Railway

Railway

Relating to the infrastructure developed for the transport of trains.

Contributors in Railway

Railway

The means of getting fresh water into the boiler from the tank before injectors became common from the 1860s. Pumps could be worked off an extension of the piston rod, the engine crosshead or from an ...

Feed water heating

Transportation; Railway

Various means of pre-heating the water supplied to the boiler were tried over the 125 years of steam locomotive development. In 1854 Joseph Beattie of the London & South Western Railway introduced a ...

Fell system

Transportation; Railway

A system which allows locomotives to climb gradients at or over the limit of adhesion by means of a central third rail. The locomotives are equipped with a second set of cylinders driving wheels ...

Gauges (track)

Transportation; Railway

Standard Gauge - 4 foot 8.5 inches. Narrow Gauge - 1 foot 11.5 inches (Ffestiniog, Welsh Highland etc.); 2 foot 3 inches (Tal-y-Llyn, Corris etc.); 2 foot 6 inches (Welshpool & Llanfair).

Grate

Transportation; Railway

The base of the firebox upon which the fire rests. It comprises a grill of firebars with gaps between them to allow air in to assist with the combustion process. See also Drop Grate and Rocking ...

Grate area

Transportation; Railway

The statistic used to determine the fire capacity of a locomotive. Early locomotives had grate areas of about 6 sq. ft. The most recent UK designs approached 50 sq. ft and the largest US designs ...

Eccentric

Transportation; Railway

In steam engine technology, part of the valve gear used by some designs to give motion to the valve. It may best be described as an auxiliary crank. It is essential to ensure that the valve events ...