The far end of the furnace is an enclosed box called the combustion chamber which extends upwards to link up with the firetubes.
The front wall of the combustion chamber is supported against steam pressure by the tubes themselves. The rear face is stayed by rod stays through the rear shell of the boiler. Above the combustion chamber and tubes is an open steam collecting space. Larger long rod stays run the length of the boiler through this space, supporting the ends of the boiler shell.
With multiple furnaces, there is a separate combustion chamber for each furnace. A few small boilers did connect them into one chamber, but this design is weaker. A more serious problem is the risk of reversing the draught, where exhaust from one furnace could blow back and out of the adjacent one, injuring the stokers working in front of it.
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