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{{Short description|Locomotive powered by a reservoir of superheated steam or compressed air.}}
[[File:Kaukas7.jpg|thumb|Finnish fireless locomotive showing typical configuration. Note the fitting at the front of the tank for refilling.]]
[[File:0-4-0-engine.JPG|thumb|Preserved [[H.K. Porter, Inc.]] No. 3290 of 1923 powered by compressed air]]
A '''fireless locomotive''' is a type of [[locomotive]] which uses [[reciprocating engine]]s powered from a reservoir of [[Pneumatics|compressed air]] or steam, which is filled at intervals from an external source. They offer advantages over conventional [[steam locomotive]]s of lower cost per unit, cleanliness, and decreased risk from fire or [[boiler explosion]]; these are counterbalanced by the need for a source to refill the locomotive, and by the limited range afforded by the reservoir.

They were desirable in situations where smoke from a [[Firebox (steam engine)|firebox]] would be too noxious, or where there was risk of fire or explosion. Typical usage was in a mine, or a food or chemical factory. They were also used where a source of air or steam was readily available, and for moving loads within limited areas, such as a switch yard or within an industrial factory. 

They were eventually replaced for most uses by [[diesel locomotive|diesel]] and [[Battery locomotive|battery electric]] locomotives fitted with protective appliances; these are described as '''flame-proof''' locomotives.<ref name="IRS 15EL">{{irs-el |el=15}}</ref> They still have some limited use at factories that produce large amounts of excess steam and where the tasks of the locomotive do not require it to move far from the steam source.

==History==
[[File:FLEURY CCCC - Locomotive sans foyer, système Lamm Franck pour chemin de fer sur route, construite en 1888.JPG|thumb|Lamm & Francq fireless tram engine, 1888]]
[[Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet|John Fowler]] attempted to make a "hot brick" locomotive for the London [[Metropolitan Railway]], but trials in 1861-1862 demonstrated that the idea was not yet mature, and this embarrassing failure was [[Retronym|later nicknamed]] [[Fowler's Ghost]].

An early application of the fireless locomotive was to [[Tram|street tramways]] in the United States. [[Emile Lamm]] developed two types of fireless locomotive,<ref>{{US patent|125577}}</ref><ref>{{US patent|105581}}</ref> one using [[ammonia]] and the other using stored steam.<ref name="The Streetcars of New Orleans">{{Cite book |title=The Streetcars of New Orleans |author=Louis C. Hennick |author2=Elbridge Harper Charlton |date = 1965 |publisher =Pelican Publishing |isbn=9781455612598 |pages =14–16 }}</ref> Lamm founded two companies, ''Ammonia & Thermo-Specific Propelling Company of America'' in 1872 and (with Sylvester L. Langdon) ''[[Lamm Fireless Engine Company]]'' in 1874.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oAgxzQPeAjwC&q=Lamm+%26+Francq&pg=PA52 | title=St. Charles Streetcar, The: Or, the New Orleans & Carrollton Railroad| isbn=9781879714021| last1=Guilbeau| first1=James| date=2011-01-31| publisher=Pelican Publishing Company}}</ref> [[Lamm's fireless engine]]s were briefly popular, both in the United States and in France, but were soon displaced by [[electric tram]]s. The French locomotives were built in association with [[:fr:Léon Francq|Leon Francq]], under the name ''Lamm & Francq''.

The fireless system then gained a new lease of life for industrial [[Switcher locomotive|shunting locomotives]]. Any factory which possessed a stationary boiler could use it to charge a fireless steam locomotive for internal shunting operations. Fireless shunting locomotives became especially popular in Germany and some remained in service into the 1960s. Fireless industrial shunters were usually of the [[0-4-0]] or [[0-6-0]] wheel arrangement but some [[0-8-0]]s were built, by companies including [[Heisler locomotive|Heisler]]. Pennsylvania Power and Light "D", in the gallery below, is an example of an 0-8-0 fireless Heisler locomotive.<ref name="DK">{{cite book|title=Train: The Definitive Visual History|publisher=Penguin|isbn=9781465436580|page=157|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LrWBBAAAQBAJ&q=0-8-0+fireless+locomotive&pg=PA157|access-date=4 April 2017|language=en|date=October 2014}}</ref>

As of 2020, fireless locomotives were used for shunting the heavy coal hopper trains for the thermal power station in the German town of [[Mannheim]].

