Nudge Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I know the SP had their own "Water Service" and
> had treatment plants around the system. They did
> have a baseball type compound they dumped into the
> tenders at big terminals when the boilers were
> full of crap.
>
> Also, they had notices where NOT to take water
> unless it was an emergency.
>
> Anybody?
>
>
> Nudge

Back in the days of steam, virtually every single railroad in the U.S. had "Water Service Employees", and the largest roads with some of the worst water had huge quantities of those Water Service folks, including the support laboratories. Nalco Chemical Co. was probably the largest supplier of all sorts of chemicals for boiler water treatment, as well as cleaning supplies (Okite was another big chemical supplier).

Railroads with the worst water, were constantly testing and treating the water in their larger servicing facilities, plus performing boiler washes more often than the ICC required. For example, the UP in North Platte, Council Bluffs, Cheyenne and most of the servicing facilities in the Great Plains area, eventually began performing boiler washes on their larger locomotives, ever 15 days, instead of the ICC required every 30 days.

Many locomotives assigned to those more critical areas, had bags go the "Nalco Balls" stored up on the top of the tender, for additional treatment when water had to be taken from particularly "bad water" locations. The Fireman would thus add the "Nalco Balls" per published instructions for such areas.

People today tend to overlook the HUGE number of Water Service employees that were required for the operation of steam locomotives, and who's jobs were essentially eliminated with the advent of diesels, i.e. it wasn't just the Firemen and Boilermakers that lost their jobs!