---In STMFC@..., wrote :

Chuck…

So, it is hard to understand why they would introduce steam/water into a tank car full of Bunker C rather than circulate through a series of pipes and then let it vent to the outside. In addition, my understanding from what he told me is that water flowed to the surface of a steam locomotive tender not to a low point…

Jack Burgess
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Jack, 

If you are commenting on my road oil tankcar, they are not introducing steam into the oil, but rather into the heating coils, which are a closed system. What Chuck is saying is you don't need to vent steam out the other end of the coil; as the steam gives up its heat, it condenses to water, which trickles down to the steam trap, where it is expelled from the system, same as a passenger car heating system, or, for that matter, my building heating system. If I recall the function of the steam traps correctly, they have a bi-metallic diaphragm that when covered by water, cools enough to pop open. With the water gone and steam flowing by, the diaphragm heats up enough to pop closed again.

Dennis Storzek