1.
Organization
–
An organization or organisation is an entity comprising multiple people, such as an institution or an association, that has a collective goal and is linked to an external environment. The word is derived from the Greek word organon, which means organ, a hybrid organization is a body that operates in both the public sector and the private sector simultaneously, fulfilling public duties and developing commercial market activities. A voluntary association is an organization consisting of volunteers, such organizations may be able to operate without legal formalities, depending on jurisdiction, including informal clubs. Organizations may also operate in secret and/or illegally in the case of secret societies, criminal organizations, the study of organizations includes a focus on optimizing organizational structure. In common law countries, legal juries render decisions of guilt, liability and quantify damages, juries are used in athletic contests, book awards. Sometimes a selection committee functions like a jury, in the Middle Ages, juries in continental Europe were used to determine the law according to consensus among local notables. Committees are often the most reliable way to make decisions, condorcets jury theorem proved that if the average member votes better than a roll of dice, then adding more members increases the number of majorities that can come to a correct vote. The problem is that if the member is subsequently worse than a roll of dice. Parliamentary procedure, such as Roberts Rules of Order, helps prevent committees from engaging in discussions without reaching decisions. Bad parts of the organization starve, everybody is paid for what they actually do, and runs a tiny business that has to show a profit, or they are fired. Companies who utilize this organization type reflect a rather one-sided view of what goes on in ecology and it is also the case that a natural ecosystem has a natural border - ecoregions do not in general compete with one another in any way, but are very autonomous. The pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline talks about functioning as this type of organization in this article from The Guardian. This organizational type assigns each worker two bosses in two different hierarchies, one hierarchy is functional and assures that each type of expert in the organization is well-trained, and measured by a boss who is super-expert in the same field. The other direction is executive and tries to get projects completed using the experts, projects might be organized by products, regions, customer types, or some other schema. As an example, a company might have an individual with overall responsibility for products X and Y, therefore, subordinates responsible for quality control of project X will have two reporting lines. A hierarchy exemplifies an arrangement with a leader who leads other individual members of the organization, so one can imagine that if the leader does not have the support of his subordinates, the entire structure will collapse. Hierarchies were satirized in The Peter Principle, a book that introduced hierarchiology, the broader analysis of organizations is commonly referred to as organizational structure, organizational studies, organizational behavior, or organization analysis. A number of different perspectives exist, some of which are compatible, From a functional perspective, from an institutional perspective, an organization is viewed as a purposeful structure within a social context
2.
African Union
–
The African Union is a continental union consisting of all 55 countries on the African continent. It was established on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AUs secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa, the objectives of the AU are, To achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and Africans. To defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States, to accelerate the political and social-economic integration of the continent. To promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent, to encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To promote peace, security, and stability on the continent, to promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance. To promote and protect human and peoples rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, to establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations. To promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies, to promote co-operation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African peoples. To coordinate and harmonize the policies between the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the attainment of the objectives of the Union. To advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science, to work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent. The African Union is made up of political and administrative bodies. The highest decision-making organ is the Assembly of the African Union, the Assembly is chaired by Idriss Déby, President of Chad. The AU also has a body, the Pan African Parliament. Its president is Bethel Nnaemeka Amadi, the AU Commission, the secretariat to the political structures, is chaired by Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma of South Africa. On 15 July 2012, Ms. Dlamini-Zuma won a contested vote to become the first female head of the African Union Commission. The main administrative capital of the African Union is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a new headquarters complex, the AU Conference Center and Office Complex, was inaugurated on 28 January 2012, during the 18th AU summit. The tower is 99.9 meters high to signify the date 9 September 1999, the AU covers the entire continent except for several territories held by Spain, France, Portugal and the United Kingdom. AU troops were deployed in Sudan for peacekeeping during Darfur conflict
3.
Rail transport
–
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, also known as tracks. It is also referred to as train transport. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles run on a flat surface. Tracks usually consist of rails, installed on ties and ballast, on which the rolling stock, usually fitted with metal wheels. Other variations are possible, such as slab track, where the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a prepared subsurface. Rolling stock in a transport system generally encounters lower frictional resistance than road vehicles, so passenger. The operation is carried out by a company, providing transport between train stations or freight customer facilities. Power is provided by locomotives which either draw electric power from a railway system or produce their own power. Most tracks are accompanied by a signalling system, Railways are a safe land transport system when compared to other forms of transport. The oldest, man-hauled railways date back to the 6th century BC, with Periander, one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Rail transport blossomed after the British development of the steam locomotive as a viable source of power in the 19th centuries. With steam engines, one could construct mainline railways, which were a key component of the Industrial Revolution, also, railways reduced the costs of shipping, and allowed for fewer lost goods, compared with water transport, which faced occasional sinking of ships. The change from canals to railways allowed for markets in which prices varied very little from city to city. In the 1880s, electrified trains were introduced, and also the first tramways, starting during the 1940s, the non-electrified railways in most countries had their steam locomotives replaced by diesel-electric locomotives, with the process being almost complete by 2000. During the 1960s, electrified high-speed railway systems were introduced in Japan, other forms of guided ground transport outside the traditional railway definitions, such as monorail or maglev, have been tried but have seen limited use. The history of the growth, decline and restoration to use of transport can be divided up into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of motive power used. The earliest evidence of a railway was a 6-kilometre Diolkos wagonway, trucks pushed by slaves ran in grooves in limestone, which provided the track element. The Diolkos operated for over 600 years, Railways began reappearing in Europe after the Dark Ages. The earliest known record of a railway in Europe from this period is a window in the Minster of Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany
4.
International Union of Railways
–
The UIC or International Union of Railways is an international rail transport industry body. The railways of Europe originated as separate concerns, and there were many border changes after World War I. Colonial railways were the responsibility of the mother country, into this environment the UIC was created on 20 October 1922, with the aim of standardising industry practices. Ticket revenue sharing was undertaken with the UIC Franc currency equivalent. UIC classification and UIC Country Codes allowed precise determination of rolling stock capabilities and ownership, the UICs mission is to promote rail transport at world level and meet the challenges of mobility and sustainable development. They were soon joined by the USSR, the Middle East, today, the UIC has 194 members across 5 continents. Of these there are,73 active members 68 associate members 53 affiliate members On 12 November, in order to provide a common understanding and reduce potential confusion, the UIC has established standard international railway terminology and a trilingual thesaurus of terms. The thesaurus was the result of cooperation with the European Conference of Ministers of Transport and was published in 1995, the UIC has established systems for the classification of locomotives and their axle arrangements, coaches and goods wagons. UIC plays an important role in standardization of parts, data. Therefore, UIC codes are developed since the beginning of UICs work, a new term for these UIC leaflets is used by UIC for better understanding, International Railway Standard. Some UIC codes are, UIC568 The 13-corded standardized connection cable with connector is used to transmit data, UIC 592-2 Large containers for transport on wagons - Technical conditions to be fulfilled by large containers accepted for use in international traffic. Describes the classes and categories of large containers, handling characteristics, identification markings, UIC 592-3 Large containers, swap bodies and transport frames for horizontal transhipment - Standard report on acceptance tests. UIC 592-4 Swap bodies for grab handling and spreader gripping - Technical conditions, Swap bodies are the removable superstructures of road transport vehicles. Their dimensions and some of their fittings are standardised, particularly dimensions, strength parameters and securing devices, of the road vehicle, UIC 596-5 Transport of road vehicles on wagons - Technical organisation - Conveyance of semi-trailers with P coding or N coding on recess wagons. This leaflet sets out regulations and provisions for semi-trailers with normal road transport characteristics for conveyance on fixed-recess carrier wagons, the provisions are valid for semi-trailers, gantry equipment/industrial trucks with grab handles, recess wagon types 1a and 1b in accordance with UIC Leaflet 571-4. UIC 596-6 Conveyance of road vehicles on wagons - Technical organisation - Conditions for coding combined-transport load units, the provisions aim to facilitate LU identification to speed-up international traffic movements. They are applicable to semi-trailers, swap bodies, roller units loaded on wagons, African Union of Railways, similar organisation focused on Africa Association of American Railroads International Union of Public Transport, which covers passenger railways, especially in cities
5.
Africa
–
Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earths total surface area and 20.4 % of its land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the human population. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos and it contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states, nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. Africas population is the youngest amongst all the continents, the age in 2012 was 19.7. Algeria is Africas largest country by area, and Nigeria by population, afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster – with the earliest Homo sapiens found in Ethiopia being dated to circa 200,000 years ago. Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas, it is the continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. Africa hosts a diversity of ethnicities, cultures and languages. In the late 19th century European countries colonized most of Africa, Africa also varies greatly with regard to environments, economics, historical ties and government systems. However, most present states in Africa originate from a process of decolonization in the 20th century, afri was a Latin name used to refer to the inhabitants of Africa, which in its widest sense referred to all lands south of the Mediterranean. This name seems to have referred to a native Libyan tribe. The name is connected with Hebrew or Phoenician ʿafar dust. The same word may be found in the name of the Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania, under Roman rule, Carthage became the capital of the province of Africa Proconsularis, which also included the coastal part of modern Libya. The Latin suffix -ica can sometimes be used to denote a land, the later Muslim kingdom of Ifriqiya, modern-day Tunisia, also preserved a form of the name. According to the Romans, Africa lay to the west of Egypt, while Asia was used to refer to Anatolia, as Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of Africa expanded with their knowledge. 25,4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya, isidore of Seville in Etymologiae XIV.5.2. Suggests Africa comes from the Latin aprica, meaning sunny, massey, in 1881, stated that Africa is derived from the Egyptian af-rui-ka, meaning to turn toward the opening of the Ka. The Ka is the double of every person and the opening of the Ka refers to a womb or birthplace
6.
