1.
Ffestiniog Railway
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The Ffestiniog Railway is a 1 ft 11 1⁄2 in narrow gauge heritage railway, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park, the railway is roughly 13 1⁄2 miles long and runs from the harbour at Porthmadog to the slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, travelling through forested and mountainous scenery. The line is single throughout with four intermediate passing places. The first mile of the out of Porthmadog runs atop an embankment locally called the Cob. The Festiniog Railway Company which owns the railway is the oldest surviving company in the world. It also owns the Welsh Highland Railway which was re-opened fully in 2011, the two railways share the same track gauge and meet at Porthmadog station, with some trains working the entire 40 mile route from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Caernarfon. The railway company is known as the Festiniog Railway Company as this otherwise obsolete spelling is in the official title of the company in the Act that created the railway. Most British railways were amalgamated into four groups in 1921 and then into British Railways in 1948 but the Festiniog Railway Company, like most narrow-gauge railways. In 1921, this was due to influence, whereas in 1947 it was left out of British Railways because it was closed for traffic. Various important developments in the Railways early history were celebrated by the firing of cannon at various points along the line. Cannon were fired, for instance, to mark the laying of the first stone at Creuau in 1833, the opening in 1836. The passing of a later Act for the railway also saw cannon celebrations, but on occasion a fitter at Boston Lodge. The line was constructed between 1833 and 1836 to transport slate from the quarries around the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog to the coastal town of Porthmadog where it was loaded onto ships. The railway was graded so that wagons could be run by gravity downhill all the way from Blaenau Ffestiniog to the port. The empty wagons were hauled back up by horses, which travelled down in special dandy wagons, to achieve this continuous grade, the line followed natural contours and employed cuttings and embankments built of stone and slate blocks without mortar. It shows departures from the Quarry Terminus at 7,30,9,28,11,16,1,14,3,12 and 5,10, trains waited ten minutes at the intermediate stations called Tunnel Halt, Hafod y Llyn and Rhiw Goch. The fastest journey time from Quarry Terminus to Boston Lodge was 1 hour 32 minutes, from Boston Lodge, the slate wagons were hauled to and from Porthmadog harbour by horses. Up trains took six hours from Boston Lodge to the Quarry Terminus and each train ran in up to four sections, each hauled by a horse
2.
Articulated locomotive
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The term articulated locomotive usually means a steam locomotive with one or more engine units which can move independent of the main frame. This is done to allow a locomotive to negotiate tighter curves. Articulation is also applied to electric locomotives, such as the Italian FS Class E656. Many different schemes for articulation were developed over the years, most other types saw only limited success. Also, the Kitson-Meyer variant with the spread apart to allow a deeper firebox between them. Simple expansion, or simple, articulated steam engines had two sets of equally sized cylinders, when the steam was used in the firebox, the high pressure and low pressure came out the smokestack at once, resulting in higher tractive effort at the cost of more fuel burnt. Compound expansion, or compound, articulated steam engines like Anatole Mallets original idea and this, however, resulted in lower tractive effort because of its low efficiency. g. Electric and diesel locomotives have many construction aspects in common with Meyer type steam locomotives but are not seen as articulated. Beyer Peacock Bissel bogie Cleminsons patent Grovers bogie Jacobs bogie Articulated locomotives Articulated steam bogie locomotives
3.
Steam locomotive
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A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its pulling power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning combustible material—usually coal, wood, the steam moves reciprocating pistons which are mechanically connected to the locomotives main wheels. Both fuel and water supplies are carried with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in wagons pulled behind, the first steam locomotive, made by Richard Trevithick, first operated on 21 February 1804, three years after the road locomotive he made in 1801. The first practical steam locomotive was built in 1812-13 by John Blenkinsop, Steam locomotives were first developed in Great Britain during the early 19th century and used for railway transport until the middle of the 20th century. From the early 1900s they were superseded by electric and diesel locomotives, with full conversions to electric. The majority of locomotives were retired from regular service by the 1980s, though several continue to run on tourist. The earliest railways employed horses to draw carts along railway tracks, in 1784, William Murdoch, a Scottish inventor, built a small-scale prototype of a steam road locomotive. An early working model of a rail locomotive was designed and constructed by steamboat pioneer John Fitch in the US during 1794. His steam locomotive used interior bladed wheels guided by rails or tracks, the model still exists at the Ohio Historical Society Museum in Columbus. The authenticity and date of this locomotive is disputed by some experts, accompanied by Andrew Vivian, it ran with mixed success. The design incorporated a number of important innovations that included using high-pressure steam which reduced the weight of the engine, Trevithick visited the Newcastle area in 1804 and had a ready audience of colliery owners and engineers. The visit was so successful that the railways in north-east England became the leading centre for experimentation. Trevithick continued his own steam propulsion experiments through another trio of locomotives, Four years later, the successful twin-cylinder locomotive Salamanca by Matthew Murray for the edge railed rack and pinion Middleton Railway debuted in 1812. Another well known early locomotive was Puffing Billy built 1813–14 by engineer William Hedley and it was intended to work on the Wylam Colliery near Newcastle upon Tyne. This locomotive is the oldest preserved, and is on display in the Science Museum. George Stephenson built Locomotion No.1 for the Stockton and Darlington Railway, north-east England, in 1829, his son Robert built in Newcastle The Rocket which was entered in and won the Rainhill Trials. This success led to the company emerging as the pre-eminent builder of locomotives used on railways in the UK, US. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened a year later making exclusive use of power for passenger
4.
Driving wheel
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On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotives pistons. On diesel and electric locomotives, the wheels may be directly driven by the traction motors. Coupling rods are not usually used, and it is common for each axle to have its own motor. Jackshaft drive and coupling rods were used in the past but their use is now confined to shunting locomotives, on an articulated locomotive or a duplex locomotive, driving wheels are grouped into sets which are linked together within the set
5.
Bogie
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A bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle, thus serving as a modular subassembly of wheels and axles. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transport, while bogie is the preferred spelling and first-listed variant in various dictionaries, bogey and bogy are also used. A bogie in the UK, or a truck, wheel truck. In Indian English, bogie may also refer to a railway carriage. In South Africa, the bogie is often alternatively used to refer to a freight or goods wagon. The first standard gauge British railway to build coaches with bogies, an alternate configuration often is used in articulated vehicles, which places the bogies under the connection between the carriages or wagons. Most bogies have two axles, but some cars designed for heavy loads have more axles per bogie, heavy-duty cars may have more than two bogies using span bolsters to equalize the load and connect the bogies to the cars. Suspension to absorb shocks between the frame and the rail vehicle body, Common types are coil springs, or rubber airbags. At least one wheelset, composed of an axle with bearings and a wheel at each end The bolster, the railway car is supported at the pivot point on the bolster. Axle box suspensions absorb shocks between the bearings and the bogie frame. The axle box suspension usually consists of a spring between the frame and axle bearings to permit up-and-down movement, and sliders to prevent lateral movement. A more modern design uses solid rubber springs, brake equipment, Two main types are used, brake shoes that are pressed against the tread of the wheel, and disc brakes and pads. More modern, bolsterless bogie designs omit these features, instead taking advantage of the movement of the suspension to permit rotational movement. The Commonwealth bogie, manufactured by the English Steel Corporation under licence from the Commonwealth Steel Company in Illinois, fitted with SKF or Timken bearings, it was introduced in the late 1950s for all BR Mark 1 vehicles. It was a heavy, cast-steel design weighing about 6.5 long tons, with sealed roller bearings on the axle ends, the leaf springs were replaced by coil springs running vertically rather than horizontally. The advanced design gave a better quality than the BR1. The side frame of the bogie was usually of bar construction, with simple horn guides attached, the axle boxes had a cast-steel equaliser beam or bar resting on them. The bar had two steel coil springs placed on it and the bogie frame rested on the springs, the effect was to allow the bar to act as a compensating lever between the two axles and to use both springs to soften shocks from either axle
6.
Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
7.
Heritage railway
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A heritage railway is a railway kept to carry living history rail traffic in order to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Often heritage railways are old railway lines preserved in a state which depicts a certain period, or periods, Heritage railway lines contain historic rail infrastructure that has been substituted or made obsolete in modern railway transit systems. Historical installations, such as hand operated points, water cranes, due to the lack of modern technology, or to a desire for historical accuracy, railway operations can be handled with traditional practices, such as the use of physical tokens. Use of heritage infrastructure and operations often calls for assigning roles based on historical occupations to the railway staff, station masters and signalmen, sometimes wearing period-appropriate attire, can be seen on some heritage railways. Most heritage railways carry heritage rolling stock, but modern rail vehicles can be used to showcase railway scenes with historical line infrastructure, still other heritage railways offer a viable public transit option and can therefore sustain operations with a sufficient amount of revenue from regular riders or government subsidies. Childrens railways are extracurricular educational institutions, where children and teenagers learn railway professions, often they are fully functional, passenger-carrying narrow gauge rail lines. This phenomenon originated in the USSR and was developed in Soviet times. Many sites were called pioneer railways, after the communist youth organisation, the first childrens railway was opened Moscow in 1932, and at the breakup of the USSR,52 childrens railways existed in the country. Even though the fall of communist governments has led to closures of these railways, many preserved childrens railways are still functioning in post-Soviet states, many childrens railways were built on parklands in urban areas. Unlike many industrial areas, typically served by a gauge railway. Child volunteers and socialist fiscal policy enabled stagnant existence for many of these railways, the old childrens railways, which still carry traffic, have often retained their original infrastructure and rolling stock, including vintage steam locomotives. Some have also acquired heritage vehicles from other railways, creating passages for trains up steep hills and through mountain regions offers many obstacles which call for special technical solutions. Special steep grade railway -technologies and extensive tunneling may be employed, the use of narrow gauge allows tighter curves in the track and offers a smaller structure gauge and tunnel size. Pit railways have been an important part of operating an underground mine all over the world, small rail vehicles offer effective transportation of ore and waste rock, as well as workers, through narrow tunnels. Sometimes the trains were the mode of transport in the passages between the work sites and the mine entrance. Often the loading gauge of the railway dictated the cross-section of the passages to be dug, and the tunnel, on many mining sites, pit railways have been abandoned due to mine closure or adoption of new kinds of transportation equipment. Nowadays some show mines exhibit a vintage pit railway and offer a chance to experience a mantrip into the mine, Millennium Underground Railway or M1, built from 1894 to 1896, is the oldest line of the Budapest Metro system and the second oldest underground railway in the world. In the 1980s and 1990s, M1 underwent major reconstruction, the original appearance of the old stations has been preserved
8.