==Motive power types==

=== Steam ===
[[File:Fireless steam locomotive being recharged.jpg|thumb|Fireless steam locomotive being recharged with high-pressure steam at [[Leicester]] [[power station]] in 1967]]
A fireless steam locomotive is similar to a conventional [[steam locomotive]], but has a reservoir, known as a [[steam accumulator]], instead of a [[boiler]].  This reservoir is charged with [[superheated water]] under pressure from a stationary boiler. The engine works like a conventional [[steam engine]] using the high pressure steam above the water in the accumulator. As the steam is used and pressure drops, the superheated water boils, replacing the used steam. The locomotive can work like this until the pressure has dropped to a minimum useful level or the water runs out, after which it must be recharged.

European fireless steam locomotives usually have the cylinders at the back, while American ones often have the cylinders at the front, as in a conventional locomotive.  Major builders of fireless steam locomotives in the UK included [[Andrew Barclay Sons & Co.|Andrew Barclay]] and [[W. G. Bagnall]].

===Compressed air===
Outside Switzerland the first locomotive to run on [[Compressed-air vehicle|compressed air]] was built in 1890, and by 1895, the basic principles of efficient compressed air engines had been developed. A particularly important engineering breakthrough was the development of the reducing and stop valve which maintains a uniform pressure of air to the engine, even as the pressure in the storage tank reduces with use.<ref name=Sinclair>{{cite book |title=Development of the locomotive engine |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924003627167 |last=Sinclair |first=Angus |date=1907 |publisher=Angus Sinclair Publishing Company}}</ref> Compressed air locomotives have been used for many years, mainly in [[Mining|mines]],<ref>See "Compressed Air Locomotives", Baldwin Locomotive Works Record of Recent Construction No. 46 (1904).</ref> but have also been used on [[Tramway (industrial)|tramways]].  (See [[Mekarski system]])

=== Hybrid ===
Several [[hybrid locomotive]]s have been built that have either used a fire for part of the time, e.g., [[Fowler's Ghost]] of London's [[Metropolitan Railway|Metropolitan]] in 1861, or have used a fire to [[Superheater|superheat]] stored steam, such as the Receiver Locomotives built by [[Sentinel Waggon Works]].  None has been a success.

==Wheel arrangements==

Most fireless locomotives have been of [[0-4-0]] or [[0-6-0]] wheel arrangement but there have been some [[0-8-0]] and even a few [[0-10-0]].  Some {{RailGauge|600mm}} gauge 0-10-0 fireless locomotives from the German company [[Henschel & Son|Henschel]] were used in the construction of the [[Baghdad Railway]], probably to avoid the risk of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] during the boring of tunnels.<ref>[http://www.trainsofturkey.com/w/pmwiki.php/Network/CilicianGates Cilician Gates], accessed 2007-09-14</ref>

Another German company, [[Hohenzollern Locomotive Works|Hohenzollern]], built some [[Articulated locomotive|articulated]] fireless steam locomotives with a cab at each end.  Only one of the [[bogie]]s was powered, making the wheel arrangement [[AAR wheel arrangement#B-2|B-2]].

The Chemins de fer de L'Ouest in France also built compressed air locomotives with [[Bo'Bo'#B'B|B'B]] wheel arrangements for the Meudon Tunnel in the early 1900s, despite being quite similar to diesel and electric locomotives, both in wheel arrangement and in having a cab at each end, they did not seem to be successful and were all scrapped by 1910, being replaced by simpler electric locomotives. <ref>[http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/LOCOLOCO/ouestair/ouestair.htm]</ref>

==Current use==
Regular steam traction became obsolete in the 1950s in the United States, and throughout the 1960s to 1990s in Europe, and was largely replaced by diesel or electric traction.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}} However, fireless steam has its merits, especially where there is an abundant cheap source of steam, such as in industrial sites, at [[thermal power station]]s or refuse [[incineration|incineration plants]], where fireless steam locomotives are used for shunting at very low cost.

As they do not emit any exhaust except steam, they can shunt into buildings without endangering the workforce with noxious fumes.

