LOOK INSIDE

CROSS-SECTIONS

TRAINS
See inside 10

fascinating

locomotives
Smokestack
Headlight

Headlight
platform

OH BR
J

TF148
J66
1995

Superheater

header

n
LOOK INSIDE
CROSS-SECTIONS

TRAINS
:<

LOOK INSIDE
CROSS-SECTIONS

TRAINS
WRITTEN BY

MICHAEL JOHNSTONE

ALLSTON BRANCH LIBRARY

CONTENTS
A DK PUBLISHING BOOK
\v\\

Avdk.com

ROCKET

Art Editor Dorian Spencer Davies

Designer Sharon Grant. Sara

Senior Art Editor

Hill

David Gillingwater

C.

TF148

Miles

J66
1995

Camela Decaire

U.S. Editor

Production Louise

6-7

Project Editor Constance Novis

Senior Editor John

AL BR

Barratt

American edition. 1995

First

468 10 9753
Published in the United States

by

DK

Publishing. Inc..

95 Madison Avenue.

New York. New

York 10016

CRAMPTON
8-9

Copyright 1995 Dorling Kindersley Limited. London

reserved under International and Pan-American

All rights

No pan

Copyright Conventions.

may be reproduced,

of this publication

stored in a retrieval system.

or transmitted in any form or by any means.

electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording

or otherwise, without the prior written

permission of the copyright owner. Published

in

Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited.

Library of Congress Cataloging

in

Publication Data

AMERICAN

4-4-0

10-11

Johnstone. Michael.
Trains

by Michael Johnstone:
...[et al.)

p.

illustrated

1st

by Richard Chasemore

American

ed.

cm. - (Look inside cross-sections)

Includes index.

ISBN 0--894-0319-6
1.

Railroads
[1.
I.

Juvenile literature.

Railroads

II.

Title.

III.

TFH8J66
625.

Trains.]

Chasemore. Richard,

--dc20

ill.

Series.

1995

95-

15135

CIP

AC

Reproduced by Dot Gradations, Essex

bound by Proost, Belgium

Printed and

STIRLING "SINGLE'
12-13

Tank engine

ELECTRO-DIESEL

14-15

24-25

HEAVY FREIGHT
16-17

18-19

LE SHUTTLE
26-27

PACIFIC

Timeline

20-21

28-29

RACK LOCO
22-23

GLOSSARY
30-31

INDEX
32

Rocket
Thousands of years ago. the ancient greeks made groo\ts
in

first

laid

than on rough ground. By the eighteenth century. England

network of horse-drawn railroads. But by the nineteenth century.
inventors were exploring the possibility of using steam locomotives
pulling power. Businessmen wanted a cheaper alternative to horses, and

along

had

rather than horses for

wagon wheels. In the sixteenth century people

wooden tracks when they realized that carts ran more easily

stone paths to guide

rails

steam was the answer

Funnel for

The competition

water barrel

group of businessmen decided

to build a railroad between Manchester and
Liverpool. They couldn't make up their minds
whether to use horse-drawn carriages or
cars pulled by a steam locomotive.
They announced a competition
for anyone who could
produce a reliable
In 1829. a

Hot stuff
The Rocket and other steam engines had a firebox
in which coal was burned to boil water and produce
steam. In the Rocket, hot gases from the

fire passed
along tubes through the water in the boiler. Steam
rose into a dome and then went along the
ain pipes to the cylinders.

engine. Robert

Stephenson

built

and

entered the Rocket,

which won the

hands down.

trial

Water barrel

Tender
buffer

beam

The winner

On

the rails

gathered to watch the locomotives

that had been entered in the Mancl
and Liverpool competition. The Rocket

The
and

sat

proved

developed. Stephenson adapted

the^e and designed grips called
chairs to hold the rails in place.

In

October 1829. crowds

that

practical.

an

It

steam locomotives were

covered 70 miles (112 km) at
eed of IS mph (2-4 km h).

