petticoat pipe

English

Noun

petticoat pipe (plural petticoat pipes)

1. (rail transport) A short, flaring pipe surrounding the blast nozzle in the smokebox of a locomotive, to equalize the draft.
   • 1962 February, “Letters to the Editor: The Giesel oblong ejector”, in Modern Railways, page 143, letter from W. A. Tuplin:

     The ordinary blast-nozzle and petticoat pipe properly proportioned for any British locomotive can make it produce 30 d.b.h.p./sq ft of grate continuously with a blast-pipe pressure 4 lb/sq in. above atmospheric pressure.

References

• “petticoat pipe”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “petticoat”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.