1.
Train station
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A train station, railway station, railroad station, or depot is a railway facility where trains regularly stop to load or unload passengers or freight. It generally consists of at least one platform and a station building providing such ancillary services as ticket sales. If a station is on a line, it often has a passing loop to facilitate traffic movements. The smallest stations are most often referred to as stops or, in parts of the world. Stations may be at level, underground, or elevated. Connections may be available to intersecting rail lines or other modes such as buses. In British usage, the station is commonly understood to mean a railway station unless otherwise qualified. In the United States, the most common term in contemporary usage is train station, Railway station and railroad station are less frequent. Outside North America, a depot is place where buses, trains, or other vehicles are housed and maintained and from which they are dispatched for service. The two-storey Mount Clare station in Baltimore, Maryland, which survives as a museum, first saw service as the terminus of the horse-drawn Baltimore. The oldest terminal station in the world was Crown Street railway station in Liverpool, built in 1830, as the first train on the Liverpool-Manchester line left Liverpool, the station is slightly older than the Manchester terminal at Liverpool Road. The station was the first to incorporate a train shed, the station was demolished in 1836 as the Liverpool terminal station moved to Lime Street railway station. Crown Street station was converted to a goods station terminal, the first stations had little in the way of buildings or amenities. The first stations in the modern sense were on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, manchesters Liverpool Road Station, the second oldest terminal station in the world, is preserved as part of the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. It resembles a row of Georgian houses, dual-purpose stations can sometimes still be found today, though in many cases goods facilities are restricted to major stations. In rural and remote communities across Canada and the United States, such stations were known as flag stops or flag stations. Many stations date from the 19th century and reflect the architecture of the time. Countries where railways arrived later may still have such architecture, as later stations often imitated 19th-century styles, various forms of architecture have been used in the construction of stations, from those boasting grand, intricate, Baroque- or Gothic-style edifices, to plainer utilitarian or modernist styles
2.
Railway signalling
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Railway signalling is a system used to direct railway traffic and keep trains clear of each other at all times. Trains move on fixed rails, making them susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the weight and inertia of a train. Most forms of control involve movement authority being passed from those responsible for each section of a rail network to the train crew. The set of rules and the equipment used to accomplish this determine what is known as the method of working. Not all these methods require the use of signals. The earliest rail cars were first hauled by horses or mules, a mounted flagman on a horse preceded some early trains. Hand and arm signals were used to direct the “train drivers”, foggy and poor-visibility conditions gave rise to flags and lanterns. Wayside signalling dates back as far as 1832, and used elevated flags or balls that could be seen from afar, the simplest form of operation, at least in terms of equipment, is to run the system according to a timetable. Every train crew understands and adheres to a fixed schedule, trains may only run on each track section at a scheduled time, during which they have possession and no other train may use the same section. When trains run in opposite directions on a railroad, meeting points are scheduled. Neither train is permitted to move before the other has arrived, in the US the display of two green flags is an indication that another train is following the first and the waiting train must wait for the next train to pass. In addition, the carrying the flags gives eight blasts on the whistle as it approaches. The waiting train must return eight blasts before the flag carrying train may proceed, the timetable system has several disadvantages. First, there is no confirmation that the track ahead is clear. A second problem is the systems inflexibility, trains cannot be added, delayed, or rescheduled without advance notice. A third problem is a corollary of the second, the system is inefficient, to provide flexibility, the timetable must give trains a broad allocation of time to allow for delays, so the line is not in the possession of each train for longer than is otherwise necessary. Nonetheless, this system permits operation on a vast scale, with no requirements for any kind of communication that travels faster than a train, timetable operation was the normal mode of operation in North America in the early days of the railroad
3.
