ashpan

1. (rail transport) A large pan below the grate and firebox of a steam locomotive.Examples: "They have been fitted with a complete rocking grate and a hopper ashpan so that the ashes can be released without the necessity for a man to go underneath the engine."; "A new ashpan has been fitted, however, with four bottom doors for self-emptying, and a rocking grate with twelve rocking sections."; "During the day conditions worsened quickly—for example, a 2-6-0 on the Uckfield line suddenly encountered flood water high enough to enter its ashpan and extinguish its fire—until lock gates up-river at Barcombe gave way and a tidal wave rolled down the valley meeting head-on a spring tide rolling up from the coast."