I love how the SA locomotives are always shown so clean. The gleaming brass is particularly effective. I haven't seen many shots of SA meter gauge locomotive footplates so this series is particularly edifying. The cabs look surprisingly commodious. Interestingly, the firebox door has a handle that looks to make shoveling coal more difficult than the air operated ones in the States. I wonder how it is actually done. Another note: in the States the interior walls of steam locomotives cabs seem to be green while in Australia, China, and South Africa they are yellow.
Thanks for sharing these well done images.
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Thanks for your comments.
I asked one of the firemen about the issues you raised and he said that use of the firehole door varied depending on the type of engine. This is a Class 24, and the practice with this engine is to run (as shown) with the firehole door partially open – in other words it is not closed between each (partial) shovelful. Generally the fire is built up before an "up" gradient, and then fired "light and bright" through a partially open firehole door. Old drivers teach the fireman to leave the firehole door partially open most of the time to allow secondary air into the firebox.
Occasionally if the loco is working very hard, and a whole lot of coal needs to go in quickly, the driver will assist by working the door for the fireman.
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