Fire in tunnels

[Ex Brummie]

Having followed President through Wast Hill once, I would tie up for an hour if I ever saw anything like that again in front of me. Not only did I get lots of smoke, but also steam, and it travelled at about 1/3rd of the speed I would normally go.

[ditchcrawler]

3 minutes ago, Ex Brummie said:

  it travelled at about 1/3rd of the speed I would normally go.

Doesn't it do that everywhere, I have followed it for miles

[alan_fincher]

39 minutes ago, haggis said:

I seem to remember Roger Murray when he owned Monarch complaining bitterly that they wouldn't let him through harecastle under steam and I think he had to turn back. 

 

haggis

Well there are certainly stories on Emily Ann, owned by the family of site owner Daniel going through Harecastle.

Given where they travel, I'd be surprised if Adamant and/or Hasty didn't go through under steam as well.

[blackrose]

6 hours ago, matty40s said:

I was quite light headed last time I came through Blisworth.

We followed a short cruiser stern with 4 males on the back into the tunnel, they must have been smoking weed the whole way through as the sickly smell never stopped. 

At least they weren't smoking crack. There's always a silver lining.

[Peter X]

8 hours ago, grockell said:

Common sense tells me I shouldn't have my fire on when passing through tunnels? 

 

I'm planning on going through Blisworth tunnel today, which I know has ventilation, but still unsure as to whether there's any potential for CO poisoning.

 

Probably a very obvious question! Just checking!

In my experience the air in long tunnels does sometimes become rather unpleasant to breathe, but it seems to me that common sense largely tells us the answers.

Fires do indeed consume oxygen and produce some CO, both being undesirable things in tunnels, however having got your fire lit in cold weather you don't want to be putting it out. So Alan Fincher's suggestion that it's best not to build the fire up before entering a long tunnel or while passing through it seems good to me, and I see no harm in leaving a fire burning slowly then adding more fuel when leaving the tunnel.

 

Of course the steam boats need to burn coal to get a boiler full of hot water for propulsion, so they'll have to judge how much fuel they should add and when, with a view to limiting the amount of smoke they make in a tunnel as best they can while still being able to get through. Maybe to some extent I suppose they might try to have  plenty of steam available as they enter, thus not needing to burn coal so rapidly as they go through? I've never crewed on a steam boat, so I'm not sure whether that works for them?

 

Likewise the great majority of boats use diesel engines and have to run them producing all the usual emissions to get through a tunnel, so all that can be done is to just try to potter along at an efficient speed and hope not to choke the steerer and/or people on any following boat too much.

 

I generally try to avoid using a gas hob much while in a tunnel, planning ahead so that cookery and boiling water for tea making happen elsewhere.

[Rob-M]

We had the fires going on Scorpio and Leo when we went through Netherton tunnel a few weeks ago.

[nbfiresprite]

As a rule, I time my travel through long tunnels so that they are done first thing in the morning.  

[TheBiscuits]

3 hours ago, Peter X said:

I generally try to avoid using a gas hob much while in a tunnel, planning ahead so that cookery and boiling water for tea making happen elsewhere.

Thermos flask.

 

Other brands are available ...

[ditchcrawler]

4 hours ago, Peter X said:

 

 

I generally try to avoid using a gas hob much while in a tunnel, planning ahead so that cookery and boiling water for tea making happen elsewhere.

I have never had the urge to stop for tea in a tunnel 

[TheBiscuits]

35 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I have never had the urge to stop for tea in a tunnel 

Me neither.

 

Coffee on the other hand ...

[magpie patrick]

8 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I have never had the urge to stop for tea in a tunnel 

April 2005, passing through Netherton Tunnel heading for the New Main Line, I wondered what was looming in my headlight.

 

It was a moored boat, securely tied to the hand rail on the towpath, smoke drifting from the chimney...

 

The time I was going through I should imagine they had spent the night there!

Edited November 21, 2019 by magpie patrick

[Rob-M]

5 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

April 2005, passing through Netherton Tunnel heading for the New Main Line, I wondered what was looming in my headlight.

 

It was a moored boat, securely tied to the hand rail on the towpath, smoke drifting from the chimney...

 

The time I was going through I should imagine they had spent the night there!

