13:13

Welcome to Railway Forum!
Welcome!

Thank you for finding your way to Railway Forum, a dedicated community for railway and train enthusiasts. There's a variety of forums, a wonderful gallery, and what's more, we are absolutely FREE. You are very welcome to join, take part in the discussion, and post your pictures!

Click here to go to the forums home page and find out more.
Click here to join.


Go Back   Railway Forum > Diesel & Electric > Diesel & Electric Discussion

Diesel "clag" ?

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 25th November 2021, 17:09
pre65's Avatar
pre65 pre65 is offline  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Ashen-North Essex/Suffolk borders.
Posts: 3,557
Images: 93
Diesel "clag" ?

It seems diesel loco fans, particularly heritage locos, are rather fond of "clag".

That is the dense black smoke that can be exhausted when the said loco is under load.

As this black diesel fog is likely to be carcinogenic, should we be concerned ? More so because of the current climate change discussions.

Or, am I just an old fart being a killjoy ?


__________________
Philip.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 26th November 2021, 15:07
D.O.G.F.A.N.'s Avatar
D.O.G.F.A.N. D.O.G.F.A.N. is offline  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Salford
Posts: 770
Images: 545
To the best of my knowledge the CLAG is Carbon Monoxide, mixed with all sorts of nasties from the internal combustion process.
Carbon monoxide is short-lived in the atmosphere (with an average lifetime of about one to two months), and spatially variable in concentration.
There is no mention in Wiki as to this gas having carcinogenic properties, although it will kill you in certain circumstances. Just ask any canary who worked down the pit. The gas enters the blood stream some 200 times faster than Oxygen.
Best try to avoid it is my tip.☠☠☠☠
Stuart.

Last edited by D.O.G.F.A.N.; 27th November 2021 at 07:46.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 26th November 2021, 20:44
TRP's Avatar
TRP TRP is offline  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Hastings & St Leonards
Posts: 5,069
Images: 2865
Quote:
Originally Posted by D.O.G.F.A.N. View Post
Best try to avoid it is my tip.☠☠☠☠
Stuart����
Do you mean avoid clag, or diesels altogether??!!

Tony
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 26th November 2021, 22:00
Beeyar Wunby's Avatar
Beeyar Wunby Beeyar Wunby is offline  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: NW Norfolk
Posts: 830
Images: 4
Quote:
Originally Posted by D.O.G.F.A.N. View Post
There is no mention in Wiki as to this gas having carcinogenic properties, although it will kill you in certain circumstances. Just ask any canary who worked down the pit. The gas enters the blood stream some 200 times faster than Oxygen.
Best try to avoid it is my tip
As an ex-firefighter, I was taught that Carbon Monoxide is EXTREMELY POISONOUS. It grabs onto the Haemoglobin in the blood and forms CarboxyHaemoglobin - preventing the usual arrangement where oxygen from the lungs binds with Haemoglogin to form OxyHaemoglobin. This will lead to unconsciousness and eventually death. Once it's in your bloodstream it's hard to get out.

The giveaway symptom is drowsyness, together with a 'cherry red' complexion - the victim looks very healthy, but is in fact in great danger.

However this rarely occurs in the open because it should dissipate into the air. It's in enclosed spaces like sheds and cellars where it can build up.

I'm led to believe that modern internal combustion engines don't produce significant amounts of CO, due in part of the catalytic converter scrubbing it.

However this is all from memory when I was a lad, back in the 1980s. The world was very different then.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 27th November 2021, 07:53
D.O.G.F.A.N.'s Avatar
D.O.G.F.A.N. D.O.G.F.A.N. is offline  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Salford
Posts: 770
Images: 545
Quote:
Originally Posted by TRP View Post
Do you mean avoid clag, or diesels altogether??!!

Tony
Don’t want to upset anyone Tony, but it’s definitely one of the above.
Stuart.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 27th November 2021, 22:45
swisstrains's Avatar
swisstrains swisstrains is offline  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: England
Posts: 4,149
Images: 538
Although it will be present in the exhaust fumes Carbon Monoxide is colourless. The visible "clag" will be mostly caused by inefficient combustion of the fuel and many of the hydrocarbon components that are blended to make up this fuel are carcinogenic.
__________________
John …….My Railwayforum Gallery
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 28th November 2021, 10:40
hereward hereward is offline  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: South Staffs
Posts: 418
Images: 1
We were told, when I worked in a coal mine, you didn't have to worry about whitedamp (CO), you would be dead before you realised it was present.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 24th December 2021, 00:32
aussiesteve's Avatar
aussiesteve aussiesteve is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Bathurst
Posts: 577
Images: 173
I remember a conversation about various machinery exhaust fumes.
And, carcinogenic substances involved in construction and transport.
Asbestos being one of the more dastardly.
There was an electric loco in the USA which had an oil bath transformer.
Cleaning that proved to be very carcinogenic for maintenance staff.
BUT, I was told that of all the chemicals, including those in exhaust fumes, the WORST found on weasels was Aflok (not sure how to spell it being a company title).
Pink coloured Aflok had heaps of heavy elements in it to prevent corrosion in the loco donk water cooling supply.
Part of loco prep was to open the water tank level sight gauge to drain out the sight glass.
Then shut to view the water level appear to ensure sufficient water supply existed.
So, we got it on our hands every day.
I guess that with any technology, there will always be something which later proves to be nasty.
Leaded paint, leaded petrol, DDT, and so on.
BUT, as to weasel exhaust fumes, GOTTA LUV Aussie Alco black plumes erupting from the exhaust stack.
Honorary soot belchers.
Just hold year breath when it stomps past.
Steve.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 24th December 2021, 21:51
DSY011's Avatar
DSY011 DSY011 is offline  
Station Manager
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: BRISTOL U.K.
Posts: 4,464
Images: 547
Standing on the top of the front water tender of a Garratt, while taking on water, and the driver shovels a few lumps of coal into the box, we would get a good coating of smoke and all the other muck mixed in with it. Still, I don't think it was much worse than the 20 I used to smoke a day. Between the 1/- pack of 20 fags and the smoke from the firebox, how the hell am I still alive?
__________________
The Old Git, Syd
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 25th December 2021, 00:13
aussiesteve's Avatar
aussiesteve aussiesteve is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Bathurst
Posts: 577
Images: 173
TUT tut Syd,
20 a day would cost you an absolute fortune here now days.
And finding the ciggy pack in yer soot covered overalls would be a challenge.
Packs of ciggies here painted BLACK to infer the gunge going into yer lungs.
They built railroaders tough in the good ole days.
That be why you is still above ground.
I gave that caper away a goodly 30 years ago.
But had to still put up with the passive smoke, NO not from a beloved aussie alco, in the cab.
Getting the OLD Blokes to give up the ciggies on the footplate was a challenge when such became illegal in the workplace.
YOU smoked Winfield RED, one of the worst, they would bark back at me.
AH the good ole days.
Steve.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 13:13.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.