In

iron rails were short

on stone supports.
1820. longer rails were
first

TECHNICAL DATA
IN

steam

Max SPEED:

Length of engine:
14 FT 2

Letting off

(4.4 M)

(RAINHILL TRIALS)

Valves on each

29 MPH (46.7 KM/H)

cylinder controlled
the amount of steam
going in and out. Steam
on top of the pistons
drove them down, and
steam below pushed

Cylinder diameter
8

IN

(20 CM)

Smokestack

them up again. This

up-and-down movement
drove connecting rods

7 FT 2

IN

and cranks to make the

driving wheels turn, and
the locomotive go forward
or backward.

Weight:

WHEELBASE:

4.25 TONS (4,318 KG)

(2.2 M)

Lock-up

Engineer

Dome

safety valve

Exhaust
steam and

Smokestack

smoke

stay

Piston

*
Crosshead

and guides

Cylinder

Exhaust
steam pipe

Guide
bar

i^fc

from
cylinder to

C)
.

Boiler

smokestack-

Nameplate

Front boiler

stay

Water

inlet

Connecting
rod

Liverpool

and Manchester Railway

September 1830.

Member

in

of Parliament for Liverpool,

William Huskisson, stepped into the path

of the Rocket. He later died, making

him the

first

railroad accident fatalitv.

Laminated
spring

Spoke

Death on the line

On the opening day of the
the

Crank-

Wooden
wheel

Metal

tire

Rail

Crampton
Cramptox locomotives are named after the man who
designed them, Thomas Crampton (1816-88). In 1842, Crampton
went to Belgium and began work on the locomotives that bear his
name - engines with great driving wheels set behind the firebox.
Seven years later, the Crampton No. 122. built by the French company
hours. When England"s
J. F. Caile. made the first express journey between Paris and Calais in five
was
chosen to pull the royal
was
Crampton
that
it
a
visit
to
France
in
Queen Victoria made a
1855.
train. In all, 320 engines were built to this design, most for use in France and Germany.
Safety
i

Stoker.

ah e

Ooh

la la!

Crampton locomotives
became so popular
in France that the
expression prendre la

Crampton " became slang

Handrail

for a night out.

Wheel
cover

A matter of
some gravity
Something with a high
center of gravity

is

more

shake than
something with a low
likely to

center of gravity.

By

placing large driving wheels

behind the firebox.

Crampton could mount
the boiler lower than
was usual and lower
the center of gravity to

make his locomotives

run smoothly.
Steps to

footplate ^

Tender water,
co)inection

Wonderful wheels
This Crampton locomotive has a 2-2-2-0
wheel arrangement. This means that it has
two pairs of rigid leading wheels, two big
driving wheels, and no trailing wheels. This way of

describing steam locomotives

is

called W'hyte notation

TECHNICAL DATA
FRONT CARRYING WHEELS:
4 FT 5

IN

OVERALL

(1.35 M)

WHEELBASE:
16 FT 3

IN

(5M)

I-'lue

The long boiler

In 1841,

Robert Stephenson introduced

a design for a long-boilered locomotive

that

made

better use of fire tubes as heating

were not popular

France because they shook violently when
running at speed on French tracks - until
Crampton introduced his locomotives.
surfaces. Long-boilered trains

Head-

in

light

Safety-

valve

Steam

to

Blast pipe

cylinder

Smoke
box door

Buffer

Smoke
box door
lever

Revolutionary
was a revolution in France.
were sabotaged, stations were
demolished, and bridges burned. Railroad
In 1848 there

Railroads

Rail

Flanged
wheel

workers demanded that foreign workers

leave the country, but French manufacturers
continued to make foreign-designed
locomotives, and Cramptons were used
for more than 40 years to pull the light
express trains that linked towns and cities
all over northern and eastern France.

American

4-4-0

vital IX OPENING UP THE VAST NORTH

and one train more than any other became the
American railroad development - the 4-4-0.

