D&RGW K-28 COAL FIRED MANUAL
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8.
Solvent Cleaner
Following every 4 to 5 hours running time you will want to more thoroughly clean your locomotive, including the smoke
box. We recommend you accomplish this by washing with” Stoddard” solvent. This product is designed for parts washing
in the aviation and automotive industry. It is an excellent grease and oil remover, has a low flammability and leaves no oily
films or residue, and absolutely will not damage the paint It is available from your local Petroleum Bulk Supplier, either
under the name of “Stoddard” solvent or as parts washing fluid. Most automotive machine shops can paint you in the right
direction to buy it.
9.
Solvent Sprayer
The most convenient way to apply the Stoddard solvent is by using a pressure type garden sprayer. We recommend a
HUDSON brand” Bugwiser Sprayer,” model number 67220. This has a 2 gallon, stainless steel, canister, which is solvent
resistant. These can be purchased from LOWES’ HOME CENTER. One note about this sprayer and Stoddard Solvent.
You will have to occasionally put some oil down the top of the sprayers pump barrel to lubricate the piston, as the solvent
tends to wash away the pump’s lubricant.
Advanced Preparation
Before you begin firing your locomotive, you need to tend to some preparatory items. The first is to insure you have an
adequate supply of properly sized coal. Your firebox door is 3/4 of and inch tall and 1 1/4 inches wide. The shovel is 7/8
of an inch wide, 112 inch deep and 2 1/4 inches long. Coal needs to be sized accordingly. Your lumps of coal should have
an upper limit in size of 1/2 X 1/2 X 314 of an inch; 3/8 X 318 X 3/8 being ideal. Coal that is smaller, ie. lima bean sized is
better. Any pieces smaller than a 1/8 inch cube can also be used, but only after a good bed of coals is established. If you
are using the Cole’s
Power Models product, it will come in a bucket with pieces ranging from pea sized on up to the a lump twice the size of
the first joint of your thumb, This is a relatively soft coal and large lumps can usually be broken down with your fingers. If
you prefer, you can use a garden style hand pruner or clipper. You will soon notice that coal has a grain to it and cutting it
across the grain will sometimes cause it to crumble.
We sort our coal out in the garage, taking a large handful from the bucket; the usable size pieces go directly into a large
plastic container, built like a large pitcher, but designed for pet food and purchased at Wal-Mart. The overly large pieces
get broken up over an old rag which is used to catch the broken pieces and crumbles. Coal dust, which is slightly oily, is
much like the lead in a pencil, it will work its way into the pores of almost any material and can be hard to remove , so, act
accordingly .
Your charcoal needs to go through this process also. We use a scrap plywood board, about 12 to 14 inches on a side,
on which to cut and fracture off properly sized pieces from the chunks of charcoal lumber. Again try for pieces about 3/8
X 318 X 3/8 of an inch. As with the coal we keep the bulk of the cut and broken up charcoal in a pet food container. The
charcoal is kept dry in this container, not oil soaked. About a quart of this charcoal is then put into a large coffee can with
a tight fitting plastic lid and soaked in lamp oil. After putting the charcoal into the can, put in about a cup of lamp oil, place
the lid on the can and tumble to expose all of the charcoal to the oil. This coffee can then becomes the container we fire
the locomotive from on startup. We leave the oil in the can, and as we replace charcoal we have used with fresh charcoal,
add oil as needed so that there is always a slight amount of liquid in the bottom of the can .