Diesel locomotive
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A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotive have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which power is conveyed to the driving wheels. Early internal combustion engine-powered locomotives and railmotors used gasoline as their fuel, soon after Dr. Rudolf Diesel patented his first compression ignition engine in 1892, it was considered for railway propulsion. Progress was slow, however, as several problems had to be overcome, power transmission was a primary concern. As opposed to steam and electric engines, internal combustion engines work efficiently only within a range of turning frequencies. In light vehicles, this could be overcome by a clutch, in heavy railway vehicles, mechanical transmission never worked well or wore out too soon. Experience with early gasoline powered locomotives and railcars was valuable for the development of diesel traction, one step towards diesel-electric transmission was the petrol-electric vehicle, such as the Acsev Weitzer railmotor, which could operate from batteries and electric overhead wires too. Steady improvements in diesel design gradually reduced its size and improved its power-to-weight ratio to a point where one could be mounted in a locomotive. Once the concept of drive was accepted, the pace of development quickened. In 1930, Armstrong Whitworth of the United Kingdom delivered two 1,200 hp locomotives using engines of Sulzer design to Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway of Argentina, currently, almost all diesel locomotives are diesel-electric, although the diesel-hydraulic type was widely used between the 1950s and 1970s. The Soviet diesel locomotive TEP80-0002 lays claim to the speed record for a diesel railed vehicle. In 1894, a 20 h. p. two axle machine built by Priestman Brothers was used on the Hull Docks, in 1896 an oil-engined railway locomotive was built for the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, England, in 1896, using an engine designed by Herbert Akroyd Stuart. It was not, strictly, a diesel because it used a hot bulb engine, following the expiration of Dr. Rudolf Diesels patent in 1912, his engine design was successfully applied to marine propulsion and stationary applications. However, the massiveness and poor power-to-weight ratio of early engines made them unsuitable for propelling land-based vehicles. Therefore, the potential as a railroad prime mover was not initially recognized. This changed as development reduced the size and weight of the engine, the worlds first diesel-powered locomotive was operated in the summer of 1912 on the Winterthur-Romanshorn Railroad in Switzerland, but was not a commercial success. In 1906, Rudolf Diesel, Adolf Klose and the steam, Sulzer had been manufacturing Diesel engines since 1898. During further test runs in 1913 several problems were found, after the First World War broke out in 1914, all further trials were stopped
9.
Electric locomotive
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An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or fuel cell. Electricity is used to smoke and take advantage of the high efficiency of electric motors. One advantage of electrification is the lack of pollution from the locomotives, electrification results in higher performance, lower maintenance costs and lower energy costs. Power plants, even if they burn fossil fuels, are far cleaner than mobile sources such as locomotive engines, the power can come from clean or renewable sources, including geothermal power, hydroelectric power, nuclear power, solar power and wind turbines. Electric locomotives are quiet compared to locomotives since there is no engine and exhaust noise. The lack of reciprocating parts means electric locomotives are easier on the track, Electric locomotives are ideal for commuter rail service with frequent stops. They are used on high-speed lines, such as ICE in Germany, Acela in the U. S. Shinkansen in Japan, China Railway High-speed in China, Electric locomotives are used on freight routes with consistently high traffic volumes, or in areas with advanced rail networks. Electric locomotives benefit from the efficiency of electric motors, often above 90%. Additional efficiency can be gained from regenerative braking, which allows energy to be recovered during braking to put power back on the line. Newer electric locomotives use AC motor-inverter drive systems provide for regenerative braking. The chief disadvantage of electrification is the cost for infrastructure, overhead lines or third rail, substations, public policy in the U. S. interferes with electrification, higher property taxes are imposed on privately owned rail facilities if they are electrified. In Europe and elsewhere, railway networks are considered part of the transport infrastructure, just like roads, highways and waterways. Operators of the rolling stock pay fees according to rail use and this makes possible the large investments required for the technically and, in the long-term, also economically advantageous electrification. Because railroad infrastructure is owned in the U. S. railroads are unwilling to make the necessary investments for electrification. The first known electric locomotive was built in 1837 by chemist Robert Davidson of Aberdeen and it was powered by galvanic cells. Davidson later built a locomotive named Galvani, exhibited at the Royal Scottish Society of Arts Exhibition in 1841. The seven-ton vehicle had two direct-drive reluctance motors, with fixed electromagnets acting on iron bars attached to a cylinder on each axle. It hauled a load of six tons at four miles per hour for a distance of one and it was tested on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in September of the following year, but the limited power from batteries prevented its general use
10.
Vulcan Foundry
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The Vulcan Foundry Limited was a British locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire. Because of the distance from the works in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, it seemed preferable to build. In 1832, Robert Stephenson became a partner for a few years, the company had become The Vulcan Foundry Company in 1847 and acquired limited liability in 1864. From the beginning of 1898, the name changed again to The Vulcan Foundry Limited, the site had its own railway station, Vulcan Halt, on the former Warrington and Newton Railway line from Earlestown to Warrington Bank Quay. The halt was opened on 1 November 1916 by the London and North Western Railway and this list claims that the first two locomotives were 0-4-0 Tayleur and Stephenson built in 1833 for Mr Hargreaves, Bolton, but this seems unlikely. The earliest authenticated products were 0-4-0 Titan and Orion, similar to Stephensons design, other early orders came from the Leicester and Swannington Railway and there were also some 4-2-0s for America which were among the first British bogie locomotives. From 1835 the company was selling to Belgium, France, and in 1836 to Austria and Russia, the companys locomotives had a strong Stephenson influence, many during the following decade being of the long boiler design. In 1852 the first locomotives ever to run in India were supplied to the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, a number of Fairlie locomotives were built, including Taliesin for the Ffestiniog Railway and Josephine one of the NZR E class. During 1870 the company supplied the first locos to run in Japan, a number of Matthew Kirtleys double-framed goods engines were also produced for the Midland Railway. The healthy export trade continued, particularly to India and South America, the most notable design manufactured for an overseas railway during this period was the large 4-8-4 built for the Chinese National Railways in 1934-35. These fine locomotives were equipped with a stoker and six of them were fitted with booster engines on the tender. Of the 24 exported, one returned to the UK and is preserved at the National Railway Museum in York, during 1953-54 the company built sixty J Class 2-8-0 locomotives for Victorian Railways, Australia. From 1939 the works was mostly concerned with the war effort, becoming involved in the development, from 1943 large orders were received from the Ministry of Supply for locomotives,390 Austerity 2-8-0s and fifty Austerity 0-6-0 saddle tanks. In 1944 the Vulcan Foundry acquired Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns and in 1945 received an order for 120 Liberation 2-8-0 locomotives for UNRRA in Europe, the war had left Indias railways in a parlous state and in 1947, with foreign aid, embarked on a massive rebuilding plan. Not only was the competition fierce from other countries, but India had developed the ability to build its own locomotives, the company had experience of both diesel and electric locomotives, having built thirty-one so-called Crocodile 2600 hp 1, 500V DC electric banking locomotives in 1929 for India. Indias National Railway Museum in New Delhi exhibits a locomotive from the Vulcan foundry. In 1931, the company supplied the first experimental diesel shunter to the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. In 1936 Vulcan, a diesel-mechanical 0-6-0 shunter with a Vulcan-Frichs 6-cylinder 275 hp diesel engine was loaned to the LMS, and was used by the War Department
11.
Scottish people
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The Scottish people, or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland in the 9th century, and are thought to have been ethnolinguistically Celts. Later, the neighbouring Cumbrian Britons, who spoke a Celtic language, as well as Germanic-speaking Anglo-Saxons. In modern usage, Scottish people or Scots is used to refer to anyone whose linguistic, cultural, the Latin word Scotti, originally the word referred specifically to the Gaels, but came to describe all inhabitants of Scotland. Considered archaic or pejorative, the term Scotch has also used for Scottish people. John Kenneth Galbraith in his book The Scotch documents the descendants of 19th-century Scottish pioneers who settled in Southwestern Ontario and he states the book was meant to give a true picture of life in the community in the early decades of the 20th century. People of Scottish descent live in countries other than Scotland. Scottish emigrants took with them their Scottish languages and culture, large populations of Scottish people settled the new-world lands of North and South America, Australia and New Zealand. Canada has the highest level of Scottish descendants per capita in the world, Scotland has seen migration and settlement of many peoples at different periods in its history. The Gaels, the Picts and the Britons have their origin myths. The Venerable Bede tells of the Scotti coming from Spain via Ireland, Germanic peoples, such as the Anglo-Saxons, arrived beginning in the 7th century, while the Norse invaded and colonized parts of Scotland from the 8th century onwards. In the High Middle Ages, from the reign of David I of Scotland, there was emigration from France, England. Some famous Scottish family names, including bearing the names which became Bruce, Balliol, Murray. Today Scotland is one of the countries of the United Kingdom, culturally, these peoples are grouped according to language. Most of Scotland until the 13th century spoke Celtic languages and these included, at least initially, the Britons, as well as the Gaels and the Picts. Germanic peoples included the Angles of Northumbria, who settled in south-eastern Scotland in the region between the Firth of Forth to the north and the River Tweed to the south. They also occupied the south-west of Scotland up to and including the Plain of Kyle and their language, south-east of the Firth of Forth, then in Lothian and the Borders, a northern variety of Old English, also known as Early Scots, was spoken. The Northern Isles and some parts of Caithness were Norn-speaking, from 1500 on, Scotland was commonly divided by language into two groups of people, Gaelic-speaking Highlanders and the Inglis-speaking Lowlanders
12.