The railroad was

American
workhorse of early

continent,

By 1870, about 85% of all locomotives in the

US were 4-4-0s. Most had a distinctive balloon
smokestack, designed to catch sparks from
the wood fuel they burned. 4-4-0s were built
in other countries, but they were so identified
with the US that wherever
they were built, they were
usually called
"Americans.**

Light years ahead

There were few
fenced-off tracks

on

even when
they ran through largesized towns. Locomotive
manufacturers were quick
to fix a massive headlight
to the front of each

US

railroads,

locomotive to warn
people that a train
was coming.

Pilot

(cowcatcher),

Cylinder

Around the bend

American engines had to
be able to take the sharp
turns that were found on
many American lines. US
engineers developed a bogie
truck that could swivel from

tnuk wheel

side to side to enable the engines

spring

to

10

accommodate

twisting tracks.

TECHNICAL DATA
Ring those bells
Bells

were

first fitted

to

Cylinders:

American

15

locomotives in 1835 after the

Massachusetts State Legislature passed
a law requiring all engines running

through the

state to carry

warning

(381

24

IN X

MM

in

619 MM)

bells.

Safety,

valve

Covered
engineer's

cab

Stoker

Log/or
firebox

Footplate

Tender
coupling

Engineer comfort
From

the 1840s onward,

most American 4-4-0s were fitted
with a cab to shelter the engineer

and stoker. In England, when designers put cabs

on locomotives, some workers asked for them to be
removed because they thought they were effeminate.

The General
was the General
War, northern soldiers
captured the engine and steamed it north for 87.5
miles (140 km). Unfortunately for them, it ran out of
fuel and was retaken by Confederate troops who were
chasing it in another 4-4-0, the Texas. By that time
the General was so hot. all its brass parts had melted.

One

of the most famous 4-4-0s

In 1862. during the

US

Civil

Stirling "single
This locomotive was designed by Patrick Stirling,
the chief designer of England's Great Northern Railway.
It first shunted out of the company's Doncaster factory

Between then and 1893, when the last Stirling went into service, 47 were built,
most
famous of them being Number 1. Its elegant lines, gleaming paintwork,
the
and polished brass trim combined to make it one of the most beautiful engines ever.
The most noticeable characteristic of these locomotives was the huge 8-ft (2.4-m)
driving wheels, which allowed the engines
in 1870.

to reach very high speeds.

^w

^r

^Smokestack

Handrail

Smoke

Smoke box
door

Smoke box
door handle

Vacuum brake
connection

Buffer

Bogie
truck

frame

On

the rails
were first
Derby Station in
and by the time the

Steel rails
laid at

L857,

Stirling

came

they were

in

into service,

general use

rails could not have

withstood the weight of

Front carrying

Laminated

die heavy Stirling *-2-_N

wheel

spri)ii>

Iron

12

Safety valve
^

??

TECHNICAL DATA
Overall length (engine):
28 FT

IN

Width:

(8.8 M)

7 FT 5

IN

(2.26 M)

m
<^=fm Q gEU& E
Xi-i'-riX

VgUL-y

Cylinder diameter:
18

IN

Driving wheel diameter:

(457 MM)

8 FT

IN

(2.4 M)

Clerestory

Changes in appearance
The appearance of the Stirling
changed slightly as more were
built over the years. The
splash guards on the first models
were attractively slotted: later
Stirlings had them closed in.

Luggage
rack

tT~\

~!~

Coupling

hook

Passenger

compartment
Flange

Brake
shoe

Brake
gear rod

Slowing down
When the Stirling's

matter of some convenience

when passengers boarded

Until 1882,

had to stay in the same

compartment until the train stopped there was no way to move from one
compartment to another. In that year,
a train, they

driver pulled the

brake lever, a vacuum was created

in the brake pipe. This pushed the
brake shoes onto the wheels and
brought the train to a halt.

Laminated
spring

13

cars with a side aisle came into service.

At each end of the aisle was a restroom
- one for ladies only, the other strictly
for gentlemen.

