Steam from engine house

[Larry Sullivan]

So here's a curiosity question. This morning I turned on the webcam feeds around 6:15am local time, just got home from work and it's a habit to get on the computer, check emails and see what's happening 2000 miles away in Chama. Really enjoy that peaceful morning look, sometimes watching the deer stroll through, other times just watching a couple locomotives quietly percolate away.
This morning when I first started watching there was a very large cloud of white (I'll assume steam) coming from the back of the engine house, really kind of alarming at first glance, but realizing it was all white, and I saw one of the normal workers pickup trucks calmly drive in, so wasn't worried it was anything major. Anyway my question -- it appeared that perhaps the loco inside was being blown down (I think that's the right words for it), and the wind perhaps strong enough that it was just blowing all the steam out the back doors. I've seen the blow downs under steam traveling before, but wondering if they would do this in the engine house, and that's the cause of this vast steam cloud? It cleared up and back to a normal peaceful morning scene after about 10 minutes or so. Just appeared as if there was a flow of steam from near the front of the engine.

Thanks to whoever can provide an answer! Hope all had a great July 4th weekend.

[Rich Murray]

I saw that too, a quick guess and only a guess. The engine was on the south side parked over the drainage grid and was being washed/hosed down

[Larry Sullivan]

Thanks Rich, that sounds like a reasonable guess, and the morning coolness probably increases the steam. Hard to think of morning coolness when it's already a humid 80 here at 9am local.

[Rich Murray]

That Chama weather bug looks better every day don't it? I'm about a thousand or more miles north of you (Penna) and at 9:00 we were just 2 degrees behind you and HUMID. Of course we could be in Spring, Texas :) so I shouldn't complain.

[Jason Rose]

Of course we could be in Spring, Texas :) so I shouldn't complain.

Yup. It ain't been much fun and there's 3 more months to come.

[Blake Bogs]

Since when is 107 outside not fun....
Enjoy
Blake

[Bill Hoss]

I didn't see the event you're talking about, but I watched an engine being blown down at this end of the engine house about a week ago. I believe 30 day boiler washouts are still required for in service steam locomotives. I was surprised how fast it was back under steam again and moving in just couple of hours. Is there a hot well or other system on site to provide hot water/steam to speed up the steaming up process of an engine that's already hot?

Bill in MO