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Rake. 1920-1950. Clinker rake, locomotive firebox.

Rake. 1920-1950. Clinker rake, locomotive firebox. Round bar stock looped at one end to form a handle. At opposite end a u-shaped bar is welded at right angles to the shank. The arms of the "u" are chisel-tipped and point downward, forming a two-prong rake. Surface is pitted, rusty.

From the Museum Collection: Rake. 1920-1950. Clinker rake, locomotive firebox. Round bar stock looped at one end to form a handle. At opposite end a u-shaped bar is welded at right angles to the shank. The arms of the "u" are chisel-tipped and point downward, forming a two-prong rake. Used by locomotive firemen for digging clinker ash from the firebox. Surface is pitted, rusty. Thompson, PA. The heat produced by coal comes from its carbon and hydrogen content. A high Sulphur content is detrimental when it is combined with the moisture content within the coal as it forms acids in the smokebox char and in the residual ash in the firebox. If the firebox is at a temperature lower than its normal working temperature to sustain steam, clinker will form on the firebars. Clinker is a hard deposit that occurs when ash and Sulphur fuse together, and removal required chipping it off with a long poker. The best locomotive coal has a low ash and Sulphur content. Anthracite and high-quality bituminous left much less ash than the same quantity of lignite. When clinkers form, the fire becomes dirty, grows thick, burns unevenly, smokes, and it is hard to maintain steam pressure. The way to avoid a clinker is to watch the coal for impurities and pick them out before firing the coal. When a spot in the fire begins to grow darker in color than the rest of the fire it indicates that the air is restricted through that spot, probably due to the formation of a clinker. The clinker can be broken up by a careful operation of the grates or it can be raised to the surface of the fire and removed. Coal size is also important, pieces needed to be broken down to the size of a man's fist to allow the spread of even flame over the whole grate.

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Steamtown NHS Museum Collection

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Steamtown National Historic Site, Code: STEA

Steamtown National Historic Site, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
Latitude: 41.407600402832, Longitude: -75.6704025268555

NPS.gov Collection

1920-1950

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