r/trains • u/Dafishy4 • 5d ago

❓ Question Technical question…

So understanding the benefits and drawbacks of “double” or “twin” boiler setups and also understanding why the Stirling Single and double did and didn’t work, would they have benefited from doing a double boiler one stacked on the other with a heightened firebox? Or would the drawbacks still have outweighed the benefits if there were any? Wondering for a project I’m working on in Lego.

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u/OdinYggd 5d ago

The biggest problem with the sterling single was that the single set of huge drive wheels gave them poor traction despite the potential for high speeds relative to other designs. It wasn't an issue of steaming capacity, they were as good in that regard as other engines of the time.

It probably was possible to use a return flue boiler with one, or a feedwater preheater such as the franco-crosti that came a lot later. But at the time the focus was on making engines that worked well, coal was cheap and the technology evolving rapidly.