Robert Francis Fairlie
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Robert Francis Fairlie was a Scottish-born railway engineer. Fairlie was born in Glasgow, the son of T. Archibald Fairlie and he is chiefly known for the invention of the Fairlie double-bogie articulated locomotive that is particularly associated with tightly curved railways and especially narrow gauge mountain lines. The Hatcham Ironworks, Pomeroy Street, New Cross, London, a series of tests, for which detailed performance records survive, were held between 18 September 1869 and 8 July 1870. Further parties of engineers and managers came to Porthmadog on four occasions in 1870 to observe the locomotive at work. The success of public trials gave new heart to all those civil servants challenged with the task of approving one standard gauge line or two narrow gauge lines for the same total budgeted cost. Fairlie was richly rewarded with orders and commissions from overseas including one involving work in Venezuela in 1873/4, by 1876 forty three railways operated Fairlies patent locomotives, not always successfully. For the story of his patent articulated engine see the Fairlie locomotive entry, after this marriage they had run away to Spain. This accusation would, if proved, have resulted in a prison sentence and he had lived with this lady several years but could not marry her until his wife died. By a quirk of English law, at time, a child born out of wedlock was considered nobodys child. In law she was nothing to do with George England and could marry whom she pleased, there was no case to answer and therefore a verdict of not guilty was returned. But none of this stopped George England building Robert Fairlies remarkable double-engine for the Ffestiniog Railway seven years later, Fairlies Little Wonder was delivered to the FR in the summer of 1869 and George England retired. In September 1869 Robert Fairlie joined with George Englands son and J. S, fraser to take over the Hatcham Works and to form the Fairlie Engine & Steam Carriage Co. but George England junior died within a few months. Locomotive production ceased at the end of 1870 but the Fairlie Engine & Rolling Stock Co. continued as an office for design, Robert Francis Fairlie died in London on 31 July 1885 and is buried at West Norwood Cemetery. Abraham Fitzgibbon Carl Abraham Pihl Everard Calthrop Paul Decauville Thomas Hall Locomotive Engines, What they are and What they Ought to be by R. F. Fairlie, London, John King & Co. 693, Queen Street, E. C.1864 Railways or No Railways – The Battle of the Gauges Renewed by R. F. Fairlie, London, Effingham Wilson, Royal Exchange. 1872 Works by or about Robert Francis Fairlie at Internet Archive Robert Fairlie, George England and the Spooners
13.
Tractive force
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In railway engineering, the term tractive effort is often used synonymously with tractive force to describe the pulling or pushing capability of a locomotive. The published tractive force value for any vehicle may be theoretical—that is, the term tractive effort is often qualified as starting tractive effort, continuous tractive effort and maximum tractive effort. The product of μ and m is the factor of adhesion, Starting tractive effort, Starting tractive effort is the tractive force that can be generated at a standstill. This figure is important on railways because it determines the maximum weight that a locomotive can set into motion. Maximum tractive effort, Maximum tractive effort is defined as the highest tractive force that can be generated under any condition that is not injurious to the vehicle or machine. In most cases, maximum tractive effort is developed at low speed, due to the relationship between power, velocity and force, described as, P = vF or P/v = F tractive effort inversely varies with speed at any given level of available power. Continuous tractive effort is often shown in graph form at a range of speeds as part of a tractive effort curve, the period of time for which the maximum continuous tractive effort may be safely generated is usually limited by thermal considerations. Such as temperature rise in a traction motor, specifications of locomotives often include tractive effort curves, showing the relationship between tractive effort and velocity. The shape of the graph is shown at right, the line AB shows operation at the maximum tractive effort, the line BC shows continuous tractive effort that is inversely proportional to speed. Tractive effort curves often have graphs of rolling resistance superimposed on them—the intersection of the rolling resistance graph, once in motion, the train will develop additional drag as it accelerates due to aerodynamic forces, which increase with the square of the speed. Drag may also be produced at speed due to truck hunting, if acceleration continues, the train will eventually attain a speed at which the available tractive force of the locomotive will exactly offset the total drag, causing acceleration to cease. This top speed will be increased on a due to gravity assisting the motive power. Tractive effort can be calculated from a locomotives mechanical characteristics, or by actual testing with drawbar strain sensors. Power at rail is a term for the available power for traction, that is. An estimate for the effort of a single cylinder steam locomotive can be obtained from the cylinder pressure, cylinder area, stroke of the piston. The torque developed by the motion of the piston depends on the angle that the driving rod makes with the tangent of the radius on the driving wheel. For a more useful value an average value over the rotation of the wheel is used, the driving force is the torque divided by the wheel radius. Modern locomotives with roller bearings were probably underestimated, european designers used a constant of 0.6 instead of 0.85, so the two cannot be compared without a conversion factor
14.
Railway turntable
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In rail terminology, a railway turntable or wheelhouse is a device for turning railway rolling stock, usually locomotives, so that they can be moved back in the direction from which they came. This is especially true in areas where economic considerations or a lack of sufficient space have served to weigh against the construction of a turnaround wye. In the case of locomotives, though most can be operated in either direction, they are treated as having front ends. When operated as a unit, the railway company often prefers, or requires. When operated as part of a multiple unit locomotive consist, the locomotives can be arranged so that the consist can be operated front end first no matter which direction the consist is pointed. Turntables were also used to turn observation cars so that their windowed lounge ends faced toward the rear of the train and these early wagonways used a single point-to-point track, and when operators had to move a truck to another wagonway, they did so by hand. The lack of switching technology seriously limited the weight of any loaded wagon combination, the first railway switches were in fact wagon turnplates or sliding rails. Turnplates were initially made of two or four pieces of wood, circular in form, that replicated the track running through them and their diameter matched that of the wagons used on any given wagonway, and they swung around a central pivot. Loaded wagons could be moved onto the turnplate, and rotating the turnplate 90 degrees allowed the loaded wagon to be moved to another piece of wagonway, thus, wagon weight was limited only by the strength of the wood used in the turnplates or sliding rails. When iron and later steel replaced stone and wood, weight capacity rose again, however, the problems with turnplates and sliding rails were twofold. First, they were small, which limited the wagon length that could be turned. Second, their capacity could only be accessed when the wagon was on top of them and still. The railway switch, which both of these problems, was patented by Charles Fox in 1832. As steam locomotives replaced horses as the means of power, they became optimised to run in only one direction, for operational ease. The resulting need to turn heavy locomotives required an upgrade to the existing turnplate technology. Like earlier turnplates, most new turntables consisted of a pit in which a steel bridge rotated. The bridge was supported and balanced by the central pivot, to reduce the total load on the pivot. This was most often achieved by a steel rail running around the floor of the pit that supported the ends of the bridge when a locomotive entered or exited, the turntables had a positive locking mechanism to prevent undesired rotation and to align the bridge rails with the exit track
15.
Wye (rail)
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A turning wye is a specific case. Wyes can also be used for turning equipment, and generally cover less area than a balloon loop doing the same job. When and where a wye is built specifically for equipment reversing purposes, in materials and annual taxes, the cost of two junctions is offset by saved capital investment and yearly taxes. Tram or streetcar tracks also use of triangular junctions and sometimes have a short triangle or wye stubs to turn the car at the end of the line. The use of triangular junctions allows flexibility in routing trains from any line to any other line, for this reason they are common across most rail networks. Slower bi-directional trains may enter a wye, letting a faster one pass, where one or more of the lines meeting at the junction are multi-track, the presence of a triangular junction does introduce a number of potential conflicting moves. For this reason, where traffic is heavy, the junction may incorporate flying junctions on some, or all, from time to time it is necessary to turn both individual pieces of railroad equipment or whole trains. Even where equipment is symmetrical, periodic turning may still be necessary in order to even wear, there are several different techniques that can be used to achieve such turning. Rail turntables require the least space, but can only deal with a single piece of equipment at a time. Balloon or turning loops can turn trains of any length – up to the length of the loop – in a single operation. Rail wyes can be constructed on sites where a loop would not be possible, Railroad systems in North America and Australia have tended to have more wyes than railroads elsewhere. North American locomotives and cars are likely to be directional than those found on other continents. In Canada and the United States, the railroad often was built other structures. In Europe, although some use was made of bi-directional tank locomotives and push-pull trains, because of land usage considerations, turntables were normally used to turn such locomotives, and most terminal stations and locomotive depots were so equipped. Over time, most diesel and electric locomotives ordered in Europe have been designed to be fully bi-directional, symmetrical, thus most turntables and, where they existed, rail wyes, have been taken out of use. Similar considerations apply to the use of junctions and reversing wyes on streetcar and tram systems. Many, although by no means all, streetcar and tram systems use single ended vehicles that have doors on one side only, however the vehicles used on such systems tend to have much smaller minimum curvature requirements than heavy rail equipment. This renders the use of a balloon loop more practical in an amount of space
16.