Considering that shunting locomotives are typically working for only about 10% of the time, 90% waiting for work; a [[diesel locomotive]], idling most of the time, burns too much fuel while producing nothing.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.zhaw.ch/storage/engineering/ueber-uns/veranstaltungen/energie-und-umweltapero/2013/1303_Dampfspeicher_Waller.pdf |title=presentation at Zurich University of Applied Sciences/ZHAW{{!}}ZHAW Winterthur|date=2013-03-13|access-date=2020-11-20 |language=de}}</ref> A well insulated modern steam accumulator can preserve pressure over many hours, but is nevertheless ready to provide tractive effort immediately. Thus the operating cost of a fireless steam shunter can be far less than that of a comparable diesel, is an environmentally-friendly alternative to the internal combustion engine.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fireless technology|url=https://dlm-ag.ch/en/fireless-technology/|access-date=2021-10-05|website=DLM - MODERN STEAM|language=en-GB}}</ref>

Fireless locomotives are also safer to operate than conventional steam locomotives, aside from the elimination of ignition hazards. The primary cause of a locomotive [[boiler explosion]] is the depletion of boiler water, through inattention or excessive use, exposing the [[crown sheet]] directly to the flames of the firebox without the cooling effect of the water covering, weakening it to the point of failure. A fireless locomotive eliminates this danger—if it runs out of sufficient water, it simply ceases to move—although precautions must be taken as with any other [[pressure vessel]]. Furthermore, they do not require careful monitoring of water levels and boiler pressure, or careful distribution of coal in the firebox for efficient combustion, and thus can be operated by less-skilled staff, not requiring a fully qualified locomotive engineer and fireman.

===Germany===
Several locomotive builders produced fireless engines throughout the 20th century. [[Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works]] was still building them in the 1980s. Some fireless locomotives are in daily use even in 2021. One example is the large [[coal-fired power station]] in [[Mannheim]] where coal is delivered by rail in long trains of self-discharging hopper wagons. Three fireless engines are used to shunt the hoppers on the premises of the power station.

[[East Germany]], preferring to use its abundant supply of [[lignite]] to imported fuel, used fireless engines extensively. A series of 200 fireless locomotives was built at [[Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works|RAW Meiningen]] as late as the 1980s.

===Indonesia===
In 1882, the steam tramway in Batavia (Jakarta) ''Nederlands-Indische Tramweg Maatschappij'' started this traction with a series of 20 fireless engines, supplied by the German Hohenzollern with the track gauge 1188 and the serial numbers 244 to 263, labeled as ''I'' to ''XX''.

In 2017, Semboro sugar mill in [[Jember]], East Java<ref>{{Cite web|title=Semboro's steamy fireless locos|url=https://www.internationalsteam.co.uk/trains/fireless.htm|access-date=2021-10-05|website=www.internationalsteam.co.uk}}</ref> used two fireless locomotives due to the presence of flammable [[bagasse]]. The locos were built by [[Orenstein & Koppel]] in Germany in 1928 and 1929<ref>{{Cite web|title=Industrial Steam Locomotives of Java|url=https://www.internationalsteam.co.uk/trains/javalist.htm|access-date=2021-10-05|website=www.internationalsteam.co.uk}}</ref> and were used for shunting inside the mill.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/3pTam3qi2J4 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200424163833/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pTam3qi2J4&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pTam3qi2J4| title = 2017 Java Steam & Sugar Tour: Semboro Fireless Locomotives | website=[[YouTube]]| date = 14 September 2017 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Pagottan sugar mill in [[Madiun]], also in East Java used three [[Luttermöller axle]] locomotives, numbered 6, 7 and 8. These were conventional steam locomotives that were converted to fireless operation in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Steam in Java 2011|url=https://www.internationalsteam.co.uk/trains/java11.htm|access-date=2021-10-05|website=www.internationalsteam.co.uk}}</ref>

===Switzerland===
[[File:CompressedAirLocomotive Section1 AdolpheBraun1811to1877.jpg|thumb|Locomotive used in the construction of the Gotthard Rail Tunnel]]
The 15&nbsp;km [[Gotthard Tunnel]] construction (1872–82), introduced compressed-air locomotives.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alpine railroad tunnels |title=Saint Gotthard Tunnel |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Gotthard-Tunnel-railway-tunnel-Switzerland |website=railway tunnel, Switzerland |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=20 February 2020}}</ref>

Switzerland had used older fireless engines in industry, such as breweries, which were taken out of use in the 20th century. In the 21st century the steam company Dampflokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik<ref name="DLM-AG">{{cite web |last1=Dampflokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik |title=Presentation of DLM's fireless locomotives at Schaffhausen |url=https://dlm-ag.ch/en/presentation-of-dlms-fireless-locomotives-at-schaffhausen/ |website=dlm-ag.ch |date=2010-09-07|access-date=2020-11-20}}</ref> refurbished two locomotives of the German ''Meiningen'' type and modernised them for use on industrial sidings.

