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Coupling Rods
A coupling rod or side rod connects the driving wheels of a locomotive. Steam locomotives in particular usually have them, but some diesel and electric locomotives, especially older ones and shunters, also have them. The coupling rods transfer the power of drive to all wheels. Development Locomotion No. 1 was the first locomotive to employ coupling rods rather than chains. In the 1930s reliable roller bearing coupling rods were developed. Allowance for vertical motion In general, all railroad vehicles have spring suspension; without springs, irregularities in the track could lift wheels off the rail and cause impact damage to both rails and vehicles. Driving wheels are typically mounted so that they have around 1 inch (2.5 cm) of vertical motion. When there are only 2 coupled axles, this range of motion places only slight stress on the crank pins. With more axles, however, provision must be made to allow each axle to move vertically independently of the others without ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MILW 261 Drivers
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986. The company experienced financial difficulty through the 1970s and 1980s, including bankruptcy in 1977 (though it filed for bankruptcy twice in 1925 and 1935, respectively). In 1980, it abandoned its Pacific Extension, which included track in the states of Montana, Idaho, and Washington. The remaining system was merged into the Soo Line Railroad , a subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway , on January 1, 1986. Much of its historical trackage remains in use by other railroads. The company brand is commemorated by buildings like the historic Milwaukee Road Depot in Minneapolis and preserved locomotives such as Milwaukee Road 261 which operates excursion trains. History Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Minneapolis Railroad The railroad that became the Milwauk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackshaft (locomotive)
A jackshaft is an intermediate shaft used to transfer power from a powered shaft such as the output shaft of an engine or motor to driven shafts such as the drive axles of a locomotive. As applied to railroad locomotives in the 19th and 20th centuries, jackshafts were typically in line with the drive axles of locomotives and connected to them by side rods. In general, each drive axle on a locomotive is free to move about one inch (2.5 cm) vertically relative to the frame, with the locomotive weight carried on springs. This means that if the engine, motor or transmission is rigidly attached to the locomotive frame, it cannot be rigidly connected to the axle. This problem can be solved by mounting the jackshaft on unsprung bearings and using side-rods or (in some early examples) chain drives.General Construction, Baldwin Gasoline Industrial LocomotiveBaldwin Locomotive Works Record No. 74, 1913; pages 7-9. Jackshafts were first used in early steam locomotives, although the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steam Locomotive Components
__NOTOC__ This article is a glossary of the main components found on a typical steam locomotive. The diagram, which is not to scale, is a composite of various designs in the late steam era. Some components shown are not the same, or are not present, on some locomotives – for example, on smaller or articulated types. Conversely, some locomotives have components not listed here. Details of the components See also * Glossary of boiler terms * Glossary of rail transport terms * Horsepower#Drawbar horsepower * Power classification * Tractive effort As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force can either refer to the total traction a vehicle exerts on a surface, or the amount of the total traction that is parallel to the direction of motion. In railway engineering, the term tr ... References Further reading * * * External linksList of US–UK terminology– Railway Technical Website {{Steam engine configurations Glossaries of rail transport Ste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, opacity, and luster, but may have properties that differ from those of the pure metals, such as increased strength or hardness. In some cases, an alloy may reduce the overall cost of the material while preserving important properties. In other cases, the mixture imparts synergistic properties to the constituent metal elements such as corrosion resistance or mechanical strength. Alloys are defined by a metallic bonding character. The alloy constituents are usually measured by mass percentage for practical applications, and in atomic fraction for basic science studies. Alloys are usually classified as substitutional or interstitial alloys, depending on the atomic arrangement that forms the alloy. They can be further classified as homo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant typically need an additional 11% chromium. Because of its high tensile strength and low cost, steel is used in buildings, infrastructure, tools, ships, trains, cars, machines, electrical appliances, weapons, and rockets. Iron is the base metal of steel. Depending on the temperature, it can take two crystalline forms (allotropic forms): body-centred cubic and face-centred cubic. The interaction of the allotropes of iron with the alloying elements, primarily carbon, gives steel and cast iron their range of unique properties. In pure iron, the crystal structure has relatively little resistance to the iron atoms slipping past one another, and so pure iron is quite ductile, or soft and easily formed. In steel, small amounts of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hammer Blow
In rail terminology, hammer blow or dynamic augment is a vertical force which alternately adds to and subtracts from the locomotive's weight on a wheel. It is transferred to the track by the driving wheels of many steam locomotives. It is an out-of-balance force on the wheel (known as overbalance). It is the result of a compromise when a locomotive's wheels are unbalanced to off-set horizontal reciprocating masses, such as connecting rods and pistons, to improve the ride. The hammer blow may cause damage to the locomotive and track if the wheel/rail force is high enough. Principles The addition of extra weights on the wheels reduces the unbalanced reciprocating forces on the locomotive but causes it to be out of balance vertically creating hammer blow. Locomotives were balanced to their individual cases, especially if several of the same design were constructed (a class). Each class member was balanced for its normal operating speed. Between 40% and 50% of the reciprocating weigh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piston