Tank engine
AS RAILROADS DEVELOPED, SOME LOCOMOTIVE
manufacturers recognized a need for an engine specially
T designed for short journeys and for pulling light trains.
coal
These were the first tank engines, locomotives that carried their
Dome Whistle,
engine
the
board
on
casing
tanks
water
supply and

Tank engines were more popular in England

and the British Empire than in other parts
of the world. The splendid tank engine

shown here

pulledjtrains

Headlight casing
Boiler

Boiler,

head

Smokestack

in India.

J-

Water on
the side
Most tank engines
carried their water
in

'Headlight

Light-

glass face

bulb

Smoke box

tanks set either

of the

in the sides

Smoke box

engine or across
on top. Because
these latter ones

looked a
like

door handle.

bit

Smoke box

saddle bags,

door

they were called

saddle tanks.

Front coupling
spring
Oil

Front coupling

lamp

and

uncoupling

mechanism

Pilot

(cow-

*J

catcher)

l
\

Piston.

Giant tanks
Large tank engines

appeared

in

1907

first

when

England's Great Central Railway

introduced a three-cylinder 0-8-4.
cars.
It was used for shunting freight

Front carrying

wheelflange

Piston rod

Rear section
of engine

frame

Drawbar

Tanks underground
When London's Underground

railroad opened
were hauled by 4-4-0 tank
engines. To cut down on steam in the tunnels,
the engines were fitted with condensers,
which turned exhaust steam back into water.
in 1863, trains

Driving axle

Main crank pin

15

Heavy freight

:..:

states is a big country where big

engines have to haul heavy freight and passenger trains over
long distances. To do this, the Union Pacific Railroad introduced
the remarkable 4-12-2 class in 1926. 4-12-2s had 12 driving

The united

Pennsylvania, an 0-12-0 built in 1863:

and although 4-12-2s have long since run out of steam, they stand in the record books as the
largest three-cylinder non-articulated engines ever built. The first of the class. Engine 9000. has
been lovingly preserved by the southern California chapter of the Railway and Locomotive

wheels

like the earlier

Historical Society for Preservation.

Smokestack

Air brake
compressor

Smoke box
door

Great gear
Valve gears are required
to coordinate the

movement

of the

valves that allow steam

into the cylinders with
that of the pistons.

4-12-2

was

fitted

The

with

the British-developed
Holcroft Gresley

combination gear
to drive the valves of

the middle cylinder.

Cowcatcher

(pilot)

Four-wheel leading,

30-in (76-cm)

bogie truck

carrying wheel

16

On trial

Birth of a giant
After a series of test runs,

Union

The

decided that
wanted a non-articulated engine that married pulling

power and speed. More

Pacific

it

Steam dome

first

tested

4-12-2

on

- the 9000 - was

a length of track that

ran over a steep gradient.

tests led to a three-cylinder

When

engine with four leading carrying wheels and two

trailing carrying wheels - the 4-12-2.

its

performance was
that of an

compared with

articulated 2-8-8-0, the

non-articulated engine

was found to run

faster on less fuel.

Sandbox

The biggest
The

4-12-2 was not the largest steam

engine ever built. That record goes to
another Union Pacific metal monster,
the articulated Big Boy. An articulated
locomotive has two independent sets
of driving wheels separated by a pivot.

17

Regulator handle

Pressure

The brick arch

Pushing the coal in

gauge

The introduction of very

Like most steam locomotives,

the 4-12-2

areh
at
It

made

was

demands on

of fireproof bricks

who

the front of the firebox.

acted as a baffle to

heat and cut

By

make

maximum
down the quantity

the coals burn

of

large locomotives put

fined with an

hea\y

the stokers

shoveled the coal.

many

1913.

large

tenders had steam

at

coal pushers.

smoke produced.

