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Railwayana
Railroadiana or railwayana refers to artifacts of currently or formerly operating railways around the world. Railroadiana can include items such as: * Brakeman's or marker lanterns * Date nails, rail spikes, or short sections of rail * Dining car linens, holloware, cutlery, or porcelain * Locomotive nameplates or builder's plates * Promotional or advertising materials from railway passenger and freight service * Public or employee timetables * Railroad hand tools such as wrenches, shovels, or brakeman's clubs * Railroad switch stands or keys * Sleeping car linens * Station signs and railway signals * Trackside signs such as mile post markers, whistle posts, or flanger signs * Train dispatching forms and train orders * Train horns and whistles There are many more types of railroadiana available to the collector. Some railroadiana collectors include items in their collections as large as speeders or complete passenger cars. The majority of pieces forming a collection can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CNW Brakeman's Kerosene Lantern
The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s. Until 1972, when the employees purchased the company, it was named the Chicago and North Western Railway (or Chicago and North Western Railway Company). The C&NW became one of the longest railroads in the United States as a result of mergers with other railroads, such as the Chicago Great Western Railway, Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway and others. By 1995, track sales and abandonment had reduced the total mileage to about 5,000. The majority of the abandoned and sold lines were lightly trafficked branches in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Large line sales, such as those that resulted in the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad, further helped reduce the railroad to a mainline ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railroad Switch
A railroad switch (), turnout, or ''set ofpoints () is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off. The most common type of switch consists of a pair of linked tapering rails, known as ''points'' (''switch rails'' or ''point blades''), lying between the diverging outer rails (the ''stock rails''). These points can be moved laterally into one of two positions to direct a train coming from the point blades toward the straight path or the diverging path. A train moving from the narrow end toward the point blades (i.e. it will be directed to one of the two paths, depending on the position of the points) is said to be executing a ''facing-point movement''. For many types of switch, a train coming from either of the converging directions will pass through the switch regardless of the position of the points, as the vehicle's wheels will force the points to move. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Private Railway Station
Private railway stations were a logical development of the rapid growth in railway transportation during the 19th century. Whereas financiers looked to place their stations so as to balance the cost of the construction with expected revenue from the nearby populace, wealthy people utilised this new mode of transport by creating a halt solely for the use of their family, guests and staff. Examples The earliest recorded such halt is Crathes Station in Aberdeenshire, built for Sir Robert Burnett of Leys in 1853. Such was his family's authority that even messenger trains run when Queen Victoria was in residence at Balmoral had to stop there, just in case he wanted to get on. There were many such lairds, although some were rather less willing to pay for their station once it was safely constructed. Some wealthy land-owners wanted the convenience of a bespoke station but did not want an unsightly intrusion onto their land, while others wanted their station to be seen from far and wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Private Railroad Car
A private railroad car, private railway coach, private car, or private varnish is a railroad passenger car either originally built or later converted for service as a business car for private individuals. A private car could be added to the make-up of a train or pulled by a private locomotive, providing privacy for its passengers. They were used by railroad officials and dignitaries as business cars, and wealthy individuals for travel and entertainment, especially in the United States. They were sometimes used by politicians in "whistle stop campaigns". Pay cars with less opulent sleeping and dining facilities were used by a paymaster and assistants to transport and disburse cash wages to railway employees in remote locations without banking facilities.Lavallée, Omer (1984) ''CANADIAN PACIFIC in the East (Volume One)'' The Calgary Group of the British Railway Modellers of North America p.8 History The first private railroad car was provided by P. T. Barnum for the soprano Je ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passenger Car (rail)
A passenger railroad car or passenger car (United States), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (United Kingdom and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (India) is a railroad car that is designed to carry passengers. The term ''passenger car'' can also be associated with a sleeping car, a baggage car, a dining car, railway post office and prisoner transport cars. The first passenger cars were built in the early 1800s with the advent of the first railroads, and were small and little more than converted freight cars. Early passenger cars were constructed from wood; in the 1900s construction shifted to steel and later aluminum for improved strength. Passenger cars have increased greatly in size from their earliest versions, with modern bi-level passenger cars capable of carrying over 100 passengers. Amenities for passengers have also improved over time, with developments such as lighting, heating, and air conditioning added for improved passenger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railroad Speeder
