What is smokestack lightnin'?

Subject: RE: What is smokestack lightnin'?
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Sep 14 - 12:30 AM

-"Smokestack lightning" refers to large plume of smoke, ash and spark created from sand being thrown into the engine where combustion occurred in either coal or wood fire steam engines. The practice was used to clean the build up of soot in the stack as hot air pulled the sand through and created a marvelous display for onlookers.

Subject: RE: What is smokestack lightnin'?
From: GUEST,Adam Rees
Date: 04 Oct 21 - 04:09 PM

When combustible partials rise up the chimney and burst into flames in a flash of fire. This is smokestack lightening.

Subject: RE: What is smokestack lightnin'?
From: HuwG
Date: 06 Oct 21 - 09:49 PM

Adam Rees Some time ago, (ten years or more) I saw a video on Youtube, entitled "6233 blasts Shap" or something like it. I can no longer find the exact track on Youtube and it may well have succumbed to "link rot".

6233 was the original number of the LMS locomotive "Duchess of Sutherland". The clip was taken by someone leaning out of a carriage window in horrible overcast weather, and showed "Duchess of Sutherland" hauling an enthusiasts' special train (the "Midday Scot"?) up Shap Fell, a notoriously steep gradient on the LMS West Coast main line at a record speed (for a steam locomotive).

Every so often, as the engine was obviously being flogged up the gradient, there was a distinct flash in the column of steam and smoke coming out of the Duchess's chimney. As you suggest, this may well have been unburned coal particles being dragged out of the fire by the powerful exhaust blast. Depending on the grade of coal used, I wonder if there may not also have been some bituminous volatiles from the coal.

The "Duchesses", by the way, were the LMS's and William Stanier's answer to the LNER's and Nigel Gresley's "A4" class which included the record-breaking "Mallard". One of the class, "Duchess of Abercorn", held the record for sustained drawbar horsepower, recording 2500 dhp on Shap and the equally stiff Beattock Bank in Scotland. The LMS was cheating a bit on this occasion, as there were two firemen in the cab. An "A4" briefly exceeded this horsepower, but they may have been cheating also, by "mortgaging the boiler", filling the boiler to the brim with water and piling the fire as high as possible before shutting off the injectors and closing the firehole door. With no cold air entering the firebox and no cold water entering the boiler, the engine could work at over 100% of nominal maximum horsepower for a short but exciting period.

Long discussion over. Suffice it to say that the "A4s" and "Duchesses" working flat out could easily produce a draught in the smokebox which could pull "everything but the grate bars" up the chimney.

Subject: RE: What is smokestack lightnin'?
From: GUEST,My opinion from Frank James (Jesse James bro
Date: 09 Feb 22 - 06:28 AM

This is a true story, Frank and Jesse James were outlaw “criminals” or what I like to call guys that did what they had to do to survive.
One say they robbed a bank in Northfield MN. They spilt up to lay low until the lawmen had something better to do.
My great great Grandma, and great grandmother and my great aunt from Germany (aunt came in the summers to visit) lived in either Meridian MN area (Waseca, Owatonna area) on a little hobby farm. One day a stranger showed up and asked if they could spare clean bandages water, food, and shelter. Said he was Passing thru on his way to a job in the south was shot, lost his horse to thieves, I want to say he had a leg wound, my great great grandmother cleaned up his injury, fed him, and offered shelter, this man tried to give her the equivalent of $1000 in todays money. She refused the money but said he could stay and recuperate, but she asked if he could do repairs to the home, barn and well pump. He ended up staying for a while, im not sure how long, but from the stories I heard I would guesstimate 2-3 months but I’m purely guessing, One day she went to look for him and saw him riding away on a horse with 2 others.
Now to the point she heard the term Smoke stack lightning from my great great aunt, she described him of having smoke stack lightening running thru his veins. I asked my grandmother what that meant, her definition was, the explosion of unbelievable power from a locomotive, and I have heard versions of that in songs, and other history books.


in 1978 i saw the note, envelope, and money he left, and over the years they found money stashed in the home and barn. My aunt from Germany drank alcohol like it was water and rumor had it Frank got a little hammered a few times……..
The note was short and sweet and said something like thank you for your help and for not and for not alerting the law Signed Frank James” all three knew he was one of the group that robbed the bank.


Technically the saying some stack lightening can mean whatever you want it to,
Old blues songs confirm a similar definition, thru out the years many Rock bands used the term, my favorite is THE CULT. If you like Rock from the 80’’s and earlier 1990.
I suggest reading these lyrics.



Main Results
Lyrics
Wound up, can't sleep, can't do anything right, little honey,
Oh, since I set my eyes on you
I tell you the truth
T-t-t-twistin' like a flame in a slow dance, baby
You're driving me crazy
Come on, little honey, come on now
Fire, smoke she is a rising
Fire, yeah smoke on the horizon
Fire, smoke she is a rising
Fire, oh smoke stack lightning, smoke stack lightning
Well, shake it up, you're to blame, got me swayin' little honey
My heart's a ball of burnin' flame
Oh, yes it is
Prancing like a cat on a hot tin shack,
Lord, have mercy come on little sister, come on and shake it
Fire, smoke she is a rising
Fire, oh smoke on the horizon
Fire, smoke she is a rising
Fire, oh smoke stack lightning baby
I was thinking what I've been missing
I'll tell you truthfully, well
She's coming close now
Oh, I can feel her
She's getting close to me
And I never, yeah
Fire, smoke, she is a rising
Fire, oh smoke on the horizon
Fire smoke, she is a a risin', risin', risin' fire
Smokestack lightnin'
Aj-j-j, burnin' out
And shake it, baby
Come on and burn it
I say, send down fire to me
Say, send down fire to me, say, send down fire to me, yeah
Fire woman, you're to blame
Fire woman, you're to blame
Fire woman, you're to blame
Fire woman, you're to blame
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Ian Robert Astbury / William Duffy / William Henry Duffy
Fire lyrics © Round Hill Music Big Loud Songs, Warner Chappell Music, Inc

Subject: RE: What is smokestack lightnin'?
From: HuwG
Date: 13 Nov 22 - 05:55 AM

Re. this post of a few years ago:

Found it! The Youtube video is 6233 Hauls 'The Royal Scot' into the record books. 2-10-10

Subject: RE: What is smokestack lightnin'?
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 13 Nov 22 - 06:17 AM

The Yardbirds with Eric Clapton did the best version !!!

Subject: RE: What is smokestack lightnin'?
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 13 Nov 22 - 08:06 AM

Yardbirds with Eric Clapton!