Train protection system
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A train protection system is a railway technical installation to ensure safe operation in the event of human failure. The earliest systems were train stops, as used by the New York City Subway, the Toronto subway, the London Underground, the Moscow Subway. Beside every signal is a moveable arm, the Great Western Railway in the UK introduced its automatic train control system in the early years of the 20th century. Each distant signal had before it a ramp between the running rails, if the signal showed green, the ramp was energised with a low voltage current which was passed to the locomotive when a shoe came into contact with the ramp. A bell rang in the cab to confirm the clear aspect. If the signal showed yellow the ramp was dead and a siren sounded in the cab, if the siren was not cancelled, the brakes would automatically be applied. After the nationalisation of the railways in the UK in 1948, in this system data is transmitted magnetically between the track and locomotive by magnets mounted beside the rails and on the locomotive. Additionally, they require the driver to confirm distant signals that show stop or caution – failure to do so results in the train stopping. More advanced systems calculate a braking curve that determines if the train can stop before the red signal. They require that the train driver enter the weight and the type of brakes into the onboard computer, to overcome that problem, some systems allow additional magnets to be placed between distant and home signals, or data transfer from the signalling system to the onboard computer is continuous. Prior to the development of a train protection system in Europe. Locomotives that crossed national borders had to be equipped with multiple systems, in cases where this wasnt possible or practical, the locomotives themselves had to be changed. To overcome these problems, the European Train Control System standard was developed and it offers different levels of functionality, ranging from simple to complex. This model allows adopters to meet the cost and performance requirements of disparate solutions, the European system has been in operation since 2002 and uses GSM digital radio with continuous connectivity. The newer systems use cab signalling, where the trains constantly receive information regarding their positions to other trains. The computer shows the driver how fast he may drive, instead of him relying on exterior signals and these systems are usually far more than automatic train protection systems, not only do they prevent accidents, but also actively support the train driver. This goes as far as some systems being nearly able to drive the train automatically
4.
Train
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A train is a form of rail transport consisting of a series of vehicles that usually runs along a rail track to transport cargo or passengers. Motive power is provided by a locomotive or individual motors in self-propelled multiple units. Although historically steam propulsion dominated, the most common forms are diesel and electric locomotives. Other energy sources include horses, engine or water-driven rope or wire winch, gravity, pneumatics, batteries, the word train comes from the Old French trahiner, from the Latin trahere pull, draw. There are various types of trains that are designed for particular purposes, a train may consist of a combination of one or more locomotives and attached railroad cars, or a self-propelled multiple unit. The first trains were rope-hauled, gravity powered or pulled by horses, from the early 19th century almost all were powered by steam locomotives. A passenger train is one which includes passenger-carrying vehicles which can often be very long, one notable and growing long-distance train category is high-speed rail. In order to much faster operation over 500 km/h, innovative Maglev technology has been researched for years. In most countries, such as the United Kingdom, the distinction between a tramway and a railway is precise and defined in law, a freight train uses freight cars to transport goods or materials. Freight and passengers may be carried in the train in a mixed consist. Rail cars and machinery used for maintenance and repair of tracks, etc. are termed maintenance of way equipment, similarly, dedicated trains may be used to provide support services to stations along a train line, such as garbage or revenue collection. There are various types of trains that are designed for particular purposes, a train can consist of a combination of one or more locomotives and attached railroad cars, or a self-propelled multiple unit. Trains can also be hauled by horses, pulled by a cable, special kinds of trains running on corresponding special railways are atmospheric railways, monorails, high-speed railways, maglev, rubber-tired underground, funicular and cog railways. A passenger train may consist of one or several locomotives and coaches, alternatively, a train may consist entirely of passenger carrying coaches, some or all of which are powered as a multiple unit. In many parts of the world, particularly the Far East and Europe, freight trains are composed of wagons or trucks rather than carriages, though some parcel and mail trains are outwardly more like passenger trains. Trains can also be mixed, comprising both passenger accommodation and freight vehicles, special trains are also used for track maintenance, in some places, this is called maintenance of way. A train with a locomotive attached at each end is described as top and tailed, where a second locomotive is attached temporarily to assist a train up steep banks or grades it is referred to as banking in the UK, or helper service in North America. Recently, many loaded trains in the United States have been made up one or more locomotives in the middle or at the rear of the train
5.
