Steam Locomotive Firebox Explosion on the Gettysburg Railroad ...

Delineation of Duties.--The following exchange
with the first fireman took place
during his testimony:
Q: Who was operating the feed pump
most of the time during the trip?
A: That would have been me.
Q: Would you say you were the one
running the feed pump all the time on
that trip?
A: Not all the time. We had two
firemen. Two firemen.
Q: But was your role the lead fireman
that day?
A: I would not—we don’t have a lead
fireman. We have [others] here to
back everyone up.
Q: What I meant by that was, was
there an agreement between you and
[the second fireman] that you would
do most of the duties and he would
back you up, or vice versa?
A: No.
Q: So you had a kind of division in
responsibilities, but it wasn’t clear
who exactly was in charge of the
fireman’s duties?
A: Well, no. There’s—we both are
competent firemen. We both know
what we are doing.
The second fireman, referring to
operation of the feed pump, testified as
follows:
Q: When you and [the first fireman]
were sharing the duties, had you
actually turned the feed pump on
yourself in the few minutes—I mean,
on that leg of the trip just before the
incident, you had relieved [the first
fireman], more or less?
A: Yes.
Q: So you were acting as kind of the
fireman—
A: Yes.
Q:—in charge?
A: (Shrugs shoulders)
Q: So, when the two of you were
working together, you had a clear
understanding of who would do what,
who would be responsible for what?
A: Pretty much. But I basically left it
up to him. I was there to give him a
break and such.
Train and Equipment Information
<strong>Locomotive</strong> 1278--Canadian <strong>Locomotive</strong>
Company, Ltd., in Kingston, Ontario,
Canada, built locomotive 1278 for the
Canadian Pacific Railway in April 1948.
The locomotive had a 4-6-2 14 “Pacific”
wheel arrangement 15 and was designed for
passenger service. Its cylinders were 20 by
28 inches; boiler pressure was 250 psi; and
driver diameter was 70 inches. It weighed
234,000 pounds, with 151,000 pounds on
drivers, and had 34,000 pounds of tractive
effort. Its cab had side doors and was an
enclosed all-weather, or winter-type, cab.
(See figure 5.)
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