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Railway Brakes
A railway brake is a type of brake used on the cars of railway trains to enable deceleration, control acceleration (downhill) or to keep them immobile when parked. While the basic principle is similar to that on road vehicle usage, operational features are more complex because of the need to control multiple linked carriages and to be effective on vehicles left without a prime mover. Clasp brakes are one type of brakes historically used on trains. Early days In the earliest days of railways, braking technology was primitive. The first trains had brakes operative on the locomotive tender and on vehicles in the train, where "porters" or, in the United States brakemen, travelling for the purpose on those vehicles operated the brakes. Some railways fitted a special deep-noted brake whistle to locomotives to indicate to the porters the necessity to apply the brakes. All the brakes at this stage of development were applied by operation of a screw and linkage to brake blocks applied ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ratchet (device)
A ratchet (occasionally spelled rachet) is a mechanical device that allows continuous linear or rotary motion in only one direction while preventing motion in the opposite direction. Ratchets are widely used in machinery and tools. The word ''ratchet'' is also used informally to refer to a ratcheting socket wrench. __TOC__ Theory of operation A ratchet consists of a round gear or a linear rack with teeth, and a pivoting, spring-loaded finger called a '' pawl'' (or ''click'', in clocks and watches) that engages the teeth. The teeth are uniform but are usually asymmetrical, with each tooth having a moderate slope on one edge and a much steeper slope on the other edge. When the teeth are moving in the unrestricted (i.e. forward) direction, the pawl easily slides up and over the gently sloped edges of the teeth, with a spring forcing it (often with an audible 'click') into the depression between the teeth as it passes the tip of each tooth. When the teeth move in the opposite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway Air Brake
A railway air brake is a railway brake power braking system with compressed air as the operating medium. Modern trains rely upon a fail-safe air brake system that is based upon a design patented by George Westinghouse on April 13, 1869. The Westinghouse Air Brake Company was subsequently organized to manufacture and sell Westinghouse's invention. In various forms, it has been nearly universally adopted. The Westinghouse system uses air pressure to charge air reservoirs (tanks) on each car. Full air pressure causes each car to release the brakes. A subsequent reduction or loss of air pressure causes each car to apply its brakes, using the compressed air stored in its reservoirs. Overview Straight air brake In the air brake's simplest form, called the ''straight air system'', compressed air pushes on a piston in a cylinder. The piston is connected through mechanical linkage to brake shoes that can rub on the train wheels, using the resulting friction to slow the train. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923. Formed in 1862 after the amalgamation of the Eastern Counties Railway and several other smaller railway companies the GER served Cambridge, Chelmsford, Colchester, Great Yarmouth, Ipswich, King's Lynn, Lowestoft, Norwich, Southend-on-Sea (opened by the GER in 1889), and East Anglian seaside resorts such as Hunstanton (whose prosperity was largely a result of the GER's line being built) and Cromer. It also served a suburban area, including Enfield, Chingford, Loughton and Ilford. This suburban network was, in the early 20th century, the busiest steam-hauled commuter system in the world. The majority of the Great Eastern's locomotives and rolling stock were built at Stratford Works, part of which was on the site of to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It amalgamated with several other railways to create the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at grouping in 1922. The Midland had a large network of lines emanating from Derby, stretching to London St Pancras, Manchester, Carlisle, Birmingham, and the South West. It expanded as much through acquisitions as by building its own lines. It also operated ships from Heysham in Lancashire to Douglas and Belfast. A large amount of the Midland's infrastructure remains in use and visible, such as the Midland main line and the Settle–Carlisle line, and some of its railway hotels still bear the name '' Midland Hotel''. History Origins The Midland Railway originated from 1832 in Leicestershire / Nottinghamshire, with the purpose of serving the needs o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heberlein Brake