Railway signal
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A signal is a mechanical or electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to train/engine drivers. The driver interprets the signals indication and acts accordingly, typically, a signal might inform the driver of the speed at which the train may safely proceed or it may instruct the driver to stop. Originally, signals displayed simple stop/proceed indications, as traffic density increased, this proved to be too limiting and refinements were added. One such refinement was the addition of distant signals on the approach to stop signals, the distant signal gave the driver warning that he was approaching a signal which might require a stop. This allowed for an increase in speed, since train drivers no longer had to drive at a speed within sighting distance of the stop signal. Under timetable and train operation, the signals did not directly convey orders to the train crew. Instead, they directed the crew to pick up orders, possibly stopping to do so if the order warranted it, signals are used to indicate one or more of the following, that the line ahead is clear or blocked. That the driver has permission to proceed, the speed the train may travel. The state of the next signal and that the train orders are to be picked up by the crew. Signals can be placed, at the start of a section of track, on the approach to a movable item of infrastructure, such as points/switches or a swingbridge. in advance of other signals. On the approach to a level crossing, ahead of platforms or other places that trains are likely to be stopped. Running lines are usually continuously signalled, each line of a double track railway is normally signalled in one direction only, with all signals facing the same direction on either line. Where bi-directional signalling is installed, signals face in both directions on both tracks, signals are generally not provided for controlling movements within sidings or yard areas. The aspect is the appearance of the signal, the indication is the meaning. In American practice the indications have conventional names, so that for instance Medium Approach means Proceed at not exceeding medium speed and it is important to understand that for signals that use coloured aspects, the colour of each individual light is subsumed in the overall pattern. In the United States, for example, it is common to see a Clear aspect consisting of a light above a red light. The red light in this instance does not indicate Stop, it is simply a component of a larger aspect. Operating rules normally specify that there is some imperfection in the display of an aspect
6.
Siemens Nexas
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The Siemens Nexas are a class of electric multiple units manufactured by Siemens Transportation Systems for the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Australia between 2002 and 2005. The design of the trains was based on the Siemens Modular Metro, in March 2000 M>Train ordered 62 Siemens Nexas trains to fulfill a franchise commitment to replace its fleet of Hitachi trains. The original order was for 62 3-car sets, with an option for an additional ten 3-car sets. In December 2002 just before the first was delivered, National Express handed the M>Train franchise back to the Government of Victoria, all passed to Connex Melbourne in April 2004. The option for ten additional trains was exercised in August 2005, Siemens Rail Services was contracted to provide maintenance of the trains for a period of 15 years at Newport Workshops. With the refranchising of the network to Metro Trains Melbourne in 2009, the first entered service on 21 March 2003 with the last delivered in January 2006. In December 2014, Siemens Nexas 831M-2566T -832M with a seating layout added extra hand rails layout at the doors. In late 2006 the trains suffered a number of braking discrepancies while in service,14 trains overshot platforms in the space of three days, the 15 units involved in these overshoots were withdrawn from service for checks, and instructions were issued to the drivers to minimise further occurrences. By mid-January 2007, a total of 24 three-carriage trains had been impounded for testing after 20 further incidents of over-running stations since 22 December 2006. On 13 January 2007, Connex stopped running the Siemens Nexas trains as 3-car sets until the issue was resolved. On 29 January 2007, Connex cancelled 37 peak-period services until further notice, by 1 February 2007,38 three-car sets were withdrawn due to continuing braking failures, meaning that almost half of the Siemens Nexas fleet was out of revenue service. The entire fleet has now re-entered service, although with a not to run single unit operations. In December 2008 train operator Connex commenced proceedings in the Supreme Court to claim damages from Siemens, Connex claims Siemens provided trains with a braking system that was defective, faulty and inadequate, the trains being not fit for their purpose and were not of merchantable quality. In March 2009, it was reported that three Siemens Nexas trains had been impounded due to new braking incidents in the week prior, the sand boxes are fitted to the middle two bogies of each 3-car set. In June 2011 installation of sanding equipment was completed across the entire fleet, speed restrictions have now been lifted on all Siemens Nexas trains. All were built by Siemens Transportation Systems, Vienna with the final fitout completed at Newport Workshops, there are several notable differences between the Siemens Nexas trains and other trains which operate in Melbourne. Two doors per carriage per side, plug-type doors - hinged outward and slide along the outside of the vehicle when opening. Passengers can freely move from carriage to carriage, within a 3-carriage set, without opening doors, the Siemens Nexas are fitted with Passenger information system produced by the German firm Annax
7.