Track gauge
–
In rail transport, track gauge is the spacing of the rails on a railway track and is measured between the inner faces of the load-bearing rails. All vehicles on a network must have running gear that is compatible with the track gauge, as the dominant parameter determining interoperability, it is still frequently used as a descriptor of a route or network. There is a distinction between the gauge and actual gauge at some locality, due to divergence of track components from the nominal. Railway engineers use a device, like a caliper, to measure the actual gauge, the nominal track gauge is the distance between the inner faces of the rails. In current practice, it is specified at a distance below the rail head as the inner faces of the rail head are not necessarily vertical. In some cases in the earliest days of railways, the company saw itself as an infrastructure provider only. Colloquially the wagons might be referred to as four-foot gauge wagons, say and this nominal value does not equate to the flange spacing, as some freedom is allowed for. An infrastructure manager might specify new or replacement track components at a variation from the nominal gauge for pragmatic reasons. Track is defined in old Imperial units or in universally accepted metric units or SI units, Imperial units were established in United Kingdom by The Weights and Measures Act of 1824. In addition, there are constraints, such as the load-carrying capacity of axles. Narrow gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives, as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels. Narrow gauge is often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. Broader gauge railways are generally expensive to build and require wider curves. There is no single perfect gauge, because different environments and economic considerations come into play, a narrow gauge is superior if ones main considerations are economy and tight curvature. For direct, unimpeded routes with high traffic, a broad gauge may be preferable, the Standard, Russian, and 46 gauges are designed to strike a reasonable balance between these factors. In addition to the general trade-off, another important factor is standardization, once a standard has been chosen, and equipment, infrastructure, and training calibrated to that standard, conversion becomes difficult and expensive. This also makes it easier to adopt an existing standard than to invent a new one and this is true of many technologies, including railroad gauges. The reduced cost, greater efficiency, and greater economic opportunity offered by the use of a common standard explains why a number of gauges predominate worldwide
7.
Sierra Leone
–
Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north-east, Liberia to the south-east, Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, with a diverse environment ranging from savannah to rainforests. Sierra Leone has an area of 71,740 km2. Sierra Leone is divided into four regions, the Northern Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area. Freetown is the capital, largest city and its economic and political centre, Bo is the second largest city. The other major cities are Kenema, Makeni and Koidu Town, Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a directly elected president and a unicameral legislature. Sir Milton Margai built his government based on democratic principles. Throughout his time in power, Sir Milton Margai was very popular across Sierra Leone, the main opposition APC, led by its leader Siaka Stevens, narowly defeated the ruling SLPP under the leadership of Albert Margai in the 1964 general elections. Stevens ruled for eighteen years in a government, in which his critics. Soldiers and politicians convicted of plotting a coup to topple Stevens were executed, under president Stevens, the APC was made the only legal political party in Sierra Leone, and all other political parties were banned, including the main opposition. Stevens handpicked successor, retired major general Joseph Saidu Momoh, lacked the political dominance of Stevens, Momoh reestablished the country as a multi party democracy in 1991. The current constitution of Sierra Leone was adopted in 1991 during the presidency of Joseph Saidu Momoh, the rebels started the civil war in 1991 in the eastern part of the country during Momohs presidency. Momoh was very unpopular, and Public anger against the Momoh government increasingly grew due to corruption, poor economy. In 1992 a group of officers in the army led by a 25-year-old captain, Valentine Strasser. In 1996 during the war, another military coup of soldiers within Strassers inner circle, led by a 32 year old Brigadier General Julius Maada Bio, toppled Strasser. Since independent to present, Sierra Leones politics has been dominated by two political parties, the Sierra Leone Peoples Party and the All Peoples congress. From 1991 to 2002, the Sierra Leone civil war was fought and this proxy war left more than 50,000 people dead, much of the countrys infrastructure destroyed, and over two million people displaced as refugees in neighbouring countries. In January 2002, then Sierra Leones president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, fulfilled his promise by ending the civil war, with help by the British Government, ECOWAS
8.
Nigeria
–
Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. It comprises 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, where the capital, Nigeria is officially a democratic secular country. Modern-day Nigeria has been the site of numerous kingdoms and tribal states over the millennia, the modern state originated from British colonial rule beginning in the 19th century, and the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914. The British set up administrative and legal structures whilst practising indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms, Nigeria became a formally independent federation in 1960, and plunged into a civil war from 1967 to 1970. Nigeria is often referred to as the Giant of Africa, owing to its large population, with approximately 184 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. Nigeria has one of the largest populations of youth in the world, Nigeria is divided roughly in half between Christians, who live mostly in the southern part of the country, and Muslims in the northern part. A minority of the population practise religions indigenous to Nigeria, such as native to the Igbo. As of 2015, Nigeria is the worlds 20th largest economy, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and it overtook South Africa to become Africas largest economy in 2014. The 2013 debt-to-GDP ratio was 11 percent, Nigeria is a member of the MINT group of countries, which are widely seen as the globes next BRIC-like economies. It is also listed among the Next Eleven economies set to become among the biggest in the world, Nigeria is a founding member of the African Union and a member of many other international organizations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations and OPEC. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country and this name was coined in the late 19th century by British journalist Flora Shaw, who later married Lord Lugard, a British colonial administrator. The origin of the name Niger, which applied only to the middle reaches of the Niger River, is uncertain. The word is likely an alteration of the Tuareg name egerew n-igerewen used by inhabitants along the middle reaches of the river around Timbuktu prior to 19th-century European colonialism. The Nok civilisation of Northern Nigeria flourished between 500 BC and AD200, producing life-sized terracotta figures which are some of the earliest known sculptures in Sub-Saharan Africa, further north, the cities Kano and Katsina have a recorded history dating to around 999 AD. Hausa kingdoms and the Kanem-Bornu Empire prospered as trade posts between North and West Africa, the Kingdom of Nri of the Igbo people consolidated in the 10th century and continued until it lost its sovereignty to the British in 1911. Nri was ruled by the Eze Nri, and the city of Nri is considered to be the foundation of Igbo culture, Nri and Aguleri, where the Igbo creation myth originates, are in the territory of the Umeuri clan. Members of the clan trace their lineages back to the patriarchal king-figure Eri, in West Africa, the oldest bronzes made using the lost-wax process were from Igbo Ukwu, a city under Nri influence. The Yoruba kingdoms of Ife and Oyo in southwestern Nigeria became prominent in the 12th and 14th centuries, the oldest signs of human settlement at Ifes current site date back to the 9th century, and its material culture includes terracotta and bronze figures
9.
Standard gauge
–
The standard gauge is a widely used railway track gauge. Approximately 55% of the lines in the world are this gauge, all high-speed rail lines, except those in Russia, Uzbekistan, and Finland, are standard gauge. The distance between the edges of the rails is defined to be 1435 mm except in the United States. It is also called the UIC gauge or UIC track gauge, as railways developed and expanded, one of the key issues was the track gauge to be used. The result was the adoption throughout a large part of the world of a gauge of 1435 mm. In North East England, some lines in colliery areas were 4 ft 8 in. All these lines had been widened to standard gauge by 1846, parts of the United States, mainly in the Northeast, adopted the same gauge, because some early trains were purchased from Britain. However, until well into the half of the 19th century, Britain. The American gauges converged as the advantages of equipment interchange became increasingly apparent, notably, all the 5 ft broad gauge track in the South was converted to standard gauge over the course of two days beginning on 31 May 1886. See Track gauge in the United States, snopes categorized this legend as false, but commented that. It is perhaps more fairly labelled as True, but for trivial, the historical tendency to place the wheels of horse-drawn vehicles approximately 5 feet apart probably derives from the width needed to fit a carthorse in between the shafts. Others were 4 ft 4 in or 4 ft 7 1⁄2 in, the English railway pioneer George Stephenson spent much of his early engineering career working for the coal mines of County Durham. He favoured 4 ft 8 in for wagonways in Northumberland and Durham, the Hetton and Springwell wagonways also used this gauge. Stephensons Stockton and Darlington railway was primarily to transport coal from mines near Shildon to the port at Stockton-on-Tees. The initial gauge of 4 ft 8 in was set to accommodate the existing gauge of hundreds of horse-drawn chaldron wagons that were already in use on the wagonways in the mines. The railway used this gauge for 15 years before a change was made to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in gauge, George Stephenson used the 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in gauge for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, authorised in 1826 and opened 30 September 1830. The success of this led to Stephenson and his son Robert being employed to engineer several other larger railway projects. Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway, authorised 1824 and opened 1825, used 4 ft 6 in, Dundee and Newtyle Railway, authorised 1829 and opened 1831, used 4 ft 6 1⁄2 in
10.
