiling at night? Might be cheaper than building a new boiler?
This discussion mentions that there’s an American steam engine running on used cooking oil too. And isn’t that a conveniently located McDonald’s next to the D&S in the photos? Any thoughts on engaging the town folk to contribute this otherwise waste product to the cause?
Not sure what you mean by a sleeper?
The BN for a while in the mid 80’s to early 90’s ran what was called fuel tenders. Basically a big tank car full of diesel and placed between locomotives. Fuel and MU lines connected everything. Supposedly it was to save fuel costs because they could buy it cheaper in some places. But it was over complicated and the fuel tenders developed cracked frames from all the horsepower pulling and shoving on them.
Craig,
I have had a bit of time to look as gluing shingles on my build are taking an hour or so between rows.
Here’s what I came across on the Norfolk & Southern “sleeper system”.
I also found out a bit more about steam engine boiler heaters. In the early 1900s, Switzerland pioneered the use of electric heaters to maintain steam engine boilers at optimal temperatures during idle periods. This innovation arose from the need to prevent steam engines from cooling down completely, which could lead to operational inefficiencies and delays in restarting machinery.
The electric heater, often referred to as an electric boiler feedwater heater, was designed to keep the boiler water at a constant temperature, ensuring a swift and efficient startup when needed. These heaters typically consisted of electric heating elements immersed in the boiler water, controlled by thermostats to regulate temperature.
They are still produced and a Canadian company makes them.
I’ve always been a D&RGW Narrow Gauge fan and have modeled in both HOn3, Sn3, and G Scale railroading. I model in the 1940’s so my railroad has always been coal fired engines on my layouts, so it’s coal for me when modeling. Now take us to 2024 and oil-fired engines for steam engines as is happing on the Durango and Silverton RR, I personally have no problem with this as it is better to have this happen then shut down the steam engines from running. I will say it will be missed, but for the environment it’s worth the changeover to oil, plus I will say here I’m not a totally GREEN person, but this does make commonsense for all.