Steam locomotive boiler pressure

While watching the 110 Case engine plowing at Rantoul, my friend and I were discussing boiler pressures. He thought that steam locomotives and farm traction engines both operated at about the 160 PSI pressure range. I think that locomotive engines operate at about double that pressure, or around 300 PSI.

Can anyone with steam locomotive experience tell me what pressures those boilers operate at? Thanks, Joe

The first locomotives ran about 80 - 120 lbs. The more contemporary versions, built after the first World War, usually ran at about 220 - 250 lbs. The streamliners would get heated up to 300 - 310 lbs. Then there were the turbines, they ran between 500 -600 lbs of steam.

I'd love to elaborate for hours, but I must get back to it.

Mike

At the shows I have went to I haven't seen any engine over about 125 psi. And i could be wrong but I don't think those 110's are any higher.

I don't really know for sure but I believe my grandfather ran his Keck engines around 175 in the teens to early 1920's.He ran them hard on separators.

The locomotive over at Booneville IN has a plate if I remember right was rated at 212 with a test pressure of 250. That's a little scary.I believe most things these days are test twice their working pressure.

This is a 2 cents worth but I look at those gauges about all I can. I would be interested if anyone knows differently.

RT

You are correct..

Engine Boiler pressure for a Railroad Steam engine rose as horse power increases increased and engines were refined..
The use of Super-Heated Steam revolutionized the steam engine and brought in the age of "Super Power" or steam engines.
1890's era steam engines were operated at around 125 PSI.
C&O eventually increased that to 250-265#.
Penn used 300# in their most modern steam engines.
There were some experimental steam engines that used 450# (or more), using the steam twice (Compound).
Steam Farm tractors (as far as I have ever heard) used AROUND 125# and few (if any) ever had super-heaters.
Where steam Farm tractors may have approached 100 Horse Power ( Boiler HP), Railroad Steam Locomotives were built to produce as much as 7,000 Boiler HP and 6,000+ Cylinder (Drawbar-Horsepower).
The two are as far from "Apples and Oranges" as you can get..
A Large, Modern Steam Locomotive would have up to 125 SQ FT of Grate area and under Full Power, require 100 lbs (coal) per Sq Ft an hour..
Or 12,500 lbs of Fuel/Hour..and if it needed MORE power, it could be "Over-Fired", causing a lot of smoke, but boiling even more water to make MORE steam..
A pound of coal would bring approx. 7# of water to 300 PSI so, the above steam engine would use 87,500 # of Water/Hour..
Not quite like a Steam tractor's appetite..
The NYC Niagara's boiler was made with 4" Flues, to allow it to be "Over-Fired" (if need be), drawing the fire right into the Flues.!!

Ron.

All the steam engines at our show (Lake Region Pioneer Threshermen) have been downrated over the years because the old, original(100 years or so) metal has less strength than when new. Our engines are pressure tested with water one year and ultrasound tested the next year.
Not cheap to test and certify the engines but an ounce of prenention is worth many pounds of cure!