Ah yes, the part of the old days that folks have forgotten: The raining down of embers. Steam engines seem all old timey romantic and shit, but they caused a lot of fires everywhere they went. They'd set prairies on fire. The embers in tightly packed cities would land on tar roofs and set blocks ablaze.
I'll be attending a show this weekend where they commonly do this. Around suppertime, after the last official exhibits of the day, the fireboxes will be stuffed with sawdust and excelsior, and allowed to 'cook' until dark. At 830pm, several engines are belted up to Prony brakes and to fans, and are run hard, simply to put on the best spark-show possible.
None of that is on the official schedule for the show, and there's typically more beer involved then than is allowed for the family-friendly events during the day, but it's absolutely worth seeing and experiencing.
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u/Big_Wave9732 16h ago
Ah yes, the part of the old days that folks have forgotten: The raining down of embers. Steam engines seem all old timey romantic and shit, but they caused a lot of fires everywhere they went. They'd set prairies on fire. The embers in tightly packed cities would land on tar roofs and set blocks ablaze.