Dual gauge
–
A dual-gauge railway is a line of track that provides for trains of two separate track gauges. A mixed-gauge railway provides for more than two gauges, but is also a term sometimes used to denote dual-gauge. A dual-gauge track configuration usually consists of three rails, two rails, one for each gauge, plus a common rail--although at times, commonality is not possible. In an ordinary three-rail dual-gauge configuration, the two adjacent outer rails give provide each of the gauges, while the outer rail is common to trains of both gauges operating over it. This configuration is not to be confused with the electric current traction rail or a check or guard rail, in railways, the most important specification is that of rail gauge, the distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of the travel rails. A problem arises when different gauges outside of this tolerance meet one another, in allowing railway tracks of different gauges to share the same alignment, costs can be reduced, and infrastructure shared, e. g. platforms, bridges and tunnels etc. Dual gauge can replace two separate tracks by sharing one common running rail and one of the two outer rails which determine the gauge. However, there are complications and costs involved that may offset the savings. One issue is that points are more complex, and therefore more expensive, arrangements are necessary to ensure trains of both gauges can be safely signalled, track circuits and mechanical interlocking where provided must be operated through the common rail. Also, the rail will have an increased wear and tear over the other separate gauge rails. The following pairs of gauges can be dual-gauged without problem, standard gauge and 1,676 mm,3 ft and 3 ft 6 in, and 5 ft and 6 ft. Standard gauge and 1,600 mm can also be dual-gauged, albeit with lighter, narrow-footed rails and this last combination is of particular historical interest, as it was of strategic significance during World War II. If three-rail dual gauge is impossible, four-rail gauntlet track dual-gauge has to be used, the complications and difficulties outlined illustrate the benefits of standardised railway gauges, where possible. Alternatively the rails may be too light for the loads imposed by broader-gauge railcars, such potential problems can rule out dual-gauge as a feasible option, unless heavier rails are installed. Dual-gauge lines in Java were regauged from 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in to 3 ft 6 in during the Japanese administration in 1942-1943, regauging occurred only on the relatively short Brumbung-Kedungjati-Gundih main line and the Kedungjati-Ambarawa branch line, as the rest of the line was already dual-gauge. In Los Angeles the 3 ft 6 in Los Angeles Railway, the Colorado and Southern Railway had both standard and narrow gauge trackage, and had dual-gauge track between Denver, Colorado and Golden, until 1941. Similarly, a section of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroads Alamosa-Durango Line from Alamosa, the East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company formerly had considerable dual-gauge trackage in its Mount Union, Pennsylvania yard. Alaska and British Columbia are proposing dual gauge,1,435 mm standard gauge and 914 mm, track so that a narrow gauge tourist train and standard gauge ore trains can share the right of way
11.
Railroad tie
–
A railroad tie/railway tie/crosstie or railway sleeper is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties transfer loads to the track ballast and subgrade, hold the rails upright, railroad ties are traditionally made of wood, but pre-stressed concrete is now also widely used, especially in Europe and Asia. Steel ties are common on secondary lines in the UK, plastic composite ties are also employed, as of January 2008, the approximate market share in North America for traditional and wood ties was 91. 5%, the remainder being concrete, steel, azobé and plastic composite. Approximately 3,520 wooden crossties are used per mile of railroad track in the US,2,640 per mile on main lines in the UK. The type of railroad tie used on the predecessors of the first true railway consisted of a pair of stone blocks laid into the ground, one advantage of this method of construction was that it allowed horses to tread the middle path without the risk of tripping. In railway use with heavier locomotives, it was found that it was hard to maintain the correct gauge. The stone blocks were in any case unsuitable on soft ground, such as at Chat Moss, bi-block ties with a tie rod are somewhat similar. Historically wooden rail ties were made by hewing with an axe, a variety of softwood and hardwoods timbers are used as ties, oak, jarrah and karri being popular hardwoods, although increasingly difficult to obtain, especially from sustainable sources. Sometimes non-toxic preservatives are used, such as copper azole or micronized copper, New boron-based wood preserving technology is being employed by major US railroads in a dual treatment process in order to extend the life of wood ties in wet areas. Some timbers are durable enough that they can be used untreated, problems with wooden ties include rot, splitting, insect infestation, plate-cutting, also known as chair shuffle in the UK and spike-pull. For more information on wooden ties the Railway Tie Association maintains a website devoted to wood tie research. Wooden ties can, of course, catch fire, as they age they develop cracks that allow sparks to lodge so that they catch fire more easily, concrete ties are cheaper and easier to obtain than timber and better able to carry higher axle-weights and sustain higher speeds. Their greater weight ensures improved retention of track geometry, especially when installed with continuous-welded rail, concrete ties have a longer service life and require less maintenance than timber due to their greater weight, which helps them remain in the correct position longer. Concrete ties need to be installed on a well-prepared subgrade with a depth on free-draining ballast to perform well. Concrete ties amplify wheel noise, so wooden ties are used in densely populated areas. On the highest categories of line in the UK, pre-stressed concrete ties are the only permitted by Network Rail standards. Steel ties are formed from pressed steel and are trough-shaped in section, the ends of the tie are shaped to form a spade which increases the lateral resistance of the tie. Housings to accommodate the system are welded to the upper surface of the tie
12.
Warri
–
The city of Warri is an oil hub in South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. It served as the capital of the then Warri Province. It shares boundaries with Ughelli/Agbarho, Sapele, Okpe, Udu and Uvwie although most of places, notably Udu, Okpe. Osubi houses an airport that serves the city, Effurun serves as the gateway to and the economic nerve of the city. Warri has a history that has not been documented well enough by historians. The name Warri province was once applicable to the part of an area now called Delta State under the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria. Its boundary in the Northeast was Sapele/Udu creek near Ughelli and Aboh, with Forçados River in the Southeast, Warri city is one of the major hubs of petroleum activities and businesses in the southern Nigeria. It is a capital city of Delta State, with a population of over 311,970 people according to the national population census figures for 2006. The city is one of cities in southern Nigeria comprising originally of Urhobo, Itsekiri. Warri is predominantly Christian with mixture of African traditional religions like most of the Southern Nigeria, the city is known nationwide for its unique Pidgin English. Warri was once a capital to British rule. Warri sits on the bank of River Warri which joined River Forcados, the city has a modern seaport which serves as the cargo transit point between the Niger River and the Atlantic Ocean for import and export. The citys history dates back to the 15th century, when it was visited by Portuguese missionaries, subsequently, it served as the base for Portuguese and Dutch slave traders. Warri was then established as a headquarters by the British in the early 20th century. There have been a growth in the population, it has grown from being a rural area to an urban area. Each of these areas has its own administrative structure, Warri City is residence to four monarchs namely the Olu of Warri, Orosuen of the Okere-Warri Kingdom, the Ovie of Agbarha-Warri Kingdom and the Pere of Ogbe Ijaw -Warri Kingdom. The major people in Warri comprise the Urhobos, Ijaws and Itsekiris, however, due to its urban status, there is a large influx of people from all over the country, most notably the Igbos. The region experiences moderate rainfall and moderate humidity for most part of the year, the climate is monsoonal and is marked by two distinct seasons, the dry season and the rainy season
13.
Rwanda
–
Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a sovereign state in central and east Africa and one of the smallest countries on the African mainland. Located a few south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi. Rwanda is in the African Great Lakes region and is elevated, its geography is dominated by mountains in the west and savanna to the east. The climate is temperate to subtropical, with two seasons and two dry seasons each year. The population is young and predominantly rural, with a density among the highest in Africa, Rwandans are drawn from just one cultural and linguistic group, the Banyarwanda, although within this group there are three subgroups, the Hutu, Tutsi and Twa. The Twa are a pygmy people descended from Rwandas earliest inhabitants. Christianity is the largest religion in the country, the language is Kinyarwanda, spoken by most Rwandans, with English. Rwanda has a system of government. The president is Paul Kagame of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, who took office in 2000, Rwanda today has low corruption compared with neighbouring countries, although human rights organisations report suppression of opposition groups, intimidation and restrictions on freedom of speech. The country has been governed by an administrative hierarchy since pre-colonial times. Rwanda is one of two countries with a female majority in the national parliament. Hunter gatherers settled the territory in the stone and iron ages, the population coalesced first into clans and then into kingdoms. The Kingdom of Rwanda dominated from the century, with the Tutsi kings conquering others militarily, centralising power. Germany colonised Rwanda in 1884 as part of German East Africa, followed by Belgium, both European nations ruled through the kings and perpetuated a pro-Tutsi policy. The Hutu population revolted in 1959 and they massacred numerous Tutsi and ultimately established an independent, Hutu-dominated state in 1962. The Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front launched a war in 1990. Social tensions erupted in the 1994 genocide, in which Hutu extremists killed an estimated 500,000 to 1.3 million Tutsi, the RPF ended the genocide with a military victory. Rwandas economy suffered heavily during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, but has since strengthened, the economy is based mostly on subsistence agriculture
14.
