Use of Hydrostatic lubrication in steam locomotives

[GreensandsParticipant @greensands]

<p style=”text-align: center;”>Can one of our more knowledgeable members give a brief description of how hydrostatic lubricationworks when used on steam locomotives and the perceived  advantages if any over mechanical methods.</p>

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

this diagram might help. The ‘saturated steam’ was fed through a jockey valve attached to the regulator handle on GWR locos, regulator fully shut, steam off, slightly open steam fully on. The oil is driven out of the oil container by the head of water in the condenser. In GWR locos the condenser was a coil of pipe in the cab roof. Oil feed is not dependant on how far the regulator is open. If you miss out the Propellant steam connection, it still works but oil feed is dependant on difference between boiler pressure and steam chest pressure, and the wrong way round, regulator wide open least oil feed.. There was an excellent article by I think Fred Cottam in ME many years ago, but I can’t find it.

 

[Charles LamontParticipant @charleslamont71117]

Advantages are comparative simplicity, and that the crew can see oil being fed, drop by drop, and the individual feed rates can be adjusted. Mechanical lubricator pumps are much more complicated, require finely fitted parts, and it is a lot more difficult to adjust individual feed rates.

Here are most of the innards of an 8-feed Silvertown mechanical lubricator on my bench:

 

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