Steam and the Steam Engine (page 1/3)

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[Festiniog Railway Locomotive]

“In the example here given, the engine is on two trucks [bogies]. The one end can be turned so that the double sets of wheels are not in the same straight line. In practice it is found that bogie carriages bring a great strain on curves. In the “Little Wonder,” which works on the Festiniog Railway [in Wales], constructed to a gauge of 1 ft. 11½ in., or the two foot gauge, the boiler is double, with two fire boxes, two barrels and two sets of tubes, [more...] [$]

331.—Switches and Crossings

Railway points, or railroad switches? Some people say that, strictly speaking, the points are the thin ends of the movable rails, but the two terms are used interchangeably, with points being more common today in Britain and switches in the US. [more...] [$]

Fish-plating of rails

The diagram shows a joint between two railway [US: railroad] rails from the side (on the left) and also a cross-section of the rail. The wooden sleeper (US: tie) is shown in cross-section in both cases and is marked “S”. Each rail has two holes going through it, and the [...] [more...] [$]

Plate I.—Section of Locomotive Engine

This is a cross-section through a steam engine (i.e. a railway locomotive, or a railroad engine as they say in North America). The description is a little hard to follow, so I made a [...]in colour to make them stand out. The description (also reproduced there) is as follows: [more...] [$]

Sharp, Brothers, And Co.’s Engine

“The annexed illustration will give a much better idea of the locomotive engine and boiler than the last one.” (p. 241) [more...] [$]