Intermodal container
–
These containers are known under a number of names, such as simply container, cargo or freight container, ISO container, shipping, sea or ocean container, container van or box, sea or c can. The common heights are 8 feet 6 inches and 9 feet 6 inches – the latter are known as High Cube or Hi-Cube containers, in 2012 there were about 20.5 million intermodal containers in the world of varying types to suit different cargoes. Containers have largely supplanted the traditional break bulk cargo – in 2010 containers accounted for 60% of the seaborne trade. The predominant alternative methods of transport carry bulk cargo – whether gaseous, liquid or solid – e. g. by bulk carrier or tank ship, for air freight, the more light-weight IATA-defined unit load device is used. By the 1830s, railways on several continents were carrying containers that could be transferred to other modes of transport, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in the United Kingdom was one of these. Simple rectangular timber boxes, four to a truck, they were used to convey coal from the Lancashire collieries to Liverpool, early versions of standardized containers were used in Europe before World War II. Construction of these containers had a frame with wooden walls, floor, roof. American containers at this time were not standardized, and these early containers were not yet stackable – neither in the U. S. nor Europe, in November 1932, the first container terminal in the world was opened by the Pennsylvania Rail Road Company in Enola, PA. A system was selected for Western Europe, based on the Netherlands system for goods and waste transportation called Laadkisten. This system used roller containers for transport by rail, truck and ship, in various configurations up to 5,500 kg capacity and this became the first post World War II European railway standard of the International Union of Railways – UIC-590, known as pa-Behälter. It was implemented in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, West Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, the use of standardized steel shipping containers began during the late 1940s and early 1950s, when commercial shipping operators and the US military started developing such units. In 1948 the U. S. Army Transportation Corps developed the Transporter, a rigid, corrugated steel container, able to carry 9,000 pounds. It was 8 ft 6 in long,6 ft 3 in wide, and 6 ft 10 in high, with doors on one end, was mounted on skids. After proving successful in Korea, the Transporter was developed into the Container Express box system in late 1952, cONEXes could be stacked three high, and protected their contents from the elements. By 1965 the US military used some 100,000 Conex boxes, making this the first worldwide application of intermodal containers. From 1949 onwards, engineer Keith Tantlinger repeatedly contributed to the development of containers, as well as their handling, steel castings on the top corners provided lifting and securing points. In 1955 trucking magnate Malcom McLean bought Pan-Atlantic Steamship Company, to form a container shipping enterprise, the first containers were supplied by Brown, where McLean met Keith Tantlinger, and hired him as vice-president of engineering and research. Under the supervision of Tantlinger, a new 35 ft x 8 ft x 8 ft 6 in Sea-Land container was developed, each container had a frame with eight corner castings that could withstand stacking loads
15.
Dry port
–
A dry port is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. The location of facilities at a dry port relieves competition for storage. A dry inland port can speed the flow of cargo ships and major land transportation networks, creating a more central distribution point. Inland ports can improve the movement of imports and exports, moving the time-consuming sorting and processing of containers inland, rather than goods being loaded and unloaded in such ports, shipping containers can just be transferred between ship and road vehicle or ship and train. The container may be transferred again between road and rail elsewhere and the goods are loaded or unloaded at their point of origin or final destination. Shipping containers allow some functions traditionally carried out at a seaport to be moved elsewhere, examples are the functions of receiving, processing through customs, inspecting, sorting, and consolidating containers going to the same overseas port. Container transfer at the seaport can be sped up and container handling space can be reduced by transferring functions to a site away from the port. The containers are collected from their origins or distributed to their ultimate destinations by road with the transfer happening at the inland site. An inland port is just such a site linked to a seaport. This kind of inland port does not require a waterway, key features of an inland port are the transfer of containers between different modes of transportation and the processing of international trade. This differentiates an inland port from a depot or transport hub. The term inland port may also be used for a model of a site linked to an airport or land border crossing rather than a seaport. Inland ports may also be referred to as dry ports or intermodal hubs
16.
Variable gauge
–
A variable gauge system allows railway vehicles in a train to travel across a break of gauge caused by two railway networks with differing track gauges. For through-operation, a train must be equipped with special trucks holding variable gauge wheelsets containing a variable gauge axle, the gauge is altered by driving the train through a gauge changer or gauge changing facility. As the train passes through the changer, the wheels are unlocked, moved closer together, or further apart. Installed variable gauge systems exist within the network of Spain. A system for changing gauge, without need for stopping is widespread for passenger traffic in Spain, used in services run on a mix of dedicated high-speed lines, similar systems for freight traffic are still rather incipient, as the higher axle weight increases the technological challenge. Variable gauge axles help solve the problem of a break-of-gauge without having to resort to dual gauge tracks or transshipment, systems allow the adjustment between two gauges. No designs supporting more than two gauges are used, there are several variable gauge axle systems, Talgo-RD. The Talgo system has been in service in Portbou and Irun, on the Spanish-French border. CAF-BRAVA The BRAVA system was designed in 1968 by the Vevey Company. The system was called the Vevey axle. The design was obtained and improved by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles. Being developed in 2002 for use between Europe and Russia, Japan Railways RTRI to be used on motorised axles. PKP SUW2000 system produced by ZNTK Poznań for Polish State Railways, the Montreux-Oberland Bernois railway, Switzerland in preparation by Prose of Winterthur 1,435 mm /1,000 mm. The variable gauge systems are not themselves all compatible, only the SUW2000 and Rafil Type V systems are interoperable. In 2009, at Roda de Barà near Tarragona, a Unichanger capable of four different VGA systems was under development. VGA is particularly important with international railway traffic because gauge changes tend to more often at international borders. The maximum speed of the equipped with the different technologies vary. Only CAF and Talgo produce high-speed VGA, allowing speeds up to 250 km/h, a gauge changer is a device which forces the gauge adjustment in the wheels
17.
Bogie exchange
–
Bogie exchange is a system for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges to overcome difference in the track gauge. To perform a bogie exchange, a car is converted from one gauge to another by removing the bogies or trucks and it is generally limited to wagons and carriages, though diesel locomotives can be exchanged if enough time is available. Bogie wagons can have their gauge changed by lifting them off one set of bogies, the pin that centres the bogies and the hoses and fittings for the brakes must be compatible. A generous supply of bogies of each gauge is needed to accommodate the ebb, the bogies and wagons also need to have standardized hooks, etc. where they may be efficiently lifted. The two wheel sets on four-wheel wagons can be changed as if the wagon has been designed accordingly. Steam engines can be designed for more than one gauge, by having and this was done in the 1930s and beyond in Victoria for possible gauge conversion, though no engines were ever converted in this manner other than one heritage engine. Some 1,000 mm metre gauge Garratt locomotives of East Africa were designed for conversion to 3 ft 6 in gauge. The re-gauging was performed by simply reversing the wheel centres so that the spokes dished outwards, in the southern United States, some steam locomotives built by Baldwin were designed for easy conversion from 5 ft to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in standard gauge. Diesel locomotives have bogies like wagons and carriages, only with more cables for the traction motors, in Australia, some classes of diesel locomotives are regularly gauge-converted to suit traffic requirements on the 1,435 mm,1,600 mm, and 1,067 mm networks. The simplest way to carry out bogie exchange is to lift the wagons off the bogies and this may require the wagons in a train to be uncoupled, and continuous brakes disconnected. As the bogies are swung out of the way, they sway, another way of carrying out bogie exchange is to lower the bogies onto a trolley in a pit, after which the trolleys are rolled out of the way and others return. This keeps the train couplings and continuous brakes connected, in addition, the bogies never need leave a solid surface, so they can be wheeled in and out more quickly. This method was used at Dry Creek railway station, Adelaide, between 1961 and 1995, Australia had five bogie exchange centres, which opened and closed as gauge conversion work proceeded. The gauges served were 1,435 mm and 1,600 mm, all the wagons involved had wagon codes ending in X, such as VLX. The centres were, Dynon, Melbourne, Victoria Wodonga near Albury on state border and this was done by one shift of 18 men, compared with the 100 men required if the same amount of freight were transferred wagon to wagon. Brest, Belarus – between 1,520 mm and 1,435 mm at the border to Poland Bogie exchange was used between 2 ft 6 in and 1,000 mm gauge on the Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia Railway. Between 1,435 mm standard gauge and the 3 ft 6 in of the former Newfoundland Railway at Port aux Basques A bogie exchange station exists at the Chinese border to Mongolia, both the Moscow-Beijing passenger train and freight trains get their bogies exchanged. Mongolia has Russian gauge 1,520 mm, China has 1,435 mm. Also, a bogie exchange station exists in the Port of Turku with a short stretch of 1,435 mm gauge railway
18.
Piggyback (transportation)
–
Piggyback transportation refers to the transportation of goods where one transportation unit is carried on the back of something else. It is a form of intermodal transportation and combined transport. Piggyback is a corruption of pickaback, which is likely a folk etymology alteration of pick pack, which perhaps is from pick, in rail transport, the practice of carrying trailers or semi-trailers in a train atop a flatcar is referred to as piggybacking. Early drawings of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway c1830 show road coaches being piggybacked on railway flat wagons, the rail service provided for trucks which are carried on trains for part of their journey is referred to as a rolling road, or rolling highway. A related transportation method is the transport of semi-trailers, without road tractors. The loading of semi-trailers in the United States grew from 1% of freight in 1957 to 15% in 1986, in South Australia, rolling stock is transferred to and from the isolated Eyre Peninsular Railway from Whyalla to Port Lincoln on road trailers. A change in the gauge of the bogies is carried out at the same time, small ships of all kinds can be piggybacked on larger ships. Examples include lifeboats, landing craft, and minesweepers on motherships, as well as Midget submarines on larger submarines, in space transportation systems, a smaller satellite that is carried as a secondary payload on a launch is said to be piggybacked on the main launch. The American Space Shuttle was carried on top of specially-modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft when the shuttle landed at places other than Kennedy Space Center, the metal caterpillar treads of a tank wear out quickly when travelling long distances on ordinary roads. It is therefore necessary to provide tank transporters, which have rubber tires, to the battlefield
19.
