Material Safety Data Sheets

by Daris A. Nevil

17 October 2013

Safety should always be the number one concern of every Live Steamer. Over the past 100 years the scale of live steam equipment has increased, along with the potential risks and dangers. Boiler Inspections have long be part of the formula for operating live steam equipment safely.

Another area that should be considered is material safety. Both live steam locomotives and model diesels use fuels, lubricants, coolants and other chemicals that can have adverse effects if misused, spilled, or accidentally splashed in eyes or on skin. Emergency handling of these chemicals are spelled out in Material Safety Data Sheets.

Recently I put together a simple three ring binder with the MSDS of chemicals I use with my oil-fired steam locomotive and battery powered F9 diesel. These include the following:


 * Sapon-A-Max320 Green Velvet Steam Cylinder Oil
 * Gear Lubricant, SAE 90W
 * Terlyn LSB 8000 Locomotive Steam Boiler Water Treatment
 * Kerosene
 * Diesel Fuel, All Types
 * Lead Acid Battery Wet, Filled with Acid



This MSDS notebook travels along with me and my equipment to train meets. I keep the notebook in a roll-around carrier along with the chemicals.

I encourage you to take a few minutes to put together an MSDS notebook for your railroad. Keep it handy and review it periodically. Make sure others are made aware of the notebook and its whereabouts.

Here are some links to other useful MSDS:


 * Gasoline, Unleaded
 * Bituminous Coal
 * Class F Fly Ash from Bituminous Coal
 * Propane
 * Water (No, this is not an April Fool's joke)
 * Compressed Air