Perhaps they thought it was a safe mooring spot.

[BruceinSanity]

12 hours ago, Peter X said:

Of course the steam boats need to burn coal to get a boiler full of hot water for propulsion, so they'll have to judge how much fuel they should add and when, with a view to limiting the amount of smoke they make in a tunnel as best they can while still being able to get through. Maybe to some extent I suppose they might try to have  plenty of steam available as they enter, thus not needing to burn coal so rapidly as they go through? I've never crewed on a steam boat, so I'm not sure whether that works for them?

ISTR reading in one of the history books that the steamers could do Braunston on one steaming but needed to make up the fire in Blisworth, hence the introduction of tugs.

[alan_fincher]

10 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I have never had the urge to stop for tea in a tunnel 

You might have had though if you were trying to follow President through it!

[Keeping Up]

I once met President coming the other way while I was steering a trip boat through Netherton tunnel. There were spotlights on our roof, about 3ft in front of me (fitted to discourage couples from climbing out on to the roof and "performing" there) and in the steam I couldn't see anything beyond them so in the interest of passenger safety I had to stop and wait until it cleared.

[roland elsdon]

having taken a steam boat through a tunnel co2 is the least problem.

the real issue is the stunned spiders and black soot that is blasted off the roof by the upblast.

 

[Onionman]

1 hour ago, Keeping Up said:

fitted to discourage couples from climbing out on to the roof and "performing" there

 

Errrrrr?

[Keeping Up]

1 hour ago, Onionman said:

 

Errrrrr?

Yes seriously. On at least 2 occasions a couple climbed out of the side windows and got passionately involved there, on the roof, in the darkness of the tunnel. On the second occasion they were so involved in their act, that they were still on the roof as the boat emerged from the tunnel - to a round of applause from a group of people on the towpath.

[cuthound]

3 hours ago, Keeping Up said:

Yes seriously. On at least 2 occasions a couple climbed out of the side windows and got passionately involved there, on the roof, in the darkness of the tunnel. On the second occasion they were so involved in their act, that they were still on the roof as the boat emerged from the tunnel - to a round of applause from a group of people on the towpath.

 

I'm surprised that cold water cascading from the ventilation shafts didn't stop them.

 

After all a bucket of cold water works with dogs! ?

[pearley]

On 20/11/2019 at 12:29, alan_fincher said:

New to me!

When did that rule come in then, as we have not that long ago been through with stove obviously running.

Are you sure some volunteer hasn't just exceeded his authority?

Main thing, as has been said, is not to fuel the firre for some period before you enter a tunnel.  If if is just ticking over with no new fuel on it, it will not be a problem.  (Unless maybe you burn logs or house coal!...)

And us. Came through in Sept 2018 and again early October this year. Nothing mentioned about stove.

[Machpoint005]

On 20/11/2019 at 11:45, matty40s said:

I was quite light headed last time I came through Blisworth.

Not much to do with CO then.

[robtheplod]

following on from this, we're hoping to do a short cruise later this week and will go through Crick & Braunston tunnels. We'd normally have the soild fuel stove going as its a tad chilly, but im really not sure if this is right/wrong...… i'm tempted to just use the webasto and be safe...

[matty40s]

It wont be a problem Rob, you should be able to see right through at this time of year and there are so few boats moving theres no real build up of smoke.

[Rickent]

On 20/11/2019 at 18:37, blackrose said:

At least they weren't smoking crack. There's always a silver lining.

Nothing worse than a smoking crack.?

[Boater Sam]

Years ago whilst delivering a boat north through Harecastle we set off from the south end on first tunnel opening for the day, in winter, no other boats around. My crew was a guy who had spent the previous week from Whilton drinking most of the night whilst I slept. He had had a stroke 6 weeks before.

On peering into the morning condensation in the tunnel he announced that no way was he being on deck during the passage and retired to the cabin.

Where upon he emptied the waste bin, wax milk cartons and all, onto the fire. I never thought I would make it out the other end, from which I emerged coughing and eyes streaming some half hour later, with as much speed on as possible.

 

I often wonder what good the fire boat moored at the north end would be at getting to a boat burning in the front going south or middle of a boat stream mid tunnel. Glad it is there though, never seen it move. Will it start on demand?