Railroad switch
–
A railroad switch, turnout or points 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 switch consists of the pair of linked tapering rails, known as points and 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 end toward the point blades is said to be executing a facing-point movement. Passage through a switch in this direction is known as a trailing-point movement, a switch generally has a straight through track and a diverging route. The handedness of the installation is described by the side that the track leaves. Right-hand switches have a path to the right of the straight track, when coming from the point blades. In many cases, such as yards, many switches can be found in a short section of track. Sometimes a switch merely divides one track into two, at others, it serves as a connection between two or more tracks, allowing a train to switch between them. A straight track is not always present, for example, both tracks may curve, one to the left and one to the right, or both tracks may curve, with differing radii, while still in the same direction. A railroad cars wheels are guided along the tracks by coning of the wheels, only in extreme cases does it rely on the flanges located on the insides of the wheels. When the wheels reach the switch, the wheels are guided along the route determined by which of the two points is connected to the track facing the switch. In the illustration, if the point is connected, the left wheel will be guided along the rail of that point. If the right point is connected, the right wheels flange will be guided along the rail of that point, and the train will continue along the straight track. Only one of the points may be connected to the track at any time. A mechanism is provided to move the points from one position to the other, historically, this would require a lever to be moved by a human operator, and some switches are still controlled this way. However, most are now operated by a remotely controlled electric motor or by pneumatic or hydraulic actuation and this both allows for remote control and for stiffer, strong switches that would be too difficult to move by hand, yet allow for higher speeds. In a trailing-point movement, the flanges on the wheels will force the points to the proper position and this is sometimes known as running through the switch. Some switches are designed to be forced to the position without damage
20.
Railway stations in Eritrea
–
This article is a list of the railway stations in Eritrea. The Eritrean Railway originally ran from Massawa, a port on the Red Sea, the line can be divided into three sections. The route was built between 1887 and 1910 by the Italians, who made the two stations with typical structures of railway stations in small Italian cities. As of 2008, this is the only section open and this section was built between 1911 and 1923. This section was built between 1924 and 1929, beyond Agordat, the rails were laid as far as Bishia, another 31 kilometres, with plans to extend to Ellit and Teseney, linking with the railway network in Sudan. However this section was never completed, there would have been a break-of-gauge at the connection between Sudan and Eritrea
21.
Break of gauge
–
With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transhipped. A break-of-gauge adds delays, cost, and inconvenience, narrow gauges tend to be associated with smaller loading gauges and sharper curves, which tend to reduce initial capital costs. This offsets the costs of any affected by the break-of-gauge. Historically narrow gauge railways were built on marginal lines, mostly through hilly and mountainous terrain to cut costs. Associated disadvantages were not recognized as much as rail lines were operated independent of potentially connecting lines regardless of gauge as competing companies built. Only the building of union stations or the nationalization of railroads changed this, an advantage is that invading armies may be severely hampered. Another advantage might be if the different gauges have different loading gauges. Similarly, if the larger and smaller gauges use different couplers or brakes, for passenger trains the inconvenience is less, especially at major stations where many passengers change trains or end their journeys anyway. Therefore, some railways have been built with gauges otherwise not used in the concerned countries. For example, the railways in Japan and Spain use 1,435 mm while their respective mainline railroad systems use 1,067 mm and 1,668 mm. For night trains, which are common in places like Russia. For these, often the bogies are replaced, even if it takes more time than having passengers change trains. If local government has influence over the construction of railways, some may see it as desirable for trains to stop in rather than pass through their town. Transhipping freight from cars of one gauge to cars of another is very labour- and time-intensive, if the capacity of the freight cars on both systems does not match, additional inefficiencies can arise. If the frequency is low, trains might need to wait a time for its counterpart to arrive before transshipping. This is avoided by storing the goods, but that is also an inconvenience, technical solutions to avoid transhipping include variable gauge axles, replacing the bogies of cars, and using transporter cars that can carry a car of a different gauge. Talgo and CAF have developed dual-gauge axles which permit through running between broad gauge and standard gauge, in Japan the Gauge Change Train, built on Talgo patents, runs on standard and narrow 1,067 mm gauge
22.
Railway coupling
–
A coupling is a mechanism for connecting rolling stock in a train. The design of the coupler is standard, and is almost as important as the gauge, since flexibility. The equipment that connects the couplings to the stock is known as the draft gear. The different types of coupling do not always have formal or official names and these couplings followed earlier tramway practice but were made more regular. The vehicles are coupled by hand using a hook and links with a turnbuckle that draws the vehicles together, in Britain, this is called a screw coupling. Vehicles have buffers, one at each corner on the ends and this arrangement limits the slack in trains and lessens shocks. The earliest buffers were fixed extensions of the frames. This coupling is still the standard in European countries, the link-and-pin coupling was the original style of coupling used on North American railways. After most railroads converted to semi-automatic Janney couplers, the link-and-pin survived on forestry railways, while simple in principle, the system suffered from a lack of standardisation regarding size and height of the links, and the size and height of the pockets. The link-and-pin coupler consisted of a body that received an oblong link. During coupling, a worker had to stand between the cars as they came together and guide the link into the coupler pocket. Once the cars were joined, the employee inserted a pin into a hole a few inches from the end of the tube to hold the link in place. This procedure was exceptionally dangerous and many brakemen lost fingers or entire hands when they did not get out of the way of the coupler pockets in time. Many more were killed as a result of being crushed between cars or dragged under cars that were coupled too quickly, brakemen were issued with heavy clubs that could be used to hold the link in position, but many brakemen would not use the club, and risked injury. The link-and-pin coupler proved unsatisfactory because, It made a connection between the cars, with too much slack action. There was no design, and train crews often spent hours trying to match pins. Crew members had to go between moving cars during coupling, and were injured and sometimes killed. The links and pins were often pilfered due to their value as scrap metal, john H. White suggests that the railroads considered this to be more important than the safety issue at the time
23.
Norwegian coupling
–
A Norwegian coupling is a manual coupling consisting of a central buffer with a mechanical hook that drops into a slot in the central buffer. Norwegian couplings are not particularly strong, and may be supplemented by auxiliary chains, not all Norwegian couplings are compatible with one another as they vary in height and width, and may or may not be limited to one hook at a time. The Norwegian coupling was developed in Norway around 1870, when the domestic railway net was built to 1,067 mm narrow gauge. Later, during the 20th century, these lines were rebuilt into 1,435 mm standard gauge or closed and this meant that the rolling stock needed to be replaced, and buffers and chain coupler got used instead. Only museum railways, such as the Setesdal Line and Urskog–Høland Line, the New Zealand Government Railways, during the 1970s, developed an extremely large and heavy-duty version of the chopper coupler. These were first applied to a fleet of General Electric locomotives, however, they were converted once it was decided that these locomotives would operate on other than just the North Island Main Trunk express freight trains. On railway lines where rolling stock always points the same way and this was the situation on the Lynton & Barnstaple, a narrow gauge line in Devon, England, and still applies to railways in New Zealand and on the Isle of Man Railway. Similarly, the hand brake handles may also be on one side of the wagons only, the Isle of Man Railway still couples its side chains in operation today. Kenyan railways, Uganda Railways, Tanzanian Railways and Mountain Railways of India also use the Norwegian coupler, the Pichi Richi Railway in South Australia uses Norwegian couplers as its standard, and converts Janney coupler to Norwegian as required. The slot in the beam where the coupler protrudes appears to be about the same for both types of couplers. As a museum, it is appropriate to use the type of coupling. Bell-and-hook coupler Draft gear Nilgiri Mountain Railway
24.
