Yep, that's the question; did steamies have enclosed cabs in winter? I've seen pictures where the cabs have some good windows and metal/wood sides, but all the pictures are from the front oblique, and I can never see the rear. If they were enclosed, how? Was it canvas snapped to the roof? Was there a flap for shoveling coal from the tender?

Yes, I'm asking here. :stare: I have faith in BSF, someone always has an answer! (sometimes it's even right

The son, who is a model train enthusiast, says that Union Pacific installed some sort of mechanism that sent the smokestack contents over the side pf the engine, that the cabs were closed in winter, the engines had to be bigger to run through the west's terrain. He says they also ran them backwards, and it affected future design.
He took a train course in Boy Scouts, I could ask the scoutmaster, who is a massive train enthusiast, next time I see him. Which will probably be Tuesday.

makes sense.

But I was thinking more along the lines of heating. Running hard at -20F would be chilly.

Don't go out of your way. It was just a random question that popped into my head while watchign some Thomas with my wee one

It seems like the firebox would have created a great deal of heat. It was probably hated by engineers and coal shovelers who had to be in the front compartment in warm weather. It may have been something as simple as a canvas flap in the winter. But as temperatures went down, like autumn, the cool air was likely welcomed.
As for the cars being pulled, they had to have something like canvas flaps, and it seems they would have had wood or coal burning heaters installed in the passenger cars. Hobos must have simply endured the cold...with the cows and pigs.
I'm associated through another hobby with a guy who is a hard core member of the Silverton-Durango railroad club in Colorado, and he would know for sure.

I agree. But any kind of wind at sub-zero F temps quickly removes heat in any kind of space.
aye, cows and pigs = heat!
My understanding is that on the freights, the caboose was heated with a wood stove, which wasn' always the best thing since the cabooses were made of wood.

See! Both you and MamaG have kept BGF's rep as THE palce to come for answers!

It's also possible that railroads had some kind of installed wooden shutters over the windows that were used in the winter season. That would have made more sense and would have been worth the cost in customer comfort. You've got me wondering now. I'll drop Fritz a line and find out. He loves Q's like this.

[edit] You're thinking of the engine, I believe. They had glass in the passengers cars for sure. Forget what I was saying about wooden shutters. I'll ask about the engine compartment specifically.

Honestly, it depends heavily on the specific train in question (and mainly the climate and time period that it was used in). For some Mamagato's son (who as a model train enthusiast is now officially awesome) is correct.

For a lot of them the boiler probably provided plenty of heat, and since the cabin was closed off on the front and sides, there'd be very little wind to move the hot air out of the cabin. Remember that a boiler has an internal temperature well above 100C (it is superheated steam after all!).

Some of them were in fact enclosed at all times, such as the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SP4294_Neil916.JPG (this was possible since it used oil, not coal).

Some smaller shunting locomotives were enclosed . The bigger ones, not that I know of. But then heat wasn't an issue. I would assume that in some cases getting rid of the heat in the cab was a bigger issue.

Got a reply from the guy who is a member of the Durango & Silverton Railroad Club. Not too conclusive imo...I liked Mamagato's son's answer better. (and it's a good thing to know that there are some who are still interested in Boy Scouts....)

"Steam engines are still basically open and the cabs are not too weather proof--see http://www.flickr.com/photos/53177163@N00/3982508843/in/set-72157622519264104 of one of our local engines taken when it was snowing. Glass has been used in coach windows since Civil War days, and heating was initially from wood or coal stoves in each car. Our train still has coal stoves in some coaches, though some have propane units now. Hope this helps,"

They do have a pretty fascinating web site. The thumbnails just below the logo are video links and the very first one is their train in winter.

http://www.durangotrain.com/

I can imagine back in the day, if it was unbearably cold they would have improvised and done something as individuals with canvas, or something. Anything.

Could try asking 1chan, it's like 4 chan, but trains.

Thanks for the help folks!

:facepalm: I just went to a small train show yesterday, and I forgot to ask! (Little Dude loved he show! )