Boiler
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A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil, the heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central heating, boiler-based power generation, cooking, and sanitation. The pressure vessel of a boiler is usually made of steel, stainless steel, especially of the austenitic types, is not used in wetted parts of boilers due to corrosion and stress corrosion cracking. In live steam models, copper or brass is used because it is more easily fabricated in smaller size boilers. For much of the Victorian age of steam, the material used for boilermaking was the highest grade of wrought iron. In the 20th century, design practice instead moved towards the use of steel, which is stronger and cheaper, with welded construction, which is quicker and requires less labour. It should be noted, however, that wrought iron boilers corrode far slower than their steel counterparts. This makes the longevity of older wrought-iron boilers far superior to those of welded steel boilers, cast iron may be used for the heating vessel of domestic water heaters. Although such heaters are usually termed boilers in some countries, their purpose is usually to produce hot water, not steam, the brittleness of cast iron makes it impractical for high-pressure steam boilers. The source of heat for a boiler is combustion of any of several fuels, such as wood, coal, oil, electric steam boilers use resistance- or immersion-type heating elements. Nuclear fission is used as a heat source for generating steam, either directly or, in most cases. Heat recovery steam generators use the heat rejected from other such as gas turbine. 18th century Haycock boilers generally produced and stored large volumes of very low-pressure steam and these could burn wood or most often, coal. Flued boiler with one or two large flues—an early type or forerunner of fire-tube boiler, fire-tube boiler, Here, water partially fills a boiler barrel with a small volume left above to accommodate the steam. This is the type of boiler used in nearly all steam locomotives, the heat source is inside a furnace or firebox that has to be kept permanently surrounded by the water in order to maintain the temperature of the heating surface below the boiling point. Fire-tube boilers usually have a low rate of steam production. Fire-tube boilers mostly burn solid fuels, but are adaptable to those of the liquid or gas variety. Water-tube boiler, In this type, tubes filled with water are arranged inside a furnace in a number of possible configurations and this type generally gives high steam production rates, but less storage capacity than the above
17.
Firebox (steam engine)
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In a steam engine, the firebox is the area where the fuel is burned, producing heat to boil the water in the boiler. Most are somewhat box-shaped, hence the name, the hot gases generated in the firebox are pulled through a rack of tubes running through the firebox boiler. In the standard steam locomotive type boiler, the firebox is surrounded by water space on five sides. The bottom of the firebox is open to atmospheric pressure, if the engine burns solid fuel, like wood or coal, there is a grate covering most of the bottom of the firebox to hold the fire. An ashpan, mounted underneath the firebox and below the grates, catches and collects hot embers, ashes, in a coal-burning locomotive, the grates may be shaken to clean dead ash from the bottom of the fire. They are shaken either manually or by a powered grate shaker, wood-burning locomotives have fixed grates that cant be shaken. Wood ash is generally powder which will fall through the grates with no more required than the vibrations of the locomotive rolling down the track. The fire grates must be replaced due to the extreme heat they must endure. Combustion air enters through the bottom of the firebox and airflow is usually controlled by damper doors above the ash collection pocket of the ash pan, a locomotive that burns liquid fuel - usually Bunker C fuel oil or similar heavy oil - does not have grates. Instead, they have a metal gauge firing pan bolted tight against the bottom of the firebox. The firing pan is covered with firebrick and the firebox has a lining, usually up to the level of the firebox door. The oil burner is a nozzle containing a slot for the oil to flow out onto a steam jet which atomizes the oil into a fine mist which ignites in the firebox. The oil burner nozzle is mounted in the front of the firebox, protected by a hood of firebrick. Dampers control air flow to the oil fire, there is a large brick arch the front third to half of the firebox. It is supported on arch tubes, thermic syphons, or circulators, the brick arch directs heat, flames, and smoke back over the fire towards the rear of the firebox. Visible smoke contains unburned combustible carbon particles and combustible gasses, the purpose of this redirection is to cause more complete combustion of these particles and gasses which make the locomotive more efficient and causes less visible smoke to be emitted from the stack. Without the arch, flames and visible smoke would be sucked straight into the firetubes without having been fully burned, the brick arch and its supports require periodic replacement due to the extreme heat they endure. Firetubes are attached to one wall of the firebox and carry the hot gaseous products of combustion through the water, heating it
18.
Smokebox
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A smokebox is one of the major basic parts of a steam locomotive exhaust system. Smoke and hot gases pass from the firebox through tubes where they heat to the surrounding water in the boiler. The smoke then enters the smokebox, and is exhausted to the atmosphere through the chimney, early locomotives had no smokebox and relied on a long chimney to provide natural draught for the fire but smokeboxes were soon included in the design for two main reasons. Secondly, the smokebox provides a convenient collection point for ash and cinders drawn through the boiler tubes, without a smokebox, all char must pass up the chimney or will collect in the tubes and flues themselves, gradually blocking them. The smokebox appears to be an extension of the boiler although it contains no water and is a separate component. Smokeboxes are usually made from riveted or welded steel plate and the floor is lined with concrete to protect the steel from hot char, to assist the passage of the smoke and hot gases, a blower is often used. This is an ending in a ring containing pin-sized holes. The steam forces out the smoke and draws further gases through the tubes and this in turn causes air to be drawn through the grate and firehole, making the fire burn hotter. When the locomotive is in motion, exhaust steam passes through the blastpipe, the steam is ejected through the chimney, again drawing the fire. The blastpipe is what produces the characteristic chuff sound, ashes and soot which may be present in the smoke are often deposited in the smokebox. The front of the smokebox has a door which is opened to remove these deposits at the end of locomotives working day. The handle must be tightened fully to prevent air leaks, which would reduce the draw on the fire and can also allow any unburnt char at the bottom of the smokebox to catch fire there. Some smokebox doors have a handle in the form of a wheel, many British-built locomotives have a pair of smokebox door handles resembling the hands of a clock. On many steamrollers an extension to the body of the smokebox also houses the bearing which supports the front roller, due to limitations of space, these rollers usually have a drop-down flap instead of a circular smokebox door. The smokebox incorporates the main pipes from the regulator, one leading to each valve chest. These may pass through the wall to join with the cylinder or may stay within the profile of the smokebox. Inside steam pipes do not require lagging as the smokebox keeps them warm, some locomotive classes used both types depending on the date the batch was constructed. Because heat losses from the smokebox are of consequence, it is not usually lagged
19.
Janus (mythology)
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In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past and it is conventionally thought that the month of January is named for Janus, but according to ancient Roman farmers almanacs Juno was the tutelary deity of the month. Janus presided over the beginning and ending of conflict, and hence war, the doors of his temple were open in time of war, and closed to mark the peace. Janus had no flamen or specialised priest assigned to him, Janus had a ubiquitous presence in religious ceremonies throughout the year, and was ritually invoked at the beginning of each one, regardless of the main deity honored on any particular occasion. The ancient Greeks had no equivalent to Janus, whom the Romans claimed as distinctively their own, three etymologies were proposed by ancient erudites, each of them bearing implications about the nature of the god. The first one is based on the definition of Chaos given by Paul the Deacon, hiantem, hiare, be open, in this etymology the notion of Chaos would define the primordial nature of the god. Another etymology proposed by Nigidius Figulus is related by Macrobius, Ianus would be Apollo and Diana Iana and this explanation has been accepted by A. B. It supports all the assimilations of Janus to the sky, the sun. It supposes a former *Dianus, formed on *dia- < *dy-eð2 from Indo-European root *dey- shine represented in Latin by dies day, Diovis, however the form Dianus postulated by Nigidius is not attested. Modern scholars have conjectured that it derives from the Indo-European root meaning transitional movement, iānus would then be an action name expressing the idea of going, passing, formed on the root *yā- < *y-eð2- theme II of the root *ey- go from which eō, ειμι. Other modern scholars object to an Indo-European etymology either from Dianus or from root *yā-, from Ianus derived ianua, and hence the English word janitor. Almost all of modern explanations were originally formulated by the ancients. The function god of beginnings has been expressed in numerous ancient sources, among them most notably Cicero, Ovid. As a god of motion, Janus looks after passages, causes actions to start, since movement and change are interconnected, he has a double nature, symbolised in his two headed image. He has under his tutelage the stepping in and out of the door of homes, the ianua, which took its name from him and he is also present at the Sororium Tigillum, where he guards the terminus of the ways into Rome from Latium. He has an altar, later a temple near the Porta Carmentalis, where the leading to Veii ended, as well as being present on the Janiculum. The connection of the notions of beginning, movement, transition, in general, Janus is at the origin of time as the guardian of the gates of Heaven, Jupiter himself can move forth and back because of Januss working. In one of his temples, probably that of Forum Holitorium, Janus frequently symbolized change and transitions such as the progress of past to future, from one condition to another, from one vision to another, and young peoples growth to adulthood
20.