Janney coupler
–
The Janney Coupler is a semi-automatic railway coupler. The earliest commercially successful version of the coupler, it was patented by Eli H. Janney in 1873. The AAR/APTA Type E, Type F, and Type H tightlock couplers are all compatible knuckle couplers, prior to the formation of the AAR these were known as MCB Couplers. After 1910 the MCB reconstituted itself into the AAR, in 1913 the American Steel Foundries had developed the new Type D coupler that was accepted as the standard coupler for the United States, and no new equipment could be built using any other coupler. It was and is still the most used knuckle coupler in the world, the modern Alliance coupler still uses the modern AAR-10 and/or -10A contour, as well as others, but cannot be used in the US on an interchanging railway. Brand names of the now standard AAR Type E, F and Tightlock couplers are ASF, Buckeye, the Interlocking contour of knuckle couplers was the first aspect to be standardized. In about 1910 the producers were all using the then standardized MCB-10 contour, in the 1930s the AAR Type D was improved and became the Type E, the contour, however, stayed the same. A few years later the 10 contour was modified into an optional standard called the 10A contour. The most modern contour, for a plain Type E knuckle coupler, is still the AAR-10 and -10A, the same MCB-10 contour has been an approved standard for interchange service for over 100 years, with only the slightest dimensional changes. The Type H Tightlock couplers, which are used on passenger-carrying rolling stock, the purpose of couplers is to join rail cars or locomotives to each other so they all are securely linked together. Major Eli Janney, a Confederate veteran of the Civil War, Janney couplers are usually attached to draw gear, but sometimes, in the case of locomotives, the Type E is bolted directly on the headstock. The Janney coupler is used in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Chile, Brazil, China and elsewhere. Among its features, Maximum tonnage as high as 32,000 metric tons such as on the Fortescue Railway, minimum ultimate tensile strength, Grade E knuckles,650,000 pounds-force Grade C or Grade E knuckles are required for interchange service. Such as Victorian narrow gauge lines, Janney couplers are always right-handed, i. e. their shape resembles the human right hand with fingers curled, as viewed from above. Required coupler heights, in North AmericaEmpty cars,33.5 inches ± 1-inch Loaded cars,32.5 inches in ± 1-inch Janney couplers are uncoupled by lifting the pin with a lever at the corner of the car. This pin is locked when the coupler is under tension, so the usual uncoupling steps are to compress the coupling with a locomotive, lift and hold up the pin, side operated variants are called the Sharon or Buckeye coupler. Most Janney couplers are now bottom operated, trains fitted with Janney couplers can accommodate heavier loads than any other type of coupler. Thus, the heaviest coal trains in New Zealand use Janney couplings, also, long-distance freight trains in North America are commonly more than 1-mile long, whereas this is not seen in Europe, where most freight trains still use English buffers and chain couplers
25.
SA3 coupler
–
The SA3 coupler is a type of railway coupling used mainly, but not exclusively, in Russia and other states of the former Soviet Union. Railways in Russia used European buffers and chain couplings from their inception and these couplings had three main limitations. Secondly, the couplings were not semi-automatic like the North American Janney AAR coupler, thirdly, the buffers could get buffer-locked and cause accidents. Advantages and disadvantages of these couplings are intermediate between Janney AAR couplers and Scharfenberg couplers and it took a while to find a replacement. One option was to copy the Janney AAR coupling, as Japan, Australia and other countries were starting to do, the Soviets were not afraid to copy, as they had imported many engines and engineers during the various five year plans. In the end they chose the SA3, although implementation was delayed by World War II, the Willison coupler was patented by John Willison from Derby, England. It was registered in 1910, and approved in USA1916, the company Knorr bought it and it started to be used in Germany for some heavy trains and some suburban trains in Paris. The Soviet Union needed a new coupler and decided to use this coupler, in the late 1920s, the UIC had established a working group for the replacement of the chain link coupler, which restricts the efficiency of freight railroads in a major way. In Germany, coal trains with Scharfenberg couplers yielded unfavourable results in weather, other railroads did similar tests. But the UIC was not able to agree on one replacement and this failure of the UIC, which hampers freight operation in Europe even today, led to the decision by the Soviet Union to move forward without a standard being achieved in the talks. The coupler was named SA-3 and was a version of Willison coupler, with better design of lock parts. This type of coupler was standardized for the railways in the Soviet Union after World War II, further tests were carried out in the 1950s. Helper locomotives at the end of the train are used in the countries of the former Soviet Union. The load of the freight per train is not as heavy as on American railways and this is due to the 3 kV DC electrification system. Most of the catenary in the former Soviet Union is fed with 3 kV DC, although the SA-3 coupler is primarily used in the countries of the former Soviet Union, they are visible every day at the transshipping stations, at the eastern borders of the European Union. Since bogie-changing technology has progressed, this allows for cars with SA-3 coupler to regularly operate on the standard gauge tracks, a special converter car is inserted between standard and broad gauge cars for this operation, with different couplers on either end. Although these coupling freight cars have room for cargo, they are always operated empty and this appears to be done in Iran. On the Uzhhorod–Košice broad-gauge track between Košice and Uzhhorod, Ukraine, of which the part is on Slovakian territory
26.
Transport in Benin
–
This article concerns modes of transport in Benin. Benin is a country in Africa, which possesses railway and road infrastructure, Benin currently does not have rail connections to other countries, but new proposals seek to change this. Benin has a total of 578 km of track,1,000 mm metre gauge railway. In 2006, an Indian proposal appeared, which aims to link the railways of Benin with Niger, Benin will be a participant in the AfricaRail project. Benin possesses a total of 6,787 km of highway, of the paved highways in the country, there are 10 expressways. This leaves 5,430 km of unpaved road, the Trans–West African Coastal Highway crosses Benin, connecting it to Nigeria to the east, and Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast to the west. When construction in Liberia and Sierra Leone is finished, the highway will continue west to seven other Economic Community of West African States nations, a paved highway also connects Benin northwards to Niger, and through that country to Burkina Faso and Mali to the north-west. Benins unpaved roads vary widely in quality, deep sand and potholes are common, during the rainy season from mid-June to mid-September, dirt roads often become impassable. Four-wheel drive vehicles with spare tires and emergency equipment are recommended. Most of the streets in Cotonou are paved, but side streets are often dirt with deep potholes. Traffic moves on the right, as in the United States, Cotonou has no public transportation system, many Beninese people rely on bicycles, mopeds, motorbikes, and zemidjans. Buses and bush taxis offer service in the interior, gasoline smuggled from Nigeria is widely available in glass bottles and jugs at informal roadside stands throughout Cotonou and much of the country. This gasoline is of quality, often containing water or other contaminants that can damage or disable vehicles. There are periodic gas shortages, which can be acute in the north of the country where there are few service stations. Poorly maintained and overloaded transport and cargo vehicles frequently break down, drivers often place branches or leaves in the road to indicate a broken down vehicle is in the roadway. Undisciplined drivers move unpredictably through traffic, construction work is often poorly indicated. Speed bumps, commonly used on paved roads in and near villages, are seldom indicated, drivers must be on guard against people and livestock wandering into or across the roads. Nighttime driving is particularly hazardous as vehicles frequently lack headlights and/or taillights, with few exceptions, Cotonou and other cities lack any street lighting, and lighting on roads between population centers is non-existent
27.
Westinghouse Air Brake Company
–
The Westinghouse Air Brake Company was founded on September 28,1869 by George Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Earlier in the year he had invented the air brake in New York state. After having manufactured equipment in Pittsburgh for a number of years, he began to construct facilities, in 1889, the air brake manufacturing facility was moved to Wilmerding, Pennsylvania, and the companys general office building was built there in 1890. The Westinghouse Air Brake Company was established by George Westinghouse in 1869, the Air Brake plant was moved to Wilmerding, Pennsylvania in 1889. Wilmerding is a town about 14 miles outside of Pittsburgh which. Socialism was strong in Wilmerding and it was a peaceful non-violent farming borough and it was thought to be “The Ideal Town” for the company because of its location right along the Pennsylvania Railroad and its mainly blue collar inhabitants. The Air Brake Company employed 3,000 citizens from the surrounding Pittsburgh area and this stretch of lightly populated farmland known as Wilmerding developed completely around this new and industrially important company and was finally put on the map. A little under one third of its population was somehow related, after the companys development business thrived. Many of the passengers that were departing or coming into Wilmerding stopped to shop at these stores along the sidewalk before heading home. One could get anything from hair cuts to comic books, groceries to lumber, working conditions at the Westinghouse Air Brake Company were more than adequate and the company had many new developments in effect for its employees. In 1869 it was one of the first companies to institute a 9-hour work day, wA&B also got the reputation for being the first industry in America to adopt half holidays on Saturday afternoons. A series of options were also instituted to better the working and living conditions of its employees. The Air Brake plant was very prosperous and was nothing far from a gift for this small town. By 1905 over 2,000,000 freight, passenger, mail, baggage, but just as in all big businesses, it had its ups and downs. There was one general complaint among the Wilmerding business men and it was that only about half of the workers could find work during the non-busy season. This made sense since these men and women depended entirely on the company, when the economy struggled and profits in the company declined, workers then had to alter their standard of living. Wilmerding’s prosperity and misfortune all depended on the success of the Air Brake Company, during this time, in the early 1900s, the Westinghouse Company built houses on a tract of land that it had purchased, in turn, it then sold those homes to its workers cheaply. The company also offered educational and cultural activities, usually run through the local Y. M. C. A, wA&B catered to those who were not exactly fit in its working conditions
28.
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 March 5,1868, the Westinghouse Air Brake Company was subsequently organized to manufacture and sell Westinghouses invention. In various forms, it has nearly universally adopted. The Westinghouse system uses air pressure to charge air reservoirs on each car, full air pressure signals each car to release the brakes. A reduction or loss of air pressure signals each car to apply its brakes, in the air brakes 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, the mechanical linkage can become quite elaborate, as it evenly distributes force from one pressurized air cylinder to 8 or 12 wheels. The pressurized air comes from an air compressor in the locomotive and is sent from car to car by a line made up of pipes beneath each car. The principal problem with the air braking system is that any separation between hoses and pipes causes loss of air pressure and hence the loss of the force applying the brakes. This could easily cause a runaway train, straight air brakes are still used on locomotives, although as a dual circuit system, usually with each bogie having its own circuit. Unlike the straight air system, the Westinghouse system uses a reduction in air pressure in the line to apply the brakes. The triple valve is described as being so named as it performs three functions, Charging air into an air tank ready to be used, applying the brakes, in so doing, it supports certain other actions. When he soon improved the device by removing the poppet valve action, if the pressure in the train line is lower than that of the reservoir, the brake cylinder exhaust portal is closed and air from the cars reservoir is fed into the brake cylinder. Pressure increases in the cylinder, applying the brakes, while decreasing in the reservoir and this action continues until equilibrium between the brake pipe pressure and reservoir pressure is achieved. At that point, the airflow from the reservoir to the cylinder is lapped off. If the pressure in the line is higher than that of the reservoir. The triple valve also causes the cylinder to be exhausted to the atmosphere. As the pressure in the line and that of the reservoir equalize, the triple valve closes, causing the air in the reservoir to be sealed in. When the engine operator releases the brake, the brake valve portal to atmosphere is closed
29.