==Preservation==
Numerous examples have been preserved across the world.

===Germany===
The German Wikipedia has a list of steam accumulator locomotives preserved in that country.
It includes over 100 preserved fireless engines, 8 of them operational.<ref>[[:de:Liste in Deutschland vorhandener Dampfspeicherlokomotiven]] List over fireless locomotives in Germany (in German)</ref>

===Mexico===
The Mexico City railroad museum has a fireless steam locomotive [[Davenport Locomotive Works|Davenport]] no. 013 "Sin Fuego". It was a donated by [[Pemex]] and operated from 1940s – 1990s at the 18 de marzo refinery.<ref name=notimex>{{cite news|title=Llega locomotora "sin fuego" al Museo de los Ferrocarrileros|url=http://www.periodicoenfoque.com.mx/2014/08/llega-locomotora-sin-fuego-al-museo-de-los-ferrocarriles/|access-date=10 January 2018|agency=NOTIMEX|publisher=Enfoque|date=4 August 2014}} (in Spanish)</ref>

===South Africa===
The Electricity Supply Commission of South Africa (ESKOM) has preserved two fireless steam locomotives. They are [[W. G. Bagnall|Bagnall]] 0-6-0F no. 2571 of 1937 and [[Hawthorne Leslie]] 0-4-0F no. 3858 of 1935.

===United Kingdom===
One notable example is "Lord Ashfield" ([[Andrew Barclay & Sons Co.|Andrew Barclay]] works no. 1989 of 1930) at the [[Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester]]. It ran in limited service in the 1990s sharing a steam supply with the stationary exhibits.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20241211055252/http://www.mywarrington.me.uk/peter_tracks_65_lord_ashfield_msi_3-11-91.jpg Photo of ''Lord Ashfield'' 'in steam'.] (Accessed 14 Feb 2008)</ref>

The [[Scottish Industrial Railway Centre|Ayrshire Railway Preservation Group]] has rebuilt its [[Andrew Barclay & Sons Co.|Andrew Barclay]] 0-4-0 fireless locomotive (Works Number 1952 of 1928).  The engine returned to service in 2015, and operates as part of a demonstration freight train.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Selection of Standard Gauge Locomotives in the ARPG Collection |url=http://www.scottishindustrialrailwaycentre.org.uk/locomotives-standard-gauge/4591665913 |website=Scottish Industrial Railway Centre |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326155958/http://www.scottishindustrialrailwaycentre.org.uk/locomotives-standard-gauge/4591665913 |archive-date=26 March 2016}}</ref>

===United States===
The North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer has a fireless steam locomotive, the North Carolina Power and Light #3 0-4-0.

Three [[National Cash Register]] 0-4-0 fireless switchers have been preserved: one at [[Carillon Historical Park]] in [[Dayton, Ohio]],<ref>{{cite web|title=The Little Engines that Could|url=http://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/little.html|author=Young, Roz|date=October 20, 1990|website=Dayton History Books}}</ref> one at the [[Southeastern Railway Museum]] in [[Duluth, Georgia]], and one at the National Museum of Transportation in Kirkwood, Missouri.

Pennsylvania Power and Light "D", an 0-8-0 switcher, is preserved in the [[Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania]].

Union Electric Company 4, a 0-4-0 is preserved in the Illinois Railway Museum of Union Illinois.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.irm.org/cgi-bin/rsearch.cgi?steam=Union+Electric+Company=4 |title=IRM Roster - Union Electric Company 4 |access-date=2014-05-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201220050/http://www.irm.org/cgi-bin/rsearch.cgi?steam=Union+Electric+Company=4 |archive-date=2016-12-01 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, an 0-6-0 built by the H.K. Porter Company, is preserved in the Mad River and NKP Railroad Museum in Bellevue, Ohio<ref>{{Cite web|title = Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum|url = http://madrivermuseum.org|website = madrivermuseum.org|access-date = 2015-08-23}}</ref>