John Cockerill (company)
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The John Cockerill Company was a Belgian iron, steel, and manufacturing company based in Seraing in the region of Liège. It was founded in 1825 by British industrialist William Cockerill and his family, John Cockerill, son of William Cockerill owned the company, and it was known as John Cockerill & Cie. John Cockerill died in Warsaw in 1840 after a trip to Russia. He had made the trip to raise funds to save the company from bankruptcy, but after his death the company became state owned, and in 1842 it became known as Société anonyme pour lExploitation des Etablissements John Cockerill. The company was one of the iron and steel producers in western Europe throughout its existence. It was a producer of derived products, including rail and railway locomotives, iron production equipment. In 1955 it merged with Ougrée-Marihaye to form SA Cockerill-Ougrée, and in 1981 it merged into Cockerill-Sambre. In 1799 the British-born blacksmith and mechanical engineer William Cockerill set up a machinery factory in Verviers. In 1807 he moved to Liège and created a factory that constructed machinery for the carding, spinning and weaving of wool and his family from England joined him, and his sons, John and Charles James, managed the factory in Liège. After purchasing the former palace of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège at Seraing, Charles James and John constructed an iron foundry, John Cockerills business interests also expanded to include coal mining and collierys. The company rose to be the primary company of Europe. William retired in 1813, and his son John took over the company, in 1839 a banking crisis hit Belgium, and John Cockerills company became bankrupt as a result. In 1840 he traveled to Russia in an attempt to raise funds for the company, under state control, the company expanded further. A bessemer converter had been installed in 1863, and the company expanded into the production of ships and bridges, ironclads. In 1866 the companys director, Eugene Sadoine, began an expansion of the mining assets, developing nearby coal mines in Colard. By 1872 the companys first Siemens-Martin converter began operation, and in 1886 it began to use the Gilchrist-Thomas process, in 1945 the company took over SA Angleur-Athus, and in 1955 SA John Cockerill merged with SA Ougrée-Marihaye to form SA Cockerill-Ougrée. In 1980 merger with Hainaut-Sambre produced Cockerill-Sambre, which through further mergers became part of Usinor in 1999, Arcelor in 2002. The company cited overcapacity and uncompetitiveness as reasons for the closure, however, a report by Syndex commissioned by trade unions contradicted the claims of un-competitiveness, claiming ArcelorMittals reports had used biased accounting
21.
Semmering railway
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The Semmering railway in Austria, which starts at Gloggnitz and leads over the Semmering to Mürzzuschlag was the first mountain railway in Europe built with a standard gauge track. It is commonly referred to as the worlds first true mountain railway, given the difficult terrain. It is still functional as a part of the Southern Railway which is operated by the Austrian Federal Railways. The Semmering railway was constructed between 1848 and 1854 by some 20,000 workers under the designer and director Carl von Ghega born in Venice as Carlo Ghega in an Albanian family. The construction features 14 tunnels,16 viaducts and over 100 curved stone bridges as well as 11 small iron bridges, the stations and the buildings for the supervisors were often built directly from the waste material produced in the course of tunnel construction. Across an overall length of 41 km the Semmering railway overcomes an altitude difference of 460 m, on 60% of its length the gradient is 2. 0-2. 5%. This was a new technical dimension of railway construction, and new instruments. Also, new technologies were employed for the Engerth locomotives because the types in use at this time could not handle the extreme gradients. Even while being built the Semmering railway was perceived as an effort of landscape gardening, i. e. it attempted a combination of technology. The unique travel experience which the Semmering railway offered contributed significantly to the opening of the Semmering region for tourism. Numerous hotels and mansions are witnesses of this epoch, therefore, this unique culture landscape could be preserved with little change. In 1998 the Semmering railway was added to the list of the UNESCO World Heritage sites, a competition was held to decide which locomotives would be bought for operation on the Semmering Railway. One stretch of the line had gradients of 1 in 40 and curves with a radius of 190 metres. A speed of 11.5 kilometres per hour was required to be maintained, all four locomotives fulfilled the conditions of the trial, but did not prove reliable in practice. The Semmering Trials led to a number of developments in design, Fairlies Patent of 1863, the Meyer locomotive. The Engerth design articulated the tender with the locomotive frame, allowing some of the weight of the fuel. The original design included an indirect drive from the main driving wheels to the wheels under the tender. This arrangement proved too complex to maintain and was dropped from the design, sixteen locomotives were supplied to the Semmering Railway between November 1853 and May 1854
22.
Neath and Brecon Railway
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It was promoted and constructed by the contractor John Dickson. After being authorised to extend the railway to Brecon, it changed its name to the Neath, the railway linked itself to the Swansea Vale Railway by promoting the Swansea Vale and Neath and Brecon Junction Railway. This line had a gestation period due to Dicksons bankruptcy but eventually when it was opened it gave the Neath. In return, the Neath and Brecon gave full running rights over its system to the Swansea Vale Railway, the Neath and Brecon started operating a passenger service between Brecon and Swansea using these running rights. An early and unsuccessful purchaser of the new Fairlie locomotive, when in 1863 the railway reached Crynant, at Crynant several new mines were opened including the Crynant colliery, Brynteg colliery in 1904, Llwynon colliery in 1905, Dillwyn colliery, and Cefn Coed colliery 1930. These mines led to the expansion of the village, the initial B&M station at Brecon was at the Watton and the Mid Wales Railway had a station at Mount Street. The Midland then leased the Swansea Vale Companys line from around 1874 and this enabled them start running trains from Brecon to Swansea. At around the time the N&B abandoned its Brecon – Swansea service. The three companies providing services to Brecon consolidated their stations at a newly rebuilt Free Street Joint Station from 1871, in October 1962, all passenger services were withdrawn from Neath to Brecon, leaving only freight services. The line north of Craig y Nos/Penwyllt station closed to Brecon on closure of Brecon station, the line remains open to Onllwyn, with Celtic Energy using the coal washing plant there through partnership with DB Cargo UK. Some of the old Celtic Energy wagons are now housed at the Foxfield Light Railway,29 July 1862 – authorised as the Dulas Valley Mineral Railway July 1863 – Company changes name from Dulas Valley Mineral Railway to Neath and Brecon Railway. ISBN 1-84323-452-1 Neath and Brecon Railway at railscot. co. uk Article on last train from Neath to Brecon Article on modern exploration of the Brecon Forest Tramroads The Neath and Brecon Railway
23.
Festiniog Railway Little Wonder
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The Festiniog Railway Little Wonder was a 0-4-4-0T steam locomotive built by George England for the Festiniog Railway in 1869. Little Wonder was a Double Fairlie type articulated locomotive designed by Robert Francis Fairlie and it was the first Double Fairlie locomotive on the Festiniog Railway and the fourth Double Fairlie locomotive to be built. It was an improvement on earlier designs because it had two fireboxes, instead of one, and this allowed it to more freely. Little Wonder was hailed as a success and attracted attention from around the world. However, various problems arose and the engine required frequent repairs. It was withdrawn from service in 1882, ffestiniog Railway rolling stock Festipedia page on Festiniog Railway locomotives
24.
Railroad engineer
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An engineer, engine driver, train driver, train operator, is a person who operates a train. The driver is in charge of, and responsible for driving the engine, as well as the operation of the train, train speed. The use of the engineer to describe this occupation in North America should not be confused with the usual meanings of engineer. For many American railroads, the following career progression is typical, assistant conductor, conductor, in the US, drivers are required to be certified and re-certified every two to three years. In American English a hostler moves engines around train yards, in India, a driver starts as a diesel assistant or electrical assistant. They then get promoted on a scale, goods, passenger, Mail/Express, in New Zealand, the United States and Canada, train drivers are historically known as locomotive engineers, or handelers. In the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia they are known as drivers, engine drivers, locomotive drivers. Ben Chifley, former Prime Minister of Australia Casey Jones, American engineer whose wreck on the Illinois Central Railroad on April 30,1900 was immortalized in verse, fireman Motorman Stormy Kromer cap Huibregtse, Jon R. American Railroad Labor and the Genesis of the New Deal, 1919-1935 Licht, working for the Railroad, the organization of work in the nineteenth century Orr, John W. Set Up Running, The Life of a Pennsylvania Railroad Engineman, 1904-1949 Tuck, Joseph Hugh. Media related to Locomotive drivers at Wikimedia Commons A detailed explanation of what train driving involves, link to a site that offers an engineer experience program at a museum in California
25.
Fireman (steam engine)
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Fireman or stoker is the job title for someone whose job is to tend the fire for the running of a steam engine. On steam locomotives the term fireman is usually used, while on steamships and stationary engines, such as those driving saw mills. The German word Heizer is equivalent and in Dutch the word stoker is mostly used too, the United States Navy referred to them as watertenders. Much of the job is hard physical labor, such as shoveling fuel, typically coal, the Royal Navy used the rank structure ordinary stoker, stoker, leading stoker, stoker petty officer and chief stoker. The non-substantive badge for stokers was a ships propeller, Stoker remains the colloquial term used to refer to a marine engineering rating, despite the decommissioning of the last steam-powered naval vessel many years ago. Large coal-fueled vessels also had individuals working as coal trimmers, who delivered coal from the bunkers to the stokers. They were responsible for all coal handling with the exception of the fueling of the boilers. The Royal Canadian Navy had steam powered ships, the last of which were replenishment ships, all marine engineers in the RCN, regardless of their platform are nicknamed stokers. On steam locomotives, firemen were not usually responsible for initially preparing locomotives, only on small railways, or on narrow-gauge locomotives with smaller and faster-warming boilers, was the fire lit by the fireman. Some firemen served these duties as a form of apprenticeship, aspiring to be locomotive engineers themselves, the engine itself was cleaned by an engine cleaner instead of the fireman. A mechanical stoker is a device which feeds coal into the firebox of a boiler and it is standard equipment on large stationary boilers and was also fitted to large steam locomotives to ease the burden of the fireman. The locomotive type has a conveyor which feeds the coal into the firebox. The coal is distributed across the grate by steam jets. Power stations usually use pulverized coal-fired boilers, there were approximately 173 stokers on board the coal fed ocean liner RMS Titanic. During the sinking of the ship, these men disregarded their own safety and stayed below deck to keep the steam driven electric generators running for the telegraph, lighting, and water pumps. Simeon T. Webb was the fireman on the Cannonball Express when it was destroyed in the wreck that killed engineer Casey Jones. Joness last words were Jump, Sim, jump, and Webb did jump, survived, and became a primary source for information about the famous wreck. KFC founder Colonel Sanders worked as a railroad stoker when he was 16 or 17, top Gears Jeremy Clarkson acted as stoker on the steam locomotive No.60163 Tornado while performing a Race to the North against Richard Hammond and James May
26.
