Nothing Second Rate

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by Folwilliar

Gallery

Only the best equipment and rolling stock were purchased for the Western & Atlantic. It’s coaches were every bit as splendid as the Victorian homes of Snob Hill. Locomotives were rebuilt and brand new ones ordered from Rogers, Baldwin, Cooke, and Booth which were the best money could buy. Nothing second rate would be satisfactory in her eyes.

Aleu sat hunched over her drafting table, the gas lamp’s flickering light casting long shadows across the paper-covered surface. The entire office smelled of burning oil and ink, the warm scent of coal smoke from the roundhouse lingering in the rafters. It was well past midnight, but sleep wasn’t an option. Not when she was so close to solving the problem that had been gnawing at her for weeks.

The Thunder Mountain Coal Company had made their deal, and the Western & Atlantic’s management had sworn their allegiance to the stuff. Cheap, plentiful, and unfortunately, a complete nightmare to burn in their locomotives. Unlike anthracite, which burned hot and steady, or coke, which could be heaped into a roaring inferno, Thunder Mountain coal smoldered sluggishly, demanding constant attention from the firemen. It needed a broad, shallow fire to burn efficiently, and the traditional deep locomotive firebox simply didn’t allow that.

She had tried everything. Making the firebox deeper allowed for some spread, but it wasn’t enough. Spark arrestors, with their layers of perforated plates and baffles, helped control the excess smoke and embers, but the system was cumbersome, robbing the engines of much-needed draft. The locomotives were choking, and her patience was wearing thin.

But tonight, the solution had finally come to her. A new stack. Taller, with a diamond-shaped extension at the top. The wider base would encourage draft, while the narrowing throat would accelerate the flow of hot gases, giving the sluggish coal the air it needed to burn cleanly. The principle wasn’t entirely new—diamond stacks had been used before, but never quite like this. If her calculations were correct, this would finally make Thunder Mountain coal a viable fuel for their locomotives.

Pleased with her work, she rolled up the drawings, setting them aside on the table. Leaning back in her chair, she let out a long sigh, stretching her arms over her head.

Nothing second rate would be satisfactory in her eyes.

Keywords

female 1,092,991, wolf 194,212, canine 191,986, dog 173,385, balto 1,970, steampunk 1,328, mechanical 863, victorian 499, aleu 331, engineer 307, wolf/husky 69, balto 2: wolf quest 56, drafting 7

Details

Type: Picture/Pinup

Published: 5 days, 2 hrs ago

Rating: General

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