Firebox

Trailing bogie

truck

Going around the bend

The engineers who designed

Trailing bogie

the 4-12-2 fitted a device to the

truck axle

front

and

rear driving

wheels

allowed them to move

(from side to side).
This, along with the two bogie
trucks fitted with the earning
wheels, enabled the engine
to go around bends that were
harp as 16 degrees - and

Bogie truck

Trailing bogie

trailing carrying

for a non-articulated engine,

frame

truck

wheel

that

laterally

that

was

45-in

very tiyht curve

18

114-ctn)

Cross-section of 12-wheeled tender

Water tank

Coal push steam

supply pipe

Coal push
valve chest

Coal push
cylinder

Coal push
piston rod

housing

A choice

of tender

The 4-12-2 could be fitted with

one of two types of tenders.
The one fitted to the prototype
9000 (above) had two sets of six
wheels on separate bogie trucks:
later 4-12-2 tenders ran on
two four-wheeled bogie trucks.
The larger one held 18,000 gal
(68,250 1) of water and 21 tons
(21.5 tonnes) of coal.

Access ladder

Water tank

Rail vs road
4-12-2s were used successfully
to pull heavy trains along
Union Pacific tracks, but
their long, rigid wheelbase
limited their working speed.
So, when faced with growing
competition from road
transportation,

Union

replaced them with

Pacific

faster,

heavier engines.

Tender wheel

TECHNICAL DATA
Driving wheels:

5FT7

IN (1.7

Total weight:
202 TONS (224,532 KG)

M)

Top working
SPEED:
60 MPH
(96 KM/H)

CYLINDERS:

27 X 32

IN

WHEELBASE:

(686 X 813 MM)

27 X 31

52 FT 33

IN

IN

(15.94M)

(686 X 787 MM)

19

.Pacific

\'e)Uilator

Pacific class engines

take their name from
the

4-6-2 locomotive, built in America for the

first

Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1902. Pacifies were

introduced as a class in Britain in 1922

Nigel Gresley's Al Pacifies

went

when

into service

Northern Railway (later the

London and North-Eastern Railway) in 1922.

for the Great

third Al was one of the most famous

engines ever - the Flying Scotsman.

The

Gresley

Sir Nigel

Herbert Nigel Gresley

was born

in

Edinburgh

1905
he was appointed
in 1876. In

Carriage and

Wagon

Superintendent of
the Great Northern
Railway. The Al. A3,
and A4 Pacifies were
famous engines he

designed.

Stoker

Company

livery

Coal bunker

Water scoop
inlet

pipe

The Flying
Scotsman
Great
Northern Railway
introduced a daily
In 1862. the

express to run the

393 miles (633 km)

from London to Scotland.
Within two years

its

reputation for speed

well established.

Superheating

was

Superheating increases the temperature and volume

makes an engine
much more efficient. The technique was pioneered
by a German scientist. Wilhelm Schmidt. His fire-tube
superheater was fitted to Belgian Railway engines in

relief

locomotive crew on
board could run the
Pacifies nonstop.

of steam by applying extra heat. This

1901.

20

and bv 1910 was

fitted to

most large locomotives.

Cylinder valve
Piston

Working under pressure

Al

Pacifies

they went

had a
to

boiler pressure of 180 lb/sq in. Shortly after

work, Gresley began experimenting with higher

and after a series of trials, a pressure of

was set as the standard for Pacific engines. The
new series was designated A3 Pacific. In due course, as their
boilers wore out, most Al Pacifies were converted to A3s.
boiler pressures,

220 lb/sq

21

in

Rack loco
Early trains could cope with only the slightest
slopes, but in 1830

climb steep
grip a rail laid in the

middle of

hills if

a standard

The most common method

of running a train up a hill
became the rack railroad
The rack is the central
rail, and it engages a
pinion, a toothed wheel
railroad.

the underside

fitted to

of the engine.

Abt rack railroads

In 1882. Swiss railroad

engineer
patented
system.

It

Roman Abt
his

famous rack

rail

came

eventually

be used by more than ~0o

of all rack railroads. He used
to

parallel

toothed

the teeth of

one

rails
rail

with
opposite

the gaps in the other,

and

a pair of pinions with teeth

staggered to match.

Pushing from behind

Some mountain

railroads

have conventional track for

part of the run and use rack
and pinion for only the

Engineer's

cab

steepest gradients. In this

case the locomotive works

from the front of the train.

