For many steamships like the S.S. Sicamous, coal was a necessity. A constant supply kept the paddles and, consequently, the rest of the ship running. Without machinery, people were needed to keep the supply of coal coming. Stokers, also known as firemen, would work in 4 – 6 hour long shifts in gruelling temperatures, loading shovel upon shovel of coal into the boiler (17 tons a day on the Sicamous!!). Though it was definitely rough work, the benefits made many want to be firemen themselves; good pay, short workdays, and food as good as that of the passengers to make up for all the calories they burned!
The photo above is from one of the large ocean going steam ships which required a great deal more fuel to make it across the ocean. They would also need more than one burner working to keep the ship moving. A well co-ordinated process. These men definitely earned their wages!
The SS Sicamous was fired by coal brought from places like Coalmont in the Similkameen, or from Midway, loaded in coal cars on the trains . The firemen and coal passers needed to unload coal from these cars (which were parked on the dock) into the coal cart, dump it down into the bilge of the ship, and move it forward one shovelful at a time, to where it could be put in to the burner as needed.
Long handled tools like coal rakes, pokers, stokers, and coal shovels enabled the Firemen to place the coal chunks in the right places to keep the fire burning at just the right temperature. It was a special art to be able to keep the burner hot enough to create the pressure in the steam, and not so hot that it would cause the boiler to explode!
The drawing below gives you a simplified version of what the burner/boiler unit looked like inside and how it worked.
"The Fireman doesn't just throw coal in, you just don't take a shovel full of coal and throw it into the fire; it's got to be thrown in nicely so it will burn . Fire works along the walls and does not burn well in the centre.The back wall and sides must be filled at all times, most of your heat comes from here. The coal must be spread properly to keep from getting hot spots, the centres must be full and maintained even though they don't burn as well. There is no shaker under the fire so the ashes have to be knocked down in 1/4s with a poker and when there is too many ashes they are pulled out of the back of the fire box into a tray, and with 160 lbs. water pressure and flushed into the lake. --- When you first put in coal and fire isn't burning right you will see black smoke from the stack, if fire is right the smoke is white or almost see through. --- The Engineer ... is the Fireman's boss and if the smoke is black he would get in trouble. When the Fireman was resting the Coal Passer was taught to stoke the fire."
(Joe Collett interview - Fireman and Coal Passer, SS Sicamous)
Check out the blog post on the Engine Room for information on how the ship works in connection to the burner and boiler, and watch the video in the Engine Room showing the SS Moyie engines working on Kootenay Lake.
"It was necessary to remove the scale that accumulated in the boiler and to replace damaged fire-brick in the fire boxes of the lake boats. Water in the Okanagan, being highly mineralized, deposits a scale build up on the boiler walls similar to the shell-like layer that accumulates in tea kettles in the Valley. Since the scale impairs the efficiency of the boilers, it must be periodically removed. That was achieved by 'pulling the fire', and cooling the boiler so that it could be accessed for cleaning and fire-brick replacement.
Boiler wash required a second steamer to come along-side to supply water and steam for the ship with its fire 'pulled'. The operation tied up two vessels, so getting the job done as quickly as possible was important. As a consequence, the boilers were often still very warm when the scaling took place. My Father said that the scalers would hose each other down with cold water, so they could work in the exhausting heat and cramped quarters.
While boiler-scaling was hot and back-breaking work the two crews still found time for friendly ship rivalries and practical jokes. " ( William Edgar Walker, Fireman on the SS Sicamous - interview)
Doug Elliot, who still lived here in the 1990's was a deck hand on the S.S.Sicamous from 1926 to 1932. He was only 16 years old when he started to work on the boat. However, he can remember clearly the way he was hired and how much he was paid, $64 a month plus board.
Doug was hired by the mate, Nick Greaves, even though he was younger than the C.P.R. regulations suggested. Nick said that the cook was short of meat, so if Doug went out and shot a deer for the ship, he'd have a job. He did that and then worked for the ship for 6 years.
Doug hand many interesting experiences while he worked on the ship. Possibly the most frightening one was when he and the other deckhands were "coaling-up". As Doug was bringing the coal buggy onto the front deck, he lost control of it. He and it went over the side, and he found himself in the water with the buggy and the coal going down with him. Thankfully, he survived the ordeal, to be able to share this story and others with us.
The jobs that he and his fellow workers did, were such things as helping with passengers and keeping the boat clean by washing decks, as well as coaling -up 15 tons or so per trip.
This particular steam locomotive boiler was manufactured in Port Arthur, Ontario and was shipped to Okanagan Landing by rail. It operated in sections, the burner section for the fire, and the central section for the tubes and water. There were 320 pipes in the interior to move hot air and resulting steam through the system to power the engines at the rear of the ship.
コメント