Rail tracks
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The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties and ballast, plus the underlying subgrade. It enables trains to move by providing a surface for their wheels to roll upon. For clarity it is referred to as railway track or railroad track. Tracks where electric trains or electric trams run are equipped with a system such as an overhead electrical power line or an additional electrified rail. The term permanent way also refers to the track in addition to structures such as fences etc. Most railroads with heavy traffic use continuously welded rails supported by sleepers attached via baseplates that spread the load, a plastic or rubber pad is usually placed between the rail and the tieplate where concrete sleepers are used. The rail is held down to the sleeper with resilient fastenings. For much of the 20th century, rail track used softwood timber sleepers and jointed rails, jointed rails were used at first because contemporary technology did not offer any alternative. The joints also needed to be lubricated, and wear at the mating surfaces needed to be rectified by shimming. For this reason jointed track is not financially appropriate for heavily operated railroads, timber sleepers are of many available timbers, and are often treated with creosote, copper-chrome-arsenic, or other wood preservative. Pre-stressed concrete sleepers are used where timber is scarce and where tonnage or speeds are high. Steel is used in some applications, the track ballast is customarily crushed stone, and the purpose of this is to support the sleepers and allow some adjustment of their position, while allowing free drainage. A disadvantage of traditional track structures is the demand for maintenance, particularly surfacing and lining to restore the desired track geometry. Weakness of the subgrade and drainage deficiencies also lead to maintenance costs. This can be overcome by using ballastless track, in its simplest form this consists of a continuous slab of concrete with the rails supported directly on its upper surface. There are a number of systems, and variations include a continuous reinforced concrete slab. Many permutations of design have been put forward, however, ballastless track has a high initial cost, and in the case of existing railroads the upgrade to such requires closure of the route for a long period. Its whole-life cost can be lower because of the reduction in maintenance, some rubber-tyred metros use ballastless tracks
8.
Electric motor
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An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. The reverse of this is the conversion of energy into electrical energy and is done by an electric generator. In normal motoring mode, most electric motors operate through the interaction between an electric motors magnetic field and winding currents to generate force within the motor, small motors may be found in electric watches. General-purpose motors with highly standardized dimensions and characteristics provide convenient mechanical power for industrial use, the largest of electric motors are used for ship propulsion, pipeline compression and pumped-storage applications with ratings reaching 100 megawatts. Electric motors may be classified by electric power source type, internal construction, application, type of motion output, perhaps the first electric motors were simple electrostatic devices created by the Scottish monk Andrew Gordon in the 1740s. The theoretical principle behind production of force by the interactions of an electric current. The conversion of energy into mechanical energy by electromagnetic means was demonstrated by the British scientist Michael Faraday in 1821. A free-hanging wire was dipped into a pool of mercury, on which a permanent magnet was placed, when a current was passed through the wire, the wire rotated around the magnet, showing that the current gave rise to a close circular magnetic field around the wire. This motor is often demonstrated in experiments, brine substituting for toxic mercury. Though Barlows wheel was a refinement to this Faraday demonstration. In 1827, Hungarian physicist Ányos Jedlik started experimenting with electromagnetic coils, after Jedlik solved the technical problems of the continuous rotation with the invention of the commutator, he called his early devices electromagnetic self-rotors. Although they were used only for instructional purposes, in 1828 Jedlik demonstrated the first device to contain the three components of practical DC motors, the stator, rotor and commutator. The device employed no permanent magnets, as the fields of both the stationary and revolving components were produced solely by the currents flowing through their windings. His motor set a record which was improved only four years later in September 1838 by Jacobi himself. His second motor was powerful enough to drive a boat with 14 people across a wide river and it was not until 1839/40 that other developers worldwide managed to build motors of similar and later also of higher performance. The first commutator DC electric motor capable of turning machinery was invented by the British scientist William Sturgeon in 1832, following Sturgeons work, a commutator-type direct-current electric motor made with the intention of commercial use was built by the American inventor Thomas Davenport, which he patented in 1837. The motors ran at up to 600 revolutions per minute, and powered machine tools, due to the high cost of primary battery power, the motors were commercially unsuccessful and Davenport went bankrupt. Several inventors followed Sturgeon in the development of DC motors but all encountered the same battery power cost issues, no electricity distribution had been developed at the time
9.