But on railroads equipped
with rack from end to end.
the locomotive, with

Brake
handwheel

its

brake system, is always

placed at the downhill

end of the

train.

Cogged wheels
Pinion wheels have teeth

Coupling
all

around their edges. As the

wheels turn, the teeth slot into
the gaps in the rack, literally
climbing up it tooth by tooth.
effectively pulling the engine
up the slope and preventing
it from slipping backward.

book

Rear
buffer

Ciuv)itio)ial rail

it
it

was suggested
was fitted with

^^^^ ^^^^

that a

locomotive could
wheels that would

a pair of

^&^

whistle pull

Angled bottom

Fire tubes

If

Car roof.

the seats in the passenger

compartments were

Smokestack

set

parallel to the floor,

the passengers in
seats facing downhill

would be thrown

into

the laps of those

facing them as the train
chugged uphill. To

Boiler

prevent

this,

the seats

are set at angles,

and

the floors of the cars

most mountain

on

railroads

are angled to allow for

the slope.

Angled
seat

Wooden
paneling

Running
board

Give us a brake
Braking

mountain

is

especially important

railroad locomotives.

on

As

well as being equipped with standard

locomotive brakes, rack locomotives

have an extra brake on the axle

that

drives the pinion wheel. This

applied

by moving

is

handwheel on the

footplate.

Vertical boilers
The designers of the first mountain railroad locomotives were
faced with the problem that on steep gradients, the fire tubes
at the front of the boiler would be tilted so much that the water
wouldn't cover them This could cause a boiler to fail and
possibly even explode. The problem was eventually solved
by building locomotives witn angled boilers.

TECHNICAL DATA
Length of car:
13 FT 6

IN

LENGTH OF ENGINE:
17 FT

(9.6 M)

IN

(5.3 M)

>

^j^ii

u^swp:

yZ=S

--U-bftftr*

-IL

Jk

~^[|y'

QQP3DD

Driving
axle

^SBiaP

*iigg^

\\u j'
i

Width:
11 FT

23

IN

(2.4M)

ENGINE WHEELBASE:
9 FT 2

IN

(2.8 M)

Electro-diesel
Electricity was first used to power a train l\ 1842
The first diesel locomotive engines ran 70 years later. Both
are more efficient than steam. The class 73 electro-diesel
shown here first ran for British Railways in 1962.
Diesels

and

electrics

Diesel locomotives use diesel engines to turn the wheels.

Electric trains

run on

overhead wire or

electricity

third

rail.

picked up from an

Diesel-electric trains use

diesel engines to generate electricity. This

powers

the motors that turn the wheels. This class 73 uses

external electricity
its

own where

where available, but generates

is no third rail.

there

Route
indicatot

Windshield
uipers

Yellow at
both ends
Class 73s are painted
yellow at both ends to
make them more conspicious
to people working on the track

Hand

Bogie

control frame

damper

Quick change
Where

telephone

telephone

speaker

Axle box

truck-

brake

wheel

Cab
Cab

Electric traction

Keeping in touch

electricity

is

supplied by

live

third rail, it flows to a transformer

where it is converted to the required

Intercom sets are standard equipment

on class 73s. They allow the engineer

voltage for use in the locomotive.

Cab telephone

and other onboard crew members

The current then flows

radio handset

talk to

radio set

to

each other throughout a journey

24

to traction

motors that turn the wheels.

Weight:

Main generator

TECHNICAL DATA

Overall length:
53FT 10

69.8 TONS (70,916.8 KG)

(16.4M)

IN

Turbocharger

case

Max
SPEED:

90 MPH
(145KM/H)

Engineer's
control

/l^B panel
S-1|B_ Power

^j^R

controller

^====s

- Cab
telephone

stand

Main wheel spring

(two per wheel)

Traction motor
field

Steam vs

diesel-electric
and electro-diesel

Diesel-electric

winding

The power pack

trains

work on 675

volts

are ready for use at the turn of a switch.

