A heavy-duty reservoir mounted on a locomotive that stores dry silica sand used to increase wheel adhesion. The box feeds the sanders, which blow the grit directly onto the railhead just ahead of the driving wheels. Keeping the sandboxes full and completely dry is a critical daily servicing task, as wet sand will clump and block the delivery tubes.
Heard on the job
The hostler just filled the front sandbox, so we should have plenty of grip for the grade.
Do not mix it up with
- Sander: The sandbox stores the sand, while the sander is the pneumatic device that sprays it onto the rails.