North American Rayon Company, 1936 H.K. Porter Company, 0-6-0F Fireless Locomotive, [[Elizabethton, Tennessee]]. The locomotive was called "The Pot".  This rare fireless locomotive was built in 1936 for the North American Rayon Company (N.A.R.C.) of Elizabethton. Its steam was supplied from a large reservoir located inside of the N.A.R.C. plant. Fireless locomotives were used in industrial situations where there was an increased risk of fire. N.A.R.C. made Rayon, which is a highly flammable material. The locomotive retired from service in 1992 and it is possibly the last fireless locomotive to be retired from service in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.steamcentral.com/archive/arch00q1.shtml|title = Archive - First Quarter 2000 News - SteamCentral}}</ref> N.A.R.C. shutdown in 2000 and donated "The Pot" to the Carter County Chamber of Commerce and is on public display in Elizabethton, Tennessee.
<ref>{{cite web|title=The Pot 0-6-0F Fireless Locomotive|url = http://www.cartercountyhistory.com/narc-steam-engine-the-pot.html}}</ref>

Connecticut Coke Company 3, a 1930 H.K. Porter Company 0-4-0F, is owned by the [[Valley Railroad (Connecticut)|Valley Railroad]] and is currently on display at the Westbrook (CT) Outlet Mall.<ref>{{Cite web|title=H.K. Porter Company 0-4-0F|url=https://friendsvrr.org/project/h-k-porter-company-0-4-0f/|access-date=2020-12-29|website=Friends of the Valley Railroad|language=en-US}}</ref>

The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum in Calera, AL has a recently cosmetically restored 0-4-0 Davenport on display. 

{{Gallery
|title=Preserved fireless locomotives
|width=200
|height=150
|File:Dampfspeicherlok DLM 002-2.jpg|Fireless engine 002 of [[Dampflokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik DLM|DLM]], ready for industrial use at a demonstration in [[Schaffhausen]] 2010
|File:Henschel24939-1952.jpg|[[Henschel]] fireless engine filling steam at the power station [[Mannheim]]
|File:Fireless locomotive.jpg|[[Andrew Barclay & Sons Co.|Andrew Barclay]] [[0-6-0]]  ''South of Scotland Electricity Board, No. 1'' at [[Glasgow Museum of Transport]]
|File:RR72.20.1A PP&L Fireless No. 4094-D Front Side.JPG|Pennsylvania Power and Light "D" at the [[Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania]]
|File:Dampfspeicherlokomotive Suedkabel 120 anagoria.JPG|Fireless steam locomotive at railroad museum Bochum Dahlhausen, Germany
|File:Промышленный бестопочный паровоз № 9305 (1).jpg|Industrial fireless locomotive No.9305 on display at [[Varshavsky railway station]], [[St.Petersburg]]. Built in Germany in 1928
|File:Locomotive Bankhead AB.jpg|Compressed air locomotive at [[Bankhead, Alberta]], Canada, formerly used in coal mining
|File:Museo de los ferrocarrileros 5 - panoramio.jpg|Fireless steam locomotive [[Davenport Locomotive Works|Davenport]] no. 013 "Sin Fuego" at Mexico City railroad museum 
|File:NARC 0-6-0F Locomotive.jpg|North American Rayon Corp 0-6-0F Fireless Locomotive
}}

==See also==
* [[Advanced steam technology]]
* [[Bagnall fireless locomotives (preserved)]]
* [[List of fireless steam locomotives preserved in Britain]]
* [[List of steam technology patents]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Fireless locomotives}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080217153630/http://www.nrhs.com/web_exclusives/fireless_cooker/ Fireless locomotives in the United States]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070319090212/http://home.arcor.de/steffenhartwich/InhaltDampf.htm Fireless locomotives in Germany]
* [http://arpg.org.uk Ayrshire Railway Preservation Group]
* [http://www.brc-stockbook.co.uk/fireless.htm History of fireless locomotives (Buckinghamshire Railway Centre)] – ''plus links to two locomotives''
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhmulFrni4U Andrew Barclay 0-6-0 fireless locomotive at Dunaskin, East Ayrshire]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fireless Locomotive}}
[[Category:Steam vehicles]]
[[Category:Steam locomotive types]]
[[Category:Energy storage]]
[[Category:Fireless steam locomotives| ]]