Class 73s

Steam engines take some time to get

started, and their fires must be continually

of

stoked. Electro-diesels require less servicing

generated on the locomotive

by a 600-hp diesel engine.

electricity.

On

non-electric

sections the voltage

and

have better acceleration. They also run more

smoothly at high speed, which causes less wear.

25

is

Le shuttle
IN 1994 THE CHANNEL TUNNEL OPENED BETWEEN FOLKESTONE,
in the

south of England, and

northern France. From the start, British and

French engineers realized that a new engine was

Overhead

Calais, in

needed

to pull the trains that carry

automobiles through the tunnel. The

locomotive that came off the drawing board
has to make the journey between France and
England 20 times a day, so it is appropriately
called Le Shuttle.

driver has four

Metallized

carbon

Pantograph
springs

Power

The controls
The
The

contact wire

main

controls.

selector detennines direction,

Le Shuttle collects power

from an overhead wire.

backward or forward. The

power controller is pushed forward
to accelerate the train. The main
brake controller and direct-air

The current

main transformer. The current

Signaling

eventually reaches the traction

equipment

brake controllers

motors

cubicle

either

stop the

is

carried

first

to a

small transformer, then to the

that turn the wheels.

train.

Windshield

Engi) seer's

cab

Engi) leer's
control

panel
Headlight

Heavy
duty
buffer

Coming

Leading bogie

to

a halt

The cabs

Le shuttle

electric

Each Shuttle locomotive has two cabs, a large one

at the front extending across the entire width of the
engine, and a smaller, auxiliary cab at the back,
mainly used for switching operations at low speed.

is

combined
(regenerative) and

equipped with

truck

mechanical braking system

26

strip

Working together
Pantograph
upper arm

Channel Tunnel car trains are 2,500 ft

(750 m) long and make their journey
with a shuttle engine at each end.
The engines have to work
on gradients and be able
to cope with changes in

Auxiliary

Auxiliary cab

cab

control desk

Pantograph
lower

arm

temperature that range

from bitterly cold to hot. If a fault
develops in the one of the bogie
trucks,

each engine must

able to

work

be

still

effectively. If

an

engine breaks down, the other one

must be able

Air reservoir

to finish the journey.

Transformer

K^

^>

^^*

*cs

LW

Rear
bogie
truck

Primary
suspension
springs

Battery

Monocoque

charger

body structure

Bogie trucks
Le Shuttle has three bogie trucks with
independently driven axles. Primary suspension
is via pairs of springs. The springs are attached

<

to a casting

on the bottom of each

TECHNICAL DATA
P
Width:
9 ft 6

IN

Speed:

Power:

90 MFh

7,500 HP
(5.6

Secondary
suspension
springs

Traction

motor blower
Traction motor

27

(145KM/H)

MW)

Length: 72

(2.9 M)

ft

in

(22 m)

axle box.

Timeline

1825 Locomotion
England

1803 Trevithick's
locomotive England
Tender carries

In

1825, IT

WAS NOT POSSIBLE TO

coal/water

more than a few miles by train.

Within a few decades, railroad track
had been laid all over the world.
travel

Today's advanced trains thunder

along the tracks at speeds undreamed
of by railroad pioneers.

1860 "American" 4-4-0 US

1851 Crampton 2-2-2-0 France

Huge driving
wheel

1934

Ml 0000 diesel unit US - one

1938 Mallard 4-6-2 England

Steam speed record holder - 126 mph (202 km/h)

Streamlined
shape

of the first diesel trains

1970 Electric express locomotive France

1955 General Electric diesel locomotive US

28

1829 Rocket England

1893 Number 999 4-4-0 US

vlLi

\Mj

1841 Lord of the Isles England

1930 Chapelon 4-6-2 France

l_1!j

1941 "Big Boy" 4-8-8-4 US -Largest steam locomotive ever built

Huge, articulated
chassis

Pantograph picks up
overhead wires

electricity from

1990 Bullet train Japan

Rounded,
aerodynamic nose
helps train reach

high speeds

29

Glossary
Air brakes
A system that uses

compressed

push

air to

the brake shoes onto the

wheels.