Throttle
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A throttle is the mechanism by which fluid flow is managed by constriction or obstruction. An engines power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases, the term throttle has come to refer, informally and incorrectly, to any mechanism by which the power or speed of an engine is regulated. What is often termed a throttle is more correctly called a thrust lever, for a steam engine, the steam valve that sets the engine speed/power is often known as a regulator. A diesel engine does not have a throttle except there is a valve on the newer diesel engines which is generally referred to as air management valves. Air management valves can be with or without integrated control electronics, the throttle is typically a butterfly valve. In a fuel-injected engine, the valve is placed on the entrance of the intake manifold. In a carbureted engine, it is found in the carburetor, when a throttle is wide open, the intake manifold is usually at ambient atmospheric pressure. When the throttle is closed, a manifold vacuum develops as the intake drops below ambient pressure. Usually, the valve is controlled with a throttle pedal or lever via a direct mechanical linkage. In vehicles with electronic control, the manual throttle control sends a signal to the Engine Control Unit. This means that the operator does not have control over the throttle valve. In a reciprocating-engine aircraft, the control is usually a hand-operated lever or knob. It controls the power output, which may or may not reflect in a change of RPM. The power output of an engine is controlled by regulating the quantity of fuel that is injected into the cylinder. Because the engines do not need to control air volumes, they lack a butterfly valve in the intake tract. In fuel injected engines, the body is the part of the air intake system that controls the amount of air flowing into the engine. The throttle body is located between the air filter box and the intake manifold, and it is usually attached to, or near. The largest piece inside the body is the throttle plate
27.
Cylinder (engine)
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A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block. Cylinders may be sleeved or sleeveless, a sleeveless engine may also be referred to as a parent-bore engine. A cylinders displacement, or swept volume, can be calculated by multiplying its cross-sectional area by the distance the piston travels within the cylinder, the engine displacement can be calculated by multiplying the swept volume of one cylinder by the number of cylinders. The rings make near contact with the walls, riding on a thin layer of lubricating oil. The first illustration depicts a longitudinal section of a cylinder in a steam engine, the sliding part at the bottom is the piston, and the upper sliding part is a distribution valve that directs steam alternately into either end of the cylinder. Refrigerator and air compressors are heat engines driven in reverse cycle as pumps. Internal combustion engines operate on the inherent volume change accompanying oxidation of gasoline, diesel fuel or ethanol and they are not classical heat engines since they expel the working substance, which is also the combustion product, into the surroundings. The reciprocating motion of the pistons is translated into crankshaft rotation via connecting rods, as a piston moves back and forth, a connecting rod changes its angle, its distal end has a rotating link to the crankshaft. A typical four-cylinder automobile engine has a row of water-cooled cylinders. V engines use two angled cylinder banks, the V configuration is utilized to create a more compact configuration relative to the number of cylinders. For example, there are also rotary turbines, the Wankel engine is a rotary adaptation of the cylinder-piston concept which has been used by Mazda and NSU in automobiles. Rotary engines are relatively quiet because they lack the clatter of reciprocating motion, air-cooled engines generally use individual cases for the cylinders to facilitate cooling. Inline motorcycle engines are an exception, having two-, three-, four-, water-cooled engines with only a few cylinders may also use individual cylinder cases, though this makes the cooling system more complex. The Ducati motorcycle company, which for years used air-cooled motors with individual cylinder cases, in some engines, especially French designs, the cylinders have wet liners. They are formed separately from the casting so that liquid coolant is free to flow around their outsides. Wet-lined cylinders have cooling and a more even temperature distribution. During use, the cylinder is subject to wear from the action of the piston rings
28.
Railway coupling
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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
29.
Buffer (rail transport)
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A buffer is a part of the buffers-and-chain coupling system used on the railway systems of many countries, among them most of those in Europe, for attaching railway vehicles to one another. The draw chain used between each pair of vehicles includes a screw which is tightened after coupling to shorten the chain, such is known as a screw coupling. Historically, coupling chains were no more than that, a length of heavy chain with no adjustment. These would result in a train in which the buffers of adjacent vehicles would only touch when the coupling chain was fully slack. The original English buffers were the same on each side, so there was a small tendency for buffers to slide off each other. German railway buffers are flat on one side and convex on the other to reduce tendency to slide off. Dead-end sidings are often fitted with stops to prevent vehicles running off the end of the track. In violent collisions, the buffers of adjacent carriages may become displaced relative to one another, the risk of this can be reduced if the buffers have corrugations that grip each other and prevent the buffers becoming displaced and so leading to telescoping. Shock absorber Buffer stop Draw gear Headstock, the buffers are mounted on it Railway coupling Cushioning
30.
Copper
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Copper is a chemical element with symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of copper has a reddish-orange color. Copper is one of the few metals that occur in nature in directly usable metallic form as opposed to needing extraction from an ore and this led to very early human use, from c.8000 BC. Copper used in buildings, usually for roofing, oxidizes to form a green verdigris, Copper is sometimes used in decorative art, both in its elemental metal form and in compounds as pigments. Copper compounds are used as agents, fungicides, and wood preservatives. Copper is essential to all living organisms as a trace dietary mineral because it is a key constituent of the enzyme complex cytochrome c oxidase. In molluscs and crustaceans, copper is a constituent of the blood pigment hemocyanin, replaced by the hemoglobin in fish. In humans, copper is found mainly in the liver, muscle, the adult body contains between 1.4 and 2.1 mg of copper per kilogram of body weight. The filled d-shells in these elements contribute little to interatomic interactions, unlike metals with incomplete d-shells, metallic bonds in copper are lacking a covalent character and are relatively weak. This observation explains the low hardness and high ductility of single crystals of copper, at the macroscopic scale, introduction of extended defects to the crystal lattice, such as grain boundaries, hinders flow of the material under applied stress, thereby increasing its hardness. For this reason, copper is supplied in a fine-grained polycrystalline form. The softness of copper partly explains its high conductivity and high thermal conductivity. The maximum permissible current density of copper in open air is approximately 3. 1×106 A/m2 of cross-sectional area, Copper is one of a few metallic elements with a natural color other than gray or silver. Pure copper is orange-red and acquires a reddish tarnish when exposed to air, as with other metals, if copper is put in contact with another metal, galvanic corrosion will occur. A green layer of verdigris can often be seen on old structures, such as the roofing of many older buildings. Copper tarnishes when exposed to sulfur compounds, with which it reacts to form various copper sulfides. There are 29 isotopes of copper, 63Cu and 65Cu are stable, with 63Cu comprising approximately 69% of naturally occurring copper, both have a spin of 3⁄2
31.
Laboratory glassware
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Laboratory glassware refers to a variety of equipment, traditionally made of glass, used for scientific experiments and other work in science, especially in chemistry and biology laboratories. There are several types of glass, each used for different purposes, borosilicate glass, which is commonly used in reagent bottles, can withstand thermal stress. Quartz glass, which is common in cuvettes, can withstand high temperatures and is transparent in parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Darkened brown or amber glass, which is common in dark storage bottles, can block ultraviolet, heavy-wall glass, which is common in glass pressure reactors, can withstand pressurized applications. There are many different kinds of laboratory glassware items and these include, Examples of glassware containers include, Beakers are simple cylindrical shaped containers used to hold reagents or samples. Flasks are narrow-necked glass containers, typically conical or spherical, used in a laboratory to hold reagents or samples, Examples flasks include the Erlenmeyer flasks and Florence flasks. Bottles are containers with narrow openings generally used to store reagents or samples, jars are cylindrical containers with wide openings that may be sealed. Bell jars are used to contain vacuums, watch glasses are shallow glass dishes used as an evaporating surface or to cover a beaker. Glass evaporating dishes are used to evaporate materials, microscope slides are thin strips used to hold items under a microscope. Glass petri dishes are used to living cells. Examples of glassware used for include, Graduated cylinders are cylindrical containers used for volumetric measurements. Burettes are used to precise amounts of liquid reagents. Glass pipettes are used to transfer precise quantities of fluids, Glass Ebulliometers are used to accurately measure the boiling point of liquids. Other examples of glassware includes, Glass tubes are cylindrical pieces of glassware used to hold or transport fluids, stirring rods are used to mix chemicals. Funnels are used to get materials through a narrow opening, condensers are used to cool hot liquids or vapors. Glass retorts are used for distillation, drying pistols are used to free samples from traces of water, or other impurities. Most laboratory glassware is currently mass-produced, but large laboratories may employ a blower to construct specialized pieces. This construction forms a field of glassblowing requiring precise control of shape
32.
