The electric pre-heating device considerably improves the operational readiness of steam locomotives. It offers the following advantages:

• Unattended, electric heating of a steam locomotive up to a boiler pressure of 10bar.
• Compensate the radiation losses to keep an engine in steam without attendance.
• Filling of boiler without having to open a wash-out plug.

In contrast to the conventional method with combustible fuels, the heating in this case is effected by means of an electric continuous-flow heater. The water is extracted from the locomotive boiler and flows to the circulation pump, which forces the water through the continuous flow heater and back into the boiler. The forced circulation results in an extremly homogeneous heat-up, because the boiler is heated from the water-side and thus has the same temperature overall (as opposed to the conventional method by which the firebox and boiler tubes have to be heated first, while the outer firebox and the cylindrical boiler shell are still cold). The electric pre-heating device heats the boiler water slowly to the temperature preset on the thermostat and keeps it constant.

Our electric preheating devices have a standard power of 20 or 40 kW.Other ratings on request.

The pictures show the 25 kW version during the heating of an old coal-fired steam locomotive. The smoke- and noiseless heating is very much appreciated by the nearby residents.