Valve
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A valve is a device that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings, but are discussed as a separate category. In an open valve, fluid flows in a direction from higher pressure to lower pressure, the word is derived from the Latin valva, the moving part of a door, in turn from volvere, to turn, roll. The simplest, and very ancient, valve is simply a freely hinged flap which drops to obstruct fluid flow in one direction and this is called a check valve, as it prevents or checks the flow in one direction. Modern control valves may regulate pressure or flow downstream and operate on sophisticated automation systems, even aerosols have a tiny valve built in. Valves are also used in the military and transport sectors, valves may be operated manually, either by a handle, lever, pedal or wheel. Valves may also be automatic, driven by changes in pressure, temperature and these changes may act upon a diaphragm or a piston which in turn activates the valve, examples of this type of valve found commonly are safety valves fitted to hot water systems or boilers. More complex control systems using valves requiring automatic control based on an external input require an actuator, an actuator will stroke the valve depending on its input and set-up, allowing the valve to be positioned accurately, and allowing control over a variety of requirements. Valves vary widely in form and application, sizes typically range from 0.1 mm to 60 cm. Special valves can have a diameter exceeding 5 meters, valve costs range from simple inexpensive disposable valves to specialized valves which cost thousands of US dollars per inch of the diameter of the valve. Disposable valves may be found in household items including mini-pump dispensers. Valves are quite diverse and may be classified into a number of basic types, valves may also be classified by how they are actuated, Hydraulic Pneumatic Manual Solenoid valve Motor The main parts of the most usual type of valve are the body and the bonnet. These two parts form the casing that holds the fluid going through the valve, the valves body is the outer casing of most or all of the valve that contains the internal parts or trim. The bonnet is the part of the encasing through which the stem passes, the bonnet typically screws into or is bolted to the valve body. Valve bodies are usually metallic or plastic, brass, bronze, gunmetal, cast iron, steel, alloy steels and stainless steels are very common. Seawater applications, like plants, often use duplex valves, as well as super duplex valves, due to their corrosion resistant properties. Alloy 20 valves are used in sulphuric acid plants, whilst monel valves are used in hydrofluoric acid plants. Hastelloy valves are used in high temperature applications, such as nuclear plants
10.
Railway brake
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Brakes are used on the cars of railway trains to enable deceleration, control acceleration or to keep them standing when parked. Clasp brakes are one type of historically used on trains. In the earliest days of railways, braking technology was primitive, some railways fitted a special deep-noted brake whistle to locomotives to indicate to the porters the necessity to apply the brakes. All the brakes at this stage of development were applied by operation of a screw and linkage to brake blocks applied to wheel treads, and it was also unreliable, as the application of brakes by guards depended upon them hearing and responding quickly to a whistle for brakes. This had become apparent from the trials on railway brakes carried out at Newark in the previous year, the chief types of solution were, The chain brake, such as the Heberlein brake, in which a chain was connected continuously along the train. As with car brakes, actuating pressure to apply brakes was transmitted hydraulically and these found some favor in the UK, but even in the UK problems were found with the water used as brake fluid freezing The Westinghouse air brake system. The Westinghouse system uses smaller air reservoirs and brake cylinders than the vacuum equipment. An ejector on the created a vacuum in a continuous pipe along the train. This system was very cheap and effective, but it had the weakness that it became inoperative if the train became divided or if the train pipe was ruptured. This system was similar to the vacuum system, except that the creation of vacuum in the train pipe exhausted vacuum reservoirs on every vehicle. If the driver applied the brake, his drivers brake valve admitted atmospheric air to the pipe. Being an automatic brake, this system applies braking effort if the train divided or if the train pipe is ruptured. Its disadvantage is that the vacuum reservoirs were required on every vehicle, and their bulk. Note, there are a number of variants and developments of all these systems, the Newark trials showed the braking performance of the Westinghouse air-brakes to be distinctly superior but for other reasons it was the vacuum system that was generally adopted on UK railways. Goods and mineral vehicles were provided with hand brakes by which the brakes could be applied by a lever operated by staff on the ground. Early goods vehicles had brake handles on one side only and random alignment of the vehicles gave the guard sufficient braking but, from about 1930 and these trains, not fitted with continuous brakes were described as unfitted trains and they survived in British practice until about 1985. By 1952 only 14% of open wagons, 55% of covered, in the early days of diesel locomotives, a purpose-built brake tender was attached to the locomotive to increase braking effort when hauling unfitted trains. The brake tender was low, so that the driver could see the line and signals ahead if the brake tender was propelled ahead of the locomotive
