smoke?

[RAM]

20 to 25 years ago someone made a steam locomotive that was powered with dry ice.  I think it was O scale.

[Jim Banner]

Was that the dry ice locomotive that had the dry ice in the tender and when it sublimated, the C0₂ gas provided the "steam" pressure to drive an oscillating steam engine?  As I remember, it ran fine until the tender became so cold that the dry ice could no longer sublimate in sufficient quantities and so the locomotive slowed down and stopped.  Not a whole lot different than live steamers running on propane.  If you work them too hard, the propane tanks get so cold that the propane will no longer evaporate, the fire goes out, and the locomotive rolls to a halt.  One way to get the propane flowing again is to warm the propane tank the same way the doughboys in WWI cooled their machine guns - practical but not exactly politically correct when you are pulling a train load of passengers on a Sunday afternoon.  Nor would I recommend this method for recalcitrant dry ice locomotives, unless you stand way far back.  Doneldon, are you listening?

Jim

[Doneldon]

Jim-

Surely you're not intimating that I do dangerous things! Why, I haven't had my life in my hands all week. Well, yes, it is just Monday morning, but that doesn't affect the accuracy of my claim. Just the range of it. Oh,oh. Here I go ...

The problem with cooling machine guns with you know what is that a soldier could carry only so much coolant and he needed a while to get stocked back up. I suppose that, if machine guns were used in support of the infantry, it would be fair to ask the infantry to support the machine guns in return. Maybe they had a special platoon to, uh, cool the machine guns. Organically, of course.

I don't think it would be a practical method to cool a dry ice gas source in a model locomotive, though. Some benchwork wouldn't support the weight of the cooler container, in the first place and, in the second place, what would it look like? Or smell like after a while? I shudder to think of it. And what would it do to the paint?

Thanks for getting me going on another of my borderline inappropriate flights of fancy. I'm back in control now and therefore able to refrain from writing what next came into my mind on this topic. All I will say is that it involves a person (most definitely NOT me), a late night roadside stop to empty the machine gun cooling vessel and a car door. Oh, yes. And I was working in the ER when he came in. Ouch. OUCH. OUCH!!!!!
                                               -- D

p.s. Did I say Talleywhacker?

[NarrowMinded]

Haaaa hahahhhaha Ouch!



P.S. that would produce some smelly smoke as well...

[jward]

good idea. to take it a step further, you could do such servicing on a section of track ballasted like kitty litter. if you have cats, you probably have trouble keeping them off the layout anyway. may as well put them to use......