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Hello everyone. I have been researching the Ashton Valve company, who from 1871 to the late 1980's produced safety valves, pressure gages, whistles, and other boiler related products for railroads, marine ships, and stationary boilers. The company was started by Henry G Ashton, (my great great grandfather), in 1871 after his "lock pop safety valve" became extremely popular as the first pop safety valve to actually work.  Through old articles and vintage advertisements, I'll tell the story of the company and it's  people and products. Some of you may already be familiar with the Ashton name and might have seen their safety valves or gages. I hope you find this interesting.

Here's a company history I put together.

https://gracesguide.co.uk/Ashton_Valve_Co

And some information about the founder, Henry G Ashton.

https://gracesguide.co.uk/Henry_George_Ashton

Last edited by Rick A
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In 1892 the company entered the gage market by purchasing the Boston Steam Gauge company. They even brought BSG's production supervisor along too. Attached is a copy of the letter sent to the Ashton customers notifying them of the acquisition. It wasn't long before the company's gages had the same reputation that the safety valves did.

Attachments

Images (6)
  • Ashton Valve Gauge Notice 1892    1: Letter to customers.
  • 1897 Practical running of an ice and refridgeration plant
  • circa 1895: 1895 catalog page
  • 1896: 1896 catalog page
  • 1896: 1896 catalog page
  • Ashton pressure gagae: From my collection

Most of the items produced by the company could be repaired. Repair parts were available for purchase and the company even offered a gage repair service. Other companies did this too and it's not too unusual to see "repaired by Ashton Valve" on the dial face. Companies would even repair other company's gages.

Attachments

Images (6)
  • Ashton gage catalog 1941
  • Ashton gage catalog 1941
  • #17    Railroad Instruction Book
  • #17  RR book
  • #17   RR book
  • #17    RR book

Boiler explosions are rarely caused by a faulty safety valve. Boilers are statically tested to pressures 25% above normal operating pressure.

Boiler explosions are typically caused by low water conditions which cause the crown sheet to fail.

Rick, you have attached a lot of good images to this thread. But you did not set them to DISPLAY within your posts. When you add attachments, be sure to click the button where it says “Include all images into post (large size).” That will place the image directly into the post. I did this for you in the post above this one.

Last edited by Rich Melvin
@Rick A posted:

The importance of a reliable safety valve.

Boiler explosion Germany

Baloney!!!!   Safety valves can not, and do not, prevent boiler explosions. Such is NOT the purpose of the safety valve. The safety valve/valves is/are designed to be an audible warning device to alert the operating crew that they have exceeded the designed maximum working pressure of their steam locomotive's boiler. Does anyone REALLY think that one, two, three, or even four 3" or 4" safety valves could prevent a boiler explosion on a C&O H-8, for example????

I'm attaching a page from an old Ashton catalog that I think may help in this discussion. I was always under the impression that the whole point of a pop safety valve was to relieve the boiler of excess steam, thereby preventing a possible explosion. I'm not an engineer so I will leave it up to others to come up with a definitive answer.1920 7

Attachments

Images (1)
  • 1920    7

Rick, you have attached a lot of good images to this thread. But you did not set them to DISPLAY within your posts. When you add attachments, be sure to click the button where it says “Include all images into post (large size).” That will place the image directly into the post. I did this for you in the post above this one.



Thanks Rich

@Rick A posted:

I'm attaching a page from an old Ashton catalog that I think may help in this discussion. I was always under the impression that the whole point of a pop safety valve was to relieve the boiler of excess steam, thereby preventing a possible explosion. I'm not an engineer so I will leave it up to others to come up with a definitive answer.1920 7

Just my opinion but, that is simply advertising/marketing baloney. There is no way that a safety valve can prevent a catastrophic boiler explosion (generally caused by low water and an exposed crown sheet) through such a small orifice when compared to the massive size of the boiler.

@Rick A posted:

Another interesting article about safety valves.

https://www.nationwideboiler.c...hat-why-and-how.html



I can see what you're saying Hot Water (great  name ,by the way, especially for this topic). Maybe safety valves cannot prevent all boiler explosions, but it seems to be a general understanding they can often prevent many of them by immediately relieving the pressure that could lead to an explosion.

