Live steam
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Live Steam is Steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam is used to operate stationary or moving equipment. See steam engine, steam locomotive, steam roller.
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The term also refers to a model locomotive that is powered by steam produced by boiling water. These models are differentiated from those that have the outward appearance of a steam locomotive but are actually powered by clockwork, electricity or another source other than steam.
Ridable, large scale Live Steam railroading is a popular, but time-consuming and/or expensive hobby. Hundreds, even thousands of outdoor tracks exist, especially in the UK and USA. They can be private, club or public. Examples: Los Angeles Live Steamers, and Train Mountain, which is the largest 7-1/2" track in the world, with over 25 miles/40 km of trackage.
A live steam locomotive is often an exact, handcrafted scale model. The ridable track gauges range from 2-1/2" to 15", the most popular being in the 4-3/4" to 7-1/2" range.
There are several common fuels used to boil water in live steam models:
- Solid fuel pellets - which produce relatively little heat but are cheap and relatively safe.
- Methylated spirit, (methanol/ethanol mixture) - which burns hotter than solid fuel, but is more dangerous.
- Butane gas - clean burning and safe, but relatively expensive to engineer the burners.
- Electricity - delivered via the track and used to boil the water in an immersion boiler - rare because it requires potentially dangerous currents passed through the track.
- Coal - which is the prototypical fuel for most full-sized steam locomotives, and the preferred fuel for ridable trains. It can be used on boliers down to at least 16mm:1 foot scale.
- Oil - also a popular fuel for large, ridable trains.
- Propane gas - an alternative to coal or oil in large-scale models.
A wide variety of boiler designs are available, ranging from simple externally fired pot boilers to sophisticated multi-flue internally fired boilers and superheater boilers usually found on larger, more expensive models.