A speeder (also known as a section car, railway motor car, putt-putt, track-maintenance car, crew car, jigger, trike, quad, trolley, inspection car, or a draisine) is a small railcar formerly used around the world by track inspectors and work crews to move quickly to and from work sites. Although slow compared to a train or car, it is called ''speeder'' because it is faster than a human-powered vehicle such as a handcar. Motorised inspection cars date back to at least 1896, when it was reported that the U.S. Daimler Motor Company created a gasoline-powered rail inspection car capable of 15 mph (24 km/h). In the 1990s, many speeders were replaced by pickup trucks or sport utility vehicles with additional flanged wheels that could be lowered for travelling on rails, called "road–rail vehicles" or hi-rails for "highway-railroad". Speeders are collected by hobbyists, who refurbish them for excursions organized by the North American Railcar Operators Association in the U.S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Train Whistle
A train whistle or air whistle (originally referred to as a steam trumpet) is an audible signaling device on a steam locomotive, used to warn that the train is approaching, and to communicate with rail workers. Modern diesel and electric locomotives primarily use a powerful air horn instead of a whistle as an audible warning device. However, the word ''whistle'' continues to be used by railroaders in referring to such signaling practices as "whistling off" (sounding the horn when a train gets underway). The need for a whistle on a locomotive exists because trains move on fixed rails and thus are uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by a train's enormous weight and inertia, which make it difficult to quickly stop when encountering an obstacle. Hence a means of warning others of the approach of a train from a distance is necessary. As train whistles are inexpensive compared to other warning devices, the use of loud and distinct whistles became the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Train Horn
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often known simply as "engines"), though some are self-propelled, such as multiple units. Passengers and cargo are carried in railroad cars, also known as wagons. Trains are designed to a certain gauge, or distance between rails. Most trains operate on steel tracks with steel wheels, the low friction of which makes them more efficient than other forms of transport. Trains have their roots in wagonways, which used railway tracks and were powered by horses or pulled by cables. Following the invention of the steam locomotive in the United Kingdom in 1804, trains rapidly spread around the world, allowing freight and passengers to move over land faster and cheaper than ever possible before. Rapid transit and trams were first built in the late 1800s to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Train Order
A train order is "an order issued by or through a proper railway official to govern the movement of trains". Train order operation is the system by which trains are safely moved by train orders. It is distinguished from other forms of train operation in which the authority to move trains is given by fixed signals or Cab signalling. Train order operation, or more accurately timetable and train order operation, was the standard operational system used by the railroads of North America before the days of centralized traffic control, direct traffic control, and the use of track warrants conveyed by radio. The system used a set of rules when direct communication between train dispatchers and trains was limited or non-existent. Trains would follow a predetermined operating plan, known as the timetable, unless superseded by train orders conveyed to the train from the dispatcher, through local intermediaries. Train order operation was a system that required minimum human overhead in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flanger (railroad)
A flanger (also known as a scraper or digger) is a railroad car that clears the space between the rails, generally of ice and snow. While a wedge plow can remove snow above the surface of the rails, the flanger removes snow and ice from below the surface of the rails where the railway wheel flanges fit. Railway locomotives and cars can be derailed if the flangeway is filled. The flanger blades are lowered below the head of the rail. Blades typically throw the snow and ice to the left of the left rail and to the right of the right rail. Some flangers have a single V-shaped blade extending between both rails while others with a separate blade for each rail are better adapted to lines with Guard rail (rail), guard rails. Some blades work while the car moves either frontwards or backwards, while other flangers have one blade for forward movement and a different blade for backward movement. While early railway wedge plows required a separate flanger, many modern plows also include fla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whistle Post
In rail transport, a whistle post or whistle board, is a sign marking a location where a train driver is required to sound the horn or whistle. Australia In Australia, whistle posts consist of a pole or upright Flat Bottom Rail with a white or reflective yellow X. In Queensland, A whistle post is mounted on a metal pole or old rail. The board is a flattened white triangle with rounded edges and a black W. Czech Republic In the Czech Republic, a whistle post is red and white striped poleof different sizes and shapes, and it is called "" ('whistle'). Estonia In Estonia, whistle posts are used in front of tunnels, bridges, level crossings and other places where the driver must sound one long whistle. Estonian whistle posts are inverted pear-shaped white plates, the lower third of which is green. France In France, a whistle board comprises a black rectangular board bearing a white letter 'S' for "" ('whistle'). An additional white board with a black 'J' for "" ('day ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milestone
A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to some datum location. On roads they are typically located at the side or in a median or central reservation. They are alternatively known as mile markers, mileposts or mile posts (sometimes abbreviated MPs). A "kilometric point" is a term used in metricated areas, where distances are commonly measured in kilometres instead of miles. "Distance marker" is a generic unit-agnostic term. Milestones are installed to provide linear referencing points along the road. This can be used to reassure travellers that the proper path is being followed, and to indicate either distance travelled or the remaining distance to a destination. Such references are also used by maintenance engineers and emergency services to direct them to specific points where th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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