Slate
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Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock, foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering, but instead is in planes perpendicular to the direction of metamorphic compression. The foliation in slate is called slaty cleavage and it is caused by strong compression causing fine grained clay flakes to regrow in planes perpendicular to the compression. Slate is frequently grey in color, especially when seen, en masse, Slate is not to be confused with shale, from which it may be formed, or schist. The word slate is used for certain types of object made from slate rock. It may mean a single roofing tile made of slate, or a writing slate and this was traditionally a small smooth piece of the rock, often framed in wood, used with chalk as a notepad or noticeboard, and especially for recording charges in pubs and inns. The phrases clean slate and blank slate come from this usage, before the mid-19th century, the terms slate, shale and schist were not sharply distinguished. In the context of underground mining in the United States. For example, roof slate referred to shale above a coal seam, occasionally, as in the purple slates of North Wales, ferrous reduction spheres form around iron nuclei, leaving a light green spotted texture. These spheres are sometimes deformed by a subsequent applied stress field to ovoids, Slate can be made into roofing slates, a type of roof shingle, or more specifically a type of roof tile, which are installed by a slater. Slate has two lines of breakability – cleavage and grain – which make it possible to split the stone into thin sheets, when broken, slate retains a natural appearance while remaining relatively flat and easy to stack. Slate is particularly suitable as a material as it has an extremely low water absorption index of less than 0. 4%. In fact, this natural slate, which requires only minimal processing, has the lowest embodied energy of all roofing materials, natural slate is used by building professionals as a result of its beauty and durability. Slate is incredibly durable and can last several hundred years, often little or no maintenance. Its low water makes it very resistant to frost damage and breakage due to freezing. Natural slate is also fire resistant and energy efficient, Slate roof tiles are usually fixed either with nails, or with hooks as is common with Spanish slate. In the UK, fixing is typically with double nails onto timber battens or nailed directly onto timber sarking boards, nails were traditionally of copper, although there are modern alloy and stainless steel alternatives. Both these methods, if used properly, provide a long-lasting weathertight roof with a lifespan of around 80–100 years, Slate roofs are still used today
33.
Glossary of boiler terms
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Boilers for generating steam or hot water have been designed in countless shapes, sizes and configurations. An extensive terminology has evolved to describe their common features and this glossary provides definitions for these terms. Terms which relate solely to boilers used for heating or generating hot water are identified by. Ashpan A container beneath the furnace, catching ash and clinker that falls through the firebars and this may be made of brickwork for a stationary boiler, or steel sheet for a locomotive. Ashpans are often the location of the damper and they may also be shaped into hoppers, for easy cleaning during disposal. Blastpipe Blow-down Periodic venting of water from the boiler and this water contains the most concentrated precursors for sludge build-up, so by venting it whilst still dissolved, the build-up is reduced. When early marine boilers were fed with water, they would be blown-down several times an hour. Blow-down cock a valve mounted low-down on the boiler, often around the foundation ring, blower the blower provides a forced draught on the fire, encouraging combustion. It consists of a ring mounted either in the base of the chimney or on top of the blastpipe. Holes are drilled in the top of the ring, and when steam is fed into the ring. Boiler A pressure vessel for the creation of hot water or steam, boilersmith a craftsman skilled in the techniques required for the construction and repair of boilers - not to be confused with at boilermaker. A boilermaker is a metalworker, usually the member of a union of the same name. A boilermaker may or may not be a boilersmith, a boilersmith may also be a member of another trade such as a plumber or pipeworker and so may not be a boilermaker. Boiler suit heavy-duty one-piece protective clothing, worn when inspecting the inside of a firebox for steam leaks, for which task it is necessary to crawl through the firehole door. Boiler ticket the safety certificate issued for a boiler on passing a formal inspection after a major rebuild. Additional annual safety inspections must also be undertaken, which may result in the locomotive being withdrawn from service if the boiler requires work, when the ticket expires the locomotive cannot be used until the boiler has been overhauled or replaced, and a new ticket obtained. Boiler water treatment Removal or chemical modification of boiler feedwater impurities to avoid scale, corrosion, brick arch A horizontal baffle of firebrick within the furnace, usually of a locomotive boiler. This forces combustion gases from the front of the furnace to flow further, back over the rest of the furnace, encouraging efficient combustion
34.
Loading gauge
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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+
35.
National Railway Museum
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The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British Science Museum Group of National Museums and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001. It is the home of the collection of historically significant railway vehicles, as well as a collection of other artefacts. It is the largest museum of its type in Britain, attracting 727,000 visitors during the 2014/15 financial year, the museum is a short walk from the railway station in York, either on the road or via a staircase from the rear of the platforms. A roadtrain runs from the city centre to the museum on Leeman Road during half term, holidays, York Park and Ride also serve the museum from the car park entrance, on Line 2. Admission to the museum has been free since 2001 and it is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm from February to November and 10am to 5pm during the winter months. Locomotion – the National Railway Museum in Shildon, County Durham was opened in October 2004 and is operated by the NRM in conjunction with Durham County Council, the earliest are wagonway vehicles of about 1815. Flying Scotsman is among the intended for operation on the National Rail network from time to time. Rail vehicles on display are exchanged from time to time with other organisations, other physically large exhibits are the Stockton and Darlington Railway Gaunless Bridge and several stationary winding engines used on railway inclines. The National Railway Museum holds an open library and archive of railway related material. This includes a significant collection of locomotive and rolling stock engineering drawings from railway works. Copies of many of these drawings are sold to the heritage railway movement to assist with their new build locomotive. They are also sold to modellers who can use the drawing to produce accurate scale models, the library holds more than 20,000 books and 800 journals of which around 300 are active. The archive also holds a collection of technical and test records. The archives also hold some 1.75 million photographs covering the earliest era of photography to the modern day and these include official collections from railway companies and collections from enthusiasts like Eric Treacy and H. Gordon Tidey. In 1999/2000 the Museum began to collect recordings of former railway staff for a National Archive of Railway Oral History and it also holds the archive of steam train recordings by Peter Handford. In 2009 The Forsythe Collection of travel and transport ephemera was acquired for the collection, the Search Engine facility opened in late 2007 and is open from 10,00 to 17,30 Wednesday to Saturday. The archive and library collections can be viewed by anyone without an appointment although the website recommends pre-booking archive materials at least 24 hours in advance, the majority of its collections have been listed on its website for people to view what materials are available prior to their visit
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Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
37.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
38.
Western Australia
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Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Southern Ocean to the south, the state has about 2.6 million inhabitants, around 11% of the national total. 92% of the lives in the south-west corner of the state. The first European visitor to Western Australia was the Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog, the first European settlement of Western Australia occurred following the landing by Major Edmund Lockyer on 26 December 1826 of an expedition on behalf of the New South Wales colonial government. This was followed by the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829, including the site of the present-day capital, york was the first inland settlement in Western Australia. Situated 97 kilometres east of Perth, it was settled on 16 September 1831, Western Australia achieved responsible government in 1890, and federated with the other British colonies in Australia in 1901. Today its economy relies on mining, agriculture and tourism. The state produces 46% of Australias exports, Western Australia is the second-largest iron ore producer in the world. The International Hydrographic Organization designates the body of water south of the continent as part of the Indian Ocean, the total length of the states eastern border is 1,862 km. There are 20,781 km of coastline, including 7,892 km of island coastline, the total land area occupied by the state is 2.5 million km2. Most of the state is a low plateau with an elevation of about 400 metres, very low relief. This descends relatively sharply to the plains, in some cases forming a sharp escarpment. The extreme age of the landscape has meant that the soils are remarkably infertile, even soils derived from granitic bedrock contain an order of magnitude less available phosphorus and only half as much nitrogen as soils in comparable climates in other continents. Soils derived from extensive sandplains or ironstone are even less fertile, nearly devoid of soluble phosphate and also deficient in zinc, copper, molybdenum, the infertility of most of the soils has required heavy application by farmers of chemical fertilisers, particularly superphosphate, insecticides and herbicides. These have resulted in damage to invertebrate and bacterial populations, the grazing and use of hoofed mammals and, later, heavy machinery through the years have resulted in compaction of soils and great damage to the fragile soils. Large-scale land clearing for agriculture has damaged habitats for native flora, large areas of the states wheatbelt region have problems with dryland salinity and the loss of fresh water. The southwest coastal area has a Mediterranean climate and it was originally heavily forested, including large stands of karri, one of the tallest trees in the world. This agricultural region is one of the nine most bio-diverse terrestrial habitats, thanks to the offshore Leeuwin Current, the area is one of the top six regions for marine biodiversity and contains the most southerly coral reefs in the world
39.