A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from expanding gas in the cylinder to the crankshaft via a piston rod and/or connecting rod. In a pump, the function is reversed and force is transferred from the crankshaft to the piston for the purpose of compressing or ejecting the fluid in the cylinder. In some engines, the piston also acts as a valve by covering and uncovering ports in the cylinder. __TOC__ Piston engines Internal combustion engines An internal combustion engine is acted upon by the pressure of the expanding combustion gases in the combustion chamber space at the top of the cylinder. This force then acts downwards through the connecting rod and onto the crankshaft. The connecting rod is a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Connecting Rod
A connecting rod, also called a 'con rod', is the part of a piston engine which connects the piston to the crankshaft. Together with the crank, the connecting rod converts the reciprocating motion of the piston into the rotation of the crankshaft. The connecting rod is required to transmit the compressive and tensile forces from the piston. In its most common form, in an internal combustion engine, it allows pivoting on the piston end and rotation on the shaft end. The predecessor to the connecting rod is a mechanic linkage used by water mills to convert rotating motion of the water wheel into reciprocating motion. The most common usage of connecting rods is in internal combustion engines or on steam engines. __TOC__ Origins The predecessor to the connecting length is the mechanical linkage used by Roman-era watermills. The earliest known example of this linkage has been found at the late 3rd century Hierapolis sawmill in Roman Asia (modern Turkey) and the 6th centu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Outside Frame
A locomotive frame is the structure that forms the backbone of the railway locomotive, giving it strength and supporting the superstructure elements such as a cab, boiler or bodywork. The vast majority of locomotives have had a frame structure of some kind. The frame may in turn be supported by axles directly attached to it, or it may be mounted on bogies ( UK) / trucks ( US), or a combination of the two. The bogies in turn will have frames of their own. Types of frame 250px, Preserved GWR 9017 showing outside frames Three main types of frame on steam locomotives may be distinguished:, p 255. Plate frames These used steel plates about thick. They were mainly used in Britain and continental Europe. On most locomotives, the frames would be situated within the driving wheels ("inside frames"), but some classes of an early steam locomotive and diesel shunters were constructed with "outside frames". Some early designs were double framed where the frame consisted of plates both i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Counterweight
A counterweight is a weight that, by applying an opposite force, provides balance and stability of a mechanical system. The purpose of a counterweight is to make lifting the load faster and more efficient, which saves energy and causes less wear and tear on the lifting machine. Counterweights are often used in traction lifts (elevators), cranes and fun fair rides. In these applications, the expected load multiplied by the distance that load will be spaced from the central support (called the "tipping point") must be equal to the counterweight's mass times its distance from the tipping point in order to prevent over-balancing either side. This distance times mass is called the load moment. A counterbalance is a weight or force that balances or offsets another as when two objects of equal weight, power, or influence are acting in opposition to each other. The objects are then said to be in counterbalance. Counterweights in action Trebuchet: There are five major components of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crocodile (locomotive)
Crocodile (German ''Krokodil'') electric locomotives are so called because they have long "noses" at each end, reminiscent of the snout of a crocodile (see also Steeplecab). These contain the motors and drive axles, and are connected by an articulated center section. The center section usually contains the crew compartments, pantographs and transformer. The name was first applied to Swiss locomotives. Sometimes the term is applied to locomotives in other countries of a similar design. History Switzerland Class Ce 6/8 A prototype locomotive, SBB-CFF-FFS Ce 6/8 I number 14201, was ordered in June 1917. The production "Crocodiles" were the series ''SBB Ce 6/8 II'' and ''SBB Ce 6/8 III'' locomotives of the SBB, Swiss Federal Railways, built between 1919 and 1927. There were 33 class Ce 6/8 II and 18 class Ce 6/8 III, making a total (excluding the prototype) of 51 locomotives. These locomotives were developed for pulling heavy goods trains on the steep tracks of the Gotthar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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