Not really the main job of a safety valve. The design, number, and setting of a safety valve, or group of safety valves, is to limit the boiler pressure (and thus horsepower) into the machinery, i.e. the running gear.  

Hot Water

Principle is the same but it is true the BIGGEST cause of STEAM LOCOMOTIVE boiler explosions are LOW WATER. They will also explode if pressure gets too high which is the purpose of the safety Valve. Just a fact I was stating. Did not mean to cause confusion but it seems people were thinking the ONLY reason a steam locomotive can explode is low water and that is not true! Hence the comparison to a boiler in a house, factory or anywhere and a water heater.

Curtis

@CurtisH posted:

Hot Water

Principle is the same but it is true the BIGGEST cause of STEAM LOCOMOTIVE boiler explosions are LOW WATER. They will also explode if pressure gets too high which is the purpose of the safety Valve. Just a fact I was stating. Did not mean to cause confusion but it seems people were thinking the ONLY reason a steam locomotive can explode is low water and that is not true! Hence the comparison to a boiler in a house, factory or anywhere and a water heater.

Curtis

OK, but then why do "boilers" explode, even when equipped with safety valves?

Interesting thread on another long gone manufacturing company in the USA.  Got curious if their plant survived in Cambridge.  Part of it is still there, and look to be loft apartments.  Google Earth has a 3D rendering of the factory, with the smaller of the two buildings showing in 3D, but that part has been gone for quite a while.

Practical Machinist also has a nice thread about the plant:

https://www.practicalmachinist...alve-company-377044/

Rick, is that your thread over there?  If so, THANK YOU for all of the information that is there.  Now I'm off to search for the Winter Brothers Tap and Die building in Wrentham MA to see if it is still there.

Industrial archeology, a hobby in itself.    Combine it with an interest in model railroading, and there is all kinds of interesting information to digest.

Regards,

Jerry

Hi Frank,

All the color photos (except for the large wheel press recording gage, (too $$$), belong to me. All the B&W pages are from catalogs and old advertisements I have collected. I have the one whistle pictured. I wish I had a few more but they go for too much money for me. Maybe when I hit the lottery.....................

Many factories were purchased by the War Department during WWII and used to manufactures materials for the war effort. The Ashton Valve company was one of those. The continued to make gauges and safety valves, but now exclusively for Naval ships.

The Defense Plant Corporation was the branch of the government assigned to this task. Here's a link to more information about them and a couple of letters that show the Ashton Valve's involvement.

http://what-when-how.com/the-a...ant-corporation-dpc/

https://www.pbs.org/jessejones/jesse_ww2_2.htmWWll Defense #1WWll Defense#2

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Images (2)
  • WWll Defense #1
  • WWll Defense#2

7....Harry H Ashton Another son of the founder Henry Ashton. Harry was a saleman for the company and took over some internal duties after Albert Ashton passed in 1922

8....Frank Corbert  Involved in sales and known to have a "great singing voice". Singing seemed to be a common feature of

industry meetings back then.



.Harry H AshtonHarry Ashton 6Harry Ashton 7 Practical ngineer 1910Frank Corbett 4Frank Corbett 1 American Marine Engineer 1916

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Images (5)
  • Harry H Ashton
  • Harry Ashton  6
  • Harry Ashton  7 Practical ngineer  1910
  • Frank Corbett  4
  • Frank Corbett  1 American Marine Engineer 1916

Ashton marble or slate tablets.
An attractive way to display multiple gages on the wall of a boiler room. One of these was on ebay a few years ago. It weighed almost 500 pounds, being a large slab of 1" thick slate, and you had to pick it up.
Here's a description from the 1914 catalog. " These tablets, like those on the following pages, are some of the most attractive designs for gages, both as to neatness of appearance and economy of space. They can be furnished in any style of marble or slate desired, and the prices include the necessary acorn nuts and gage screws. Name plates and wall bolts are always extra."Ashton gauge tablet logo1914 791914 801914 811914 821914 831914 841914 851914 86

Attachments

Images (9)
  • Ashton gauge tablet logo
  • 1914    79
  • 1914    80
  • 1914    81
  • 1914    82
  • 1914    83
  • 1914    84
  • 1914    85
  • 1914    86

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