Geraldton
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Geraldton is a coastal city in the Mid West region of Western Australia, located 424 kilometres north of Perth. At June 2015 Geraldton had an urban population of 39,825. Geraldton is the seat of government for the City of Greater Geraldton, the Port of Geraldton is a major west coast seaport. Geraldton is an important service and logistics centre for mining, fishing, wheat, sheep. The local Aboriginal people native to the region surrounding Geraldton are known as Yamatji or Wajarri people, Wajarri country is inland from Geraldton and extends as far south and west as Mullewa, north to Gascoyne Junction and east to Meekatharra. Yamatji art is a style of painting, using thousands of dots of ochre and other earth-based pigments to create patterns. The Western Australia Museum at the marina in Geraldton hosts a permanent exhibit on Yamatji/Wajarri culture, many European mariners encountered, or were wrecked on, the Houtman Abrolhos islands 60 kilometres west of Geraldton during the 17th and 18th centuries. Although two mutineers from the Batavia were marooned on the mainland in 1629 there is no surviving evidence that made landfall at or near the site of the current town. The explorer George Grey, while on his second expedition along the Western Australian coast. A decade later, explorer Augustus Gregory travelled through the area, a member of his party, James Perry Walcott, discovered lead ore in 1848 in the bed of the Murchison River. The Geraldine mine was established, named after the County Clare family home of Charles FitzGerald. The town of Geraldton, named after Governor FitzGerald, was surveyed in 1850, the economic output generated within Greater Geraldton, the 12, 626-square-kilometre local government area incorporating Geraldton, is estimated at $5.072 billion. Greater Geraldton represents 47. 65% of the $10.645 billion in output generated in Mid West Region and 1. 01% of the $501.018 billion in output generated in Western Australia. The major exports from the Geraldton port in 2012/2013 were, iron ore, grain, mineral sands, copper concentrate, zinc concentrate, nickel concentrate, in 2012/2013 the Geraldton port serviced 328 bulk haulage vessels. The Geraldton Visitor Centre is located in the historical Geraldton railway station, the Point Moore Lighthouse, located south of the Geraldton Port is a cultural and historical attraction. It is the oldest surviving Commonwealth lighthouse in Western Australia and was also the first steel tower to be constructed on the mainland of Australia, the Point Moore lighthouse stands 35m tall and its 1000w Tungsten Halogen Lamp can be seen for 23 nautical miles. The project was completed in 2008, Geraldton is a regular port of call for cruise ships with visits occurring approximately ten times per year. Volunteers, organised by the City of Greater Geraldton, greet visitors on arrival to provide information on activities, the memorial for the World War II cruiser HMAS Sydney is located on Gummer Avenue, at the summit of Mount Scott
40.
Northampton, Western Australia
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Northampton is a town 52 kilometres north of Geraldton, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 868, the town contains a National Trust building. The town lies on the North West Coastal Highway, originally called The Mines, Northampton was gazetted in 1864 and named after the colonys Governor, John Hampton. The town was sited in the Nokanena Brook valley, between the hamlets around the two major mines in the area, the Wanerenooka and the Gwalla. It is the town to the micronation, the Principality of Hutt River. The town is known for its many wildflowers, cave paintings at the Bowes River turnoff show that the region has been inhabited by Indigenous Australians. The surrounding areas produce wheat and other cereal crops, the town has a receival site for Cooperative Bulk Handling. Lead ore was first found by explorer James Perry Walcott, a member of A. C. Gregorys party, in 1848 in the bed of the Murchison River, establishing the mining industry in Western Australia. By 1863,980 tons of ore and 230 tons of copper ore were exported from the district, representing 14% of the colonys total annual exports, exceeded only by wool. By 1877 the districts exports of copper and lead ores had grown 350% and were the second largest export, still at 14% of the total. The town was left under water by flooding in 1900 following torrential rainfall, the bridge over Nokanena Brook was swamped with extensive damage resulting in the highest water levels recorded in ten years. In 1936,4,628 tons of lead were produced from the Northampton field followed by 6,163 tons in 1937, most of this came from the Grand Junction mine which was closed in 1938. The Northampton State Battery opened in 1954 and operated for about 30 years leaving large amounts of tailings stockpiled, locals removed the waste to use in buildings and other construction works. The battery was demolished in 2010 with the examining tailings being sealed in a containment cell, an investigation into lead contamination in the town commenced in 2013. Northampton is one of the oldest towns in Western Australia, having declared a townsite in 1864. It was classified as a town by the National Trust of Australia WA in 1993 in recognition of the important heritage buildings which have been conserved. Notable among them are two buildings by the eminent priest architect Mgr Hawes, most important is the Church of Our Lady in Ara Coeli, built c.1936. It’s a romantic Neo Gothic, hammer dressed, sandstone building with some Arts and Crafts elements, next to the church is the Convent of the Sacred Heart, also by Mgr Hawes built in 1919 in a more conventional two storied Australian style with its deep sun-shading wooden verandahs
41.
WAGR E class (1879)
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The WAGR E class was a two-member class of 2-4-4-2T double-Fairlie locomotives operated by the Western Australian Government Railways between 1881 and 1892. The E class engines were built by Avonside Engine Co, Bristol in 1879 for the WAGRs Northampton railway line, the first government railway in Western Australia, in line with Avonsides practice for assigning build numbers to Fairlie locomotives, each end received a separate serial number. However, after a collapse in the price of lead, the mineral traffic for which they were purchased dried up. One entered service in 1881, with the remaining in store until 1885 when a M class had to be withdrawn for overhaul. When engine class designations were introduced in 1885, they were became the E class, numbered E20, in 1888, both were transferred to Fremantle Railway Workshops for use on the Eastern Railway. It was sold in February 1899 to Jarrah Timber & Wood Paving, Worsley, E7 was withdrawn in 1895 and sold to the Canning Jarrah Timber Company for use on the Upper Darling Range Railway. The E class designation was reused for the E class locomotives that were introduced in 1902 and it was reused again in the 1960s when an E class diesel locomotive was acquired. History of rail transport in Western Australia List of Western Australian locomotive classes Media related to WAGR E class at Wikimedia Commons
42.
Mexico
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Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a federal republic in the southern half of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States, to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean, to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost two million square kilometers, Mexico is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total area, Mexico is a federation comprising 31 states and a federal district that is also its capital and most populous city. Other metropolises include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, pre-Columbian Mexico was home to many advanced Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya and Aztec before first contact with Europeans. In 1521, the Spanish Empire conquered and colonized the territory from its base in Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Three centuries later, this territory became Mexico following recognition in 1821 after the colonys Mexican War of Independence. The tumultuous post-independence period was characterized by instability and many political changes. The Mexican–American War led to the cession of the extensive northern borderlands, one-third of its territory. The Pastry War, the Franco-Mexican War, a civil war, the dictatorship was overthrown in the Mexican Revolution of 1910, which culminated with the promulgation of the 1917 Constitution and the emergence of the countrys current political system. Mexico has the fifteenth largest nominal GDP and the eleventh largest by purchasing power parity, the Mexican economy is strongly linked to those of its North American Free Trade Agreement partners, especially the United States. Mexico was the first Latin American member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and it is classified as an upper-middle income country by the World Bank and a newly industrialized country by several analysts. By 2050, Mexico could become the fifth or seventh largest economy. The country is considered both a power and middle power, and is often identified as an emerging global power. Due to its culture and history, Mexico ranks first in the Americas. Mexico is a country, ranking fourth in the world by biodiversity. In 2015 it was the 9th most visited country in the world, Mexico is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G8+5, the G20, the Uniting for Consensus and the Pacific Alliance. Mēxihco is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely, the Valley of Mexico, and its people, the Mexica and this became the future State of Mexico as a division of New Spain prior to independence. It is generally considered to be a toponym for the valley became the primary ethnonym for the Aztec Triple Alliance as a result. After New Spain won independence from Spain, representatives decided to name the new country after its capital and this was founded in 1524 on top of the ancient Mexica capital of Mexico-Tenochtitlan
43.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
44.
Transcaucasus Railway
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Transcaucus Railway was the first railway in South Caucasus. It was funded by the Russian Empire as a railway connecting the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. The railway would allow the Russian army to have control of Caucasia. Also with the Trans-Caspian railway, Russia could transport troops from Central Asia much faster, the railway operated as a private company between 1865–1922 and a subsidiary railway of the Soviet Railways from 1922-1991. The railway started in 1865 at the town of Poti on the Black Sea. The railway reached Zestafoni in 1871 and Tbilisi in 1872, a branch line was built to Kutaisi, branching from Brotseula, in 1877. In 1883 the railway was completed to Baku, once the railway was completed to Baku, freight trains carrying oil went from Baku to Poti to be shipped to other cities in Russia via the Black Sea. During the Russian-Ottoman war from 1877–1878, the Russian Empire gained territory into Anatolia from the Ottoman Empire after defeating them during the Battle of Kars and this new territory included the fortress city of Kars. In 1887 a branch line was built to Tkibuli, in 1894 a branch line, splitting of at Khashuri, was built to Borjomi. Kars was a city for the Russians in Anatolia, so in 1899 the railway built a branch line from Tblisi to Kars. The Transcaucasus Railway was connected to the rest of the Russian system in 1900, in 1902, a narrow gauge railway from Borjomi to Bakuriani was built to serve the skiing community in the region. In 1913 the railway was extended from Kars to Sarıkamış, the border of the Russian Empire, when World War I broke out in 1914, the Russian Empire sided with the Allied powers while the Ottoman Empire sided with the Central Powers making the two empires enemies. After the Erzerum Offensive, Russia gained control city of Erzurum, to support campaigns further into Ottoman territory, a narrow gauge railway was built from Sarıkamış to Erzurum in 1916 and later into Yeniköy during the same year. Russia had to stop fighting in the war because of the Russian revolution of 1917, with the dissolution of the Russian Empire, a 147 km part of the Julfa-Tabriz line was acquired by the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways. The Ottoman Empire lost, along with the Central Powers, giving northeastern Anatolia to Armenia, in 1919 the Turkish War of Independence broke out and northeastern Anatolia was taken back by the Turks, this time as the Republic of Turkey. The Treaty of Gümrü was signed on December 2,1920 setting the present day borders of Turkey, the Transcaucasus Railway continued to operate the 404 km part of its system in Turkey. In 1921 the Erzurum-Yeniköy section of the line was abandoned, the Soviet Union was formed in 1922, and the Transcaucasus Railway was absorbed by the Soviet Railways but continued to operate as a subsidiary railway. In 1924 the railway started building a line from Baku, south to Alyat, Shirvan, in 1927, the Akyaka-Erzurum section of its system was acquired by the Turkish State Railways
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