Vacuum brake
–
The vacuum brake is a braking system employed on trains and introduced in the mid-1860s. A variant, the vacuum brake system, became almost universal in British train equipment. Vacuum brakes also enjoyed a period of adoption in the United States. Its limitations caused it to be superseded by compressed air systems starting in the United Kingdom from the 1970s onward. The vacuum brake system is now obsolete, it is not in large-scale usage anywhere in the world, other than in South Africa and this was clearly unsatisfactory, but the existing technology did not offer an improvement. A chain braking system was developed, requiring a chain to be coupled throughout the train, Vacuum, rather than compressed air, was preferred because steam locomotives can be fitted with ejectors, venturi devices that create vacuum without moving parts. The simple vacuum system had the defect that in the event of one of the hoses connecting the vehicles becoming displaced the vacuum brake on the entire train was useless. In this accident at Armagh, a portion of a train was detached from the locomotive on a gradient and ran away. The train was fitted with the vacuum brake, which was useless on the disconnected portion of the train. In its simplest form, the vacuum brake consists of a continuous pipe—the train pipe—running throughout the length of the train. In normal running a partial vacuum is maintained in the pipe. When air is admitted to the pipe, the air at atmospheric pressure acts against pistons in cylinders in each vehicle. A vacuum is sustained on the face of the pistons. A mechanical linkage transmits this force to brake shoes which act on the treads of the wheels, the brake cylinder is contained in a larger housing—this gives a reserve of vacuum as the piston operates. The cylinder rocks slightly in operation to maintain alignment with the brake rigging cranks, so it is supported in trunnion bearings, and the vacuum pipe connection to it is flexible. The piston in the cylinder has a flexible piston ring that allows air to pass from the upper part of the cylinder to the lower part if necessary. When the vehicles have been at rest, so that the brake is not charged, when a locomotive is coupled to the vehicles, the driver moves the brake control to the release position and air is exhausted from the train pipe, creating a partial vacuum. Air in the part of the brake cylinders is also exhausted from the train pipe
30.
25 kV AC railway electrification
–
25 kV alternating current electrification is commonly used in railway electrification systems worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. This electrification is ideal for railways that cover long distances or carry heavy traffic, after some experimentation before World War II in Hungary and in the Black Forest in Germany, it came into widespread use in the 1950s. Railways using older, lower-capacity direct current systems have introduced or are introducing 25 kV AC instead of 3 kV DC/1.5 kV DC for their new high-speed lines. The first successful operational and regular use of the 50 Hz system dates back to 1931 and it was developed by Kálmán Kandó in Hungary, who used 16 kV AC at 50 Hz, asynchronous traction, and an adjustable number of poles. The first electrified line for testing was Budapest–Dunakeszi–Alag, the first fully electrified line was Budapest–Győr–Hegyeshalom. Although Kandós solution showed a way for the future, railway operators outside of Hungary showed a lack of interest in the design. The first railway to use system was completed in 1951 by SNCF between Aix-les-Bains and La Roche-sur-Foron in southern France, initially at 20 kV but converted to 25 kV in 1953. The main reason why electrification at this voltage had not been used before was the lack of reliability of mercury-arc-type rectifiers that could fit on the train. This in turn related to the requirement to use DC series motors, until the early 1950s, mercury-arc rectifiers were difficult to operate even in ideal conditions and were therefore unsuitable for use in the railway industry. It was possible to use AC motors, but they did not have a characteristic for traction purposes. This was because control of speed is difficult without varying the frequency and this is why DC series motors were the best choice for traction purposes, as they can be controlled by voltage, and have an almost ideal torque vs speed characteristic. In the 1990s, high-speed trains began to use lighter, lower-maintenance three-phase AC induction motors. The N700 Shinkansen uses a converter to convert 25 kV single-phase AC to 1,520 V AC to 3,000 V DC to a maximum 2,300 V three-phase AC to run the motors. The system works in reverse for regenerative braking, the choice of 25 kV was related to the efficiency of power transmission as a function of voltage and cost, not based on a neat and tidy ratio of the supply voltage. For a given level, a higher voltage allows for a lower current. The Indian Traction Power uses a 25 kV autotransformer system to achieve greater than the 25 kV system. Supply, in terms, the supply for the electric trains run by the Indian Rail uses only two phases of the normal three-phase electric power supply. The usage of the two phases is a one, feeding a single phase transformer with the two phases instead of the conventional feeding of a phase and a neutral
31.
Electric multiple unit
–
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages. An EMU is usually formed of two or more semi-permanently coupled carriages, but electrically powered single-unit railcars are also classed as EMUs. EMUs are popular on commuter and suburban rail networks around the world due to their fast acceleration, being quieter than DMUs and locomotive-drawn trains, EMUs can operate later at night and more frequently without disturbing residents living near the railway lines. The first EMUs were used on the elevated Liverpool Overhead Railway in 1893, the southern terminal of the railway was underground, giving the LOR the distinction of also being the first to use EMUs underground. Each carriage had a traction motor and was specifically designed and constructed to be light in weight while running on elevated steel sections. The first EMUs were two-carriage trains later graduating to three carriages, with the front and rear carriages powered, Liverpool Museum retains an example of the Liverpool Overhead Railway EMU carriage. An early proponent of EMUs was the American engineer Frank J. Sprague, the cars that form a complete EMU set can usually be separated by function into four types, power car, motor car, driving car, and trailer car. Each car can have more than one function, such as a car or power-driving car. A power car carries the equipment to draw power from the electrified infrastructure, such as pickup shoes for third rail systems and pantographs for overhead systems. Motor cars carry the traction motors to move the train, and are combined with the power car to avoid high-voltage inter-car connections. Driving cars are similar to a cab car, containing a drivers cab for controlling the train, an EMU will usually have two driving cars at its outer ends. Trailer cars are any cars that carry little or no traction or power related equipment, on third rail systems the outer vehicles usually carry the pick up shoes, with the motor vehicles receiving the current via intra-unit connections. Many modern 2-car EMU sets are set up as married pair units, while both units in a married pair are typically driving motors, the ancillary equipment are shared between the two cars in the set. Since neither car can operate without its partner, such sets are permanently coupled, advantages of married pair units include weight and cost savings over single-unit cars while allowing all cars to be powered, unlike a motor-trailer combination. Disadvantages include a loss of flexibility, as trains must be multiples of two cars, and a failure on a single car could force removing both it and its partner from service. The retired New York–Washington Metroliner service, first operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad and later by Amtrak, also featured high-speed electric multiple-unit cars, diesel multiple unit Battery electric multiple unit British electric multiple units Media related to Electric multiple unit at Wikimedia Commons
32.
Loading gauge
–
A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures. Classification systems vary between different countries and gauges may vary across a network, even if the track gauge remains constant, containerisation and a trend towards larger shipping containers has led rail companies to increase structure gauges to compete effectively with road haulage. Compliance with a loading gauge can be checked with a car which in the past were simple wooden frames or physical feelers mounted on rolling stock. The difference between the two is called the clearance, the terms dynamic envelope or kinematic envelope – which include factors such as suspension travel, overhang on curves and lateral motion on the track – are sometimes used in place of loading gauge. The height of platforms is also a consideration when considering the loading gauge of passenger trains, where the two are not directly compatible, steps may be required which will increase loading times. Where long carriages are used on a platform, gaps will occur between the platform and the carriage door, causing additional risk. Problems increase where trains of several different loading gauges and train floor heights use the same platform, the size of load that can be carried on a railway of a particular gauge is also influenced by the design of the rolling stock. Low-deck rolling stock can sometimes be used to carry taller 9 ft 6 in shipping containers on lower gauge lines although their low-deck rolling stock cannot then carry as many containers. Larger out-of-gauge loads can also sometimes be conveyed by taking one or more of the measures, operate at low speed. Cross over from a track with inadequate clearance to another track with greater clearance, prevent operation of other trains on adjacent tracks. Use refuge loops to allow trains to operate on other tracks, use of Schnabel cars that manipulate the load up and down or left and right to clear obstacles. Use gauntlet track to shift the train to side or center, for locomotives that are too heavy, ensure that fuel tanks are nearly empty. Turn off power in overhead wiring or in third rail, rapid Transit railways generally have a very small loading gauge. This reduces the cost of tunnel construction and these systems only use their own rolling stock. The loading gauge on the lines of Great Britain, most of which were built before 1900, is generally smaller than in other countries. In mainland Europe, the slightly larger Berne gauge was agreed to in 1913, as a result, British trains have noticeably and considerably smaller loading gauges and smaller interiors, despite the track being standard gauge along with much of the world. This results in increased costs for purchasing trains as they must be designed for the British network. The International Union of Railways has developed a series of loading gauges named A, B, B+
33.