A Heberlein brake is a continuous railway brake used in Germany that is applied by means of a mechanical cable. Train braking is therefore initiated centrally from the locomotive using a winder. This causes the brake clips to be applied on individual wagons, assisted by a servo system which makes use of the rotation of the axle. The brakes operate automatically if the cable snaps. A typical feature of ''Heberlein'' brakes is the clearly visible cable run on top of the wagons, but cables can also be led underneath the wagons, as on the '' Spreewaldbahn'' railway line. ''Heberlein'' brakes were eventually largely replaced by compressed-air brakes or, sometimes, by vacuum brakes on narrow gauge railway vehicles. Modern use The ''Heberlein'' brake is still permitted as an operating brake on German railways due to it being both continuous and automatic, and at the low speeds on narrow gauge lines this means it is perfectly safe. On several narrow gauge railways in Saxony, numerous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francis Webb (engineer)
Francis William Webb (21 May 1836 – 4 June 1906) was an English railway engineer, responsible for the design and manufacture of locomotives for the London and North Western Railway (LNWR). Webb was born in Tixall Rectory, near Stafford, the second son of William Webb, Rector of Tixall. Career Crewe Works Showing early interest in mechanical engineering, on 11 August 1851 at the age of fifteen he was articled as a pupil of Francis Trevithick at Crewe Works.Griffiths, p.51 Webb joined the drawing office in 1856, at the end of his training. He became Chief Draughtsman on 1 March 1859. On 1 September 1861 he was appointed Works Manager at Crewe and Chief Assistant to John Ramsbottom. Whilst Works Manager Webb was responsible for the installation of Bessemer converters and the start of steel production at Crewe. Bolton Iron and Steel Company In July 1866 Webb resigned from the LNWR and moved to the Bolton Iron and Steel Co. as the manager. It has been suggested that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weverton, Maryland
Weverton is an unincorporated community hamlet located in the southern tip of Washington County, Maryland, United States, near the north shore of the Potomac River. Its population is about 500. Weverton is located at the intersection of MD Route 67 and U.S. Route 340. The nearest incorporated communities are Harpers Ferry, West Virginia ( to the west) and Brunswick ( to the east). Weverton's approximate elevation is above sea level. Weverton Cliffs, at the southern end of South Mountain where that ridge is interrupted by the Potomac River, are a landmark on the Appalachian Trail; they sit nearly at the halfway point of the trail and are well-known to through hikers. Weverton is the northwestern end of CSX Transportation's Metropolitan Subdivision, a 79-mile rail line that runs to Washington, D.C. History Founded in the 1820s, Weverton was a speculative venture intended to be a mill town to use the waterpower of the Potomac and transportation provided by the Chesapeake an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the 2010 United States census have indicated that Hartford is the fourth-largest city in Connecticut with a 2020 population of 121,054, behind the coastal cities of Bridgeport, New Haven, and Stamford. Hartford was founded in 1635 and is among the oldest cities in the United States. It is home to the country's oldest public art museum (Wadsworth Atheneum), the oldest publicly funded park (Bushnell Park), the oldest continuously published newspaper (the ''Hartford Courant''), and the second-oldest secondary school (Hartford Public High School). It is also home to the Mark Twain House, where the author wrote his most famous works and raised his family, among other historically significant sites. Mark Twain wrote in 1868, "Of all the beautifu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway Coupling
A coupling (or a coupler) is a mechanism typically placed at each end of a railway vehicle that connects them together to form a train. A variety of coupler types have been developed over the course of railway history. Key issues in their design include strength, reliability, ease of making connections and operator safety. The equipment that connects the couplings to the vehicles is the draft gear or draw gear and these must absorb the stresses of coupling and train acceleration. Nomenclature Compatible and similar couplings or couplers are frequently referred to using widely differing make, brand, or regional names, or nicknames, which can make describing standard or typical designs confusing. Dimensions and ratings noted in these articles are usually of nominal or typical components and systems, though standards and practices also vary widely with railway, region, and era. Buffers and chain The basic type of coupling on railways following the British tradition is the bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, in turn wholly owned by News Corp. ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'', which do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1966. In general, the political position of ''The Times'' is considered to be centre-right. ''The Times'' is the first newspaper to have borne that name, lending it to numerous other papers around the world, such as ''The Times of India'', ''The New York Times'', and more recently, digital-first publications such as TheTimesBlog.com (Since 2017). In countries where these other titles are popular, the newspaper is often referred to as , or as , although the newspaper is of nationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