Rail profile
–
The rail profile is the cross sectional shape of a railway rail, perpendicular to its length. Early rails were made of wood, cast iron or wrought iron, all modern rails are hot rolled steel with a cross section approximate to an I-beam, but asymmetric about a horizontal axis. The head is profiled to resist wear and to give a ride. Unlike some other uses of iron and steel, railway rails are subject to high stresses and are made of very high quality steel. It took many decades to improve the quality of the materials, minor flaws in the steel that may pose no problems in other applications can lead to broken rails and dangerous derailments when used on railway tracks. By and large, the heavier the rails and the rest of the trackwork, the rails represent a substantial fraction of the cost of a railway line. Only a small number of sizes are made by steelworks at one time. Worn, heavy rail from a mainline is often reclaimed and downgraded for re-use on a branchline, the weight of a rail per length is an important factor in determining rails strength and hence axleloads and speeds. Weights are measured in pounds per yard or kilograms per metre, rails in Canada, the United Kingdom and United States are described using imperial units. In Australia, metric units are used as in mainland Europe, commonly, in rail terminology Pound is a contraction of the expression pounds per yard and hence a 132–pound rail means a rail of 132 pounds per yard. Rails are made in a number of different sizes. Some common European rail sizes include, In the countries of former USSR65 kg/m rails and 75 kg/m rails are common, the American Society of Civil Engineers specified rail profiles in 1893 for 5-pound-per-yard increments from 40 to 100 lb/yd. Height of rail equaled width of foot for each ASCE tee-rail weight, ASCE90 lb/yd profile was adequate, but heavier weights were less satisfactory. In 1909, the American Railway Association specified standard profiles for 10 lb/yd increments from 60 to 100 lb/yd, the trend was to increase rail height/foot-width ratio and strengthen the web. Disadvantages of the foot were overcome through use of tie-plates. AREA recommendations reduced the weight of rail head down to 36%. Attention was also focused on improved fillet radii to reduce stress concentration at the web junction with the head, AREA recommended the ARA90 lb/yd profile. Old ASCE rails of lighter weight remained in use, and satisfied the demand for light rail for a few decades
34.
Minimum railway curve radius
–
The minimum railway curve radius is the shortest allowable design radius for railway tracks under a particular set of conditions. It has an important bearing on costs and operating costs and, in combination with superelevation in the case of train tracks. Minimum radius of curve is one parameter in the design of vehicles as well as trams. Monorails and guideways are also subject to minimum radii, the first proper railway was the Liverpool and Manchester Railway which opened in 1830. Like the trams that had preceded it over a hundred years, among other reasons for the gentle curves were the lack of strength of the track, which might have overturned if the curves were too sharp causing derailments. There was no signalling at this time, so drivers had to be able to see ahead to avoid collisions with previous trains, the gentler the curves, the longer the visibility. The earliest rails were made in lengths of wrought iron. Minimum curve radii for railroads are governed by the speed operated, for handling of long freight trains, a minimum 717-foot radius is preferred. The sharpest curves tend to be on the narrowest of narrow gauge railways, as the need for more powerful locomotives grew, the need for more driving wheels on a longer, fixed wheelbase grew too. But long wheel bases are unfriendly to sharp curves, various types of articulated locomotives were devised to avoid having to operate multiple locomotives with multiple crews. More recent diesel and electric locomotives do not have a wheelbase problem and this is particularly true of the European buffer and chain couplers, where the buffers extend the profile of the railcar body. For a line with maximum speed 60 km/h, buffer-and-chain couplings reduce the radius to around 200 m. A long heavy freight train, especially those with wagons of mixed loading, may struggle on sharp curves, common solutions include, marshalling light and empty wagons at rear of train intermediate locomotives, including remotely controlled ones. Easing curves reduced speeds reduced cant, at the expense of fast passenger trains, equalizing wagon loading better driver training driving controls that display drawgear forces. And c2013 Electronically Controlled Pneumatic brakes, a similar problem occurs with harsh changes in gradients. To counter this, a cant is used, ideally the train should be tilted such that resultant force acts straight down through the bottom of the train, so the wheels, track, train and passengers feel little or no sideways force. Some trains are capable of tilting to enhance this effect for passenger comfort, because freight and passenger trains tend to move at different speeds and weigh dramatically different, a cant cannot be ideal for both types of rail traffic. The relationship between speed and tilt can be calculated mathematically, the values used when building high-speed railways vary, and depend on desired wear and safety levels
35.
Seaspeak
–
Seaspeak is a controlled natural language based on English, designed to facilitate communication between ships whose captains native tongues differ. It has now been formalised as Standard Marine Communication Phrases, while generally based on the English language, seaspeak has a very small vocabulary, and will incorporate foreign words where English does not have a suitable word. There are other similar special-purpose CNLs, including aviation English for aircraft, and this resulted in the development of the Standard Marine Communication Phrases, which were adopted by the IMO as resolution A.198 in November 2001 at their 22nd Assembly. A good example of the benefit of seaspeak is the use of a single short, thus the phrase say again could replace any of the following, Could not hear what you said, please repeat. I did not understand, say that again, too much noise, repeat what you said. I am having difficulty hearing what you are saying, please repeat what you were trying to say. There is too much noise on the line - I cannot understand you, a simplified vocabulary also helps overcome static, since the phrase say again is always two words and three syllables, no matter how much it is blurred by that static. Weeks, Fred, Alan Glover, Edward Johnson, Peter Strevens, Seaspeak Training Manual, Essential English for International Maritime Use. PoliceSpeak Basic English Number of words in English NATO alphabet IMO Standard Marine Communication Phrases and teaching their use in VTS-context, prolingua, the company where Edward Johnson worked on SeaSpeak, AirSpeak, etc
36.
Great Western Railway telegraphic codes
–
Great Western Railway telegraphic codes were a commercial telegraph code used to shorten the telegraphic messages sent between the stations and offices of the railway. The codes listed below are taken from the 1939 edition of the Telegraph Message Code book unless stated otherwise, the Great Western Railway pioneered telegraph communication over the 13 miles from Paddington to West Drayton on 9 April 1839 using Cooke and Wheatstone equipment. Although used primarily as a safety device to regulate the passage of trains, in order to do this quickly and accurately, a number of code words were used to replace complicated or regularly used phrases. The codes were changed from time to time to current needs. By 1922 most railways in the country had agreed on standard code words, in 1943 all railways were brought into a single system of codes and the GWR special codes were discontinued. Note, many of these codes could have a letter to identify variations, such as Mink A. Most of these codes were painted onto the wagons for easy identification, by using these codes long and complex sentences could be sent using just a few words. Some examples of the codes representing phrases include, Adex – Advertised day excursion, boyne – There is no water at the following station. Wire full description, marks, and contents, and say who complains, cynic – Can only offer ordinary service. Osage – Send men here for undermentioned engine to leave at, palm – Report fully by next train with reference to delay. Smoke – Owing to fog in London Division restriction train service to operate in accordance with current fog-working notice, stork – We have no trace of your invoice, send copy next train. Zola – Can you send engine and men to undermentioned station, australian railway telegraphic codes Commercial code Great Western Railway wagons
37.
Commercial code (communications)
–
In telecommunication, a commercial code is a code once used to save on cablegram costs. Telegraph charged per word sent, so companies which sent large volumes of telegrams developed codes to save money on tolls, elaborate commercial codes which encoded complete phrases into single words were developed and published as codebooks of thousands of phrases and sentences with corresponding codewords. Commercial codes were not generally intended to keep private, as codes were widely published. Numerous special-purpose codes were developed and sold for fields as varied as aviation, car dealerships, insurance. These codes turned complete phrases into single words and these were not always genuine words, for example, codes contained words such as BYOXO, LIOUY, BMULD, or AYYLU. Cable tolls were charged by the word, and telegraph companies counted codewords like any other words, early codes were typically compilations of phrases and corresponding codewords numbering in the tens of thousands. Codewords were chosen to be words to minimize errors by telegraphers. By 1903 regulations were changed to allow any pronounceable word no more than ten letters long, another aim of the telegraph codes was to reduce the risk of misunderstanding by avoiding having similar words mean similar things. Codes were usually designed to avoid error by using words which could not be confused by telegraph operators. The Supreme Court subsequently ruled Western Union was liable only for the cost of the message, examples of commercial codes include the ABC Telegraphic Code, Bentleys Second Phrase Code, Liebers Standard Telegraphic Code, Slaters Telegraphy Code, Western Union Universal Codebook and Unicode. In codes such as the ABC Code, code words could contain blanks, the telegrapher would then fill in the three parameters, the destination, the number of tons, and the price per ton. Cipher telegrams were subject to higher tolls, codes such as the ABC Telegraphic Code, therefore, included both numbers and code words so the user could choose between the two. Example code words, From the ABC Telegraphic Code, PAROMELLA — in leaving the dock struck the pier, the Codebreakers, The Story of Secret Writing
Mchinji - connects to Malawi Railways[5]
Chipata (1,212 m or 3,976 ft) - railhead - opened 2010