Axle
A round metal bar
joins a pair of

that

Crosshead

steam-operated device
in the tender for pushing
coal forward to a point
where it can be shoveled

directly into the firebox.

cylinder.

device that keeps the

piston rods in line as they

move

in

come from

that

the boiler.

Firebox
The metal box

situated

Cog wheel

behind the boiler of a

steam locomotive in which

the

fire

burns.

that

Ballast

Small pebbles that

make

mountain

Fire stoker

The person who keeps the

railroad.

Crosshead

the base of a railroad

Blast pipe

Cylinder
The metal tube into
which steam or gas is
pushed to make the
pistons go backward
and forward.

that

collects electric current

in a

from the

steam

locomotive that takes

exhaust steam up the
smokestack.

fueled in a steam

Flange
The extended rim of a
wheel that keeps it on
the

rail.

Wheel

Flange

hub

Connecting rod

Bogie truck
The wheeled carriage
fitted beneath the end of

je

tn<ck

Dead-man's handle

metal rod that links the

piston to the driving

wheels of

power and applying

brakes in the event of the
engineer becoming ill
during a trip.

a locomotive.

Coupling

JQgL

live rail in third-

rail electrified tracks.

Boiler
The metal drum in a steam
locomotive where water is
turned into steam.

a locomotive or car.

fire

locomotive.

Collector shoe
The metal block

track.

The pipe

Exhaust
The unwanted fumes

and

out of the

toothed wheel or pinion

connects with the rack
laid between the rails of a
rack-and-pinion

wheels

together.

up

Coal pusher

device for connecting

cars to

device for cutting off

an engine and each

Diesel engine

other.

An

engine, fueled by

Cowcatcher

diesel

metal grid fitted to the

front of a locomotive to

trains either to

engine directly or to drive

Footplate

nudge animals

the electric motors that

The

power

locomotive on which the

engineer and stoker stand.

off the

track (technically called

oil.

used

in some
power the

the engine.

the pilot).

part of a

steam

Dome
Cab
The engineer's
compartment - where

the

controls are located.

Coupling rods
The metal rod that links
one wheel of a pair to the

The

other, so that they turn in

valve
in

on top of the

locomotive where dry

steam is collected and
where the steam regulator

unison.

Car
A vehicle

part

boiler barrel of a steam

passengers travel.
Passenger cars, or
coaches, earn- people.

Driving wheels
The main wheel of a
locomotive turned by

Freight cars carry

the

kinds of things from

place to place.

Coupling rod

Crankshaft
A metal arm

Carrying wheel
A locomotive's guiding.

the

load-bearing wheel.

them

movement

locomotive

chassis

is built.

Freight

is set.

which

all

Frame
The foundation or
on which a steam

of the

connecting rod.

The goods or cargo

on a train.

carried

Gauge
The distance between
two rails of a railroad
track.

of a piston

Electro-diesel engine
An engine that can run on

making

both

that transfers

movement

to the wheels,

turn.

electrified

and non-

electrified tracks.

30

Gradient
The slope of
track.

a railroad

the

Piston rod
The rod that connects

Guard
The

official in

an English

charge of

the

piston to the crosshead.

train.

Shoe brake

and volume of steam

a steam locomotive after

device that stops a

turning wheel by pressing
a block of

Rack and pinion

The toothed track (rack)

Hand brake
The means of applying
brake blocks to the
;wheels without power

and toothed wheel

assistance.

up and down steep

mountains and other

Locomotive

slopes.

wood

to the rim.

or metal

Pinion

engine that makes

(its own power to enable
>it to move. Locomotives
used to be powered
by steam, but since

Tank engine
An engine that

form a

its

train.

A means

and diesel power have

movement

on the

Live rail
L^n electrical conductor for

of trains by

if

there are trains

track ahead, or of

the intention to divert a

transmitting electricity to a

Rail

on

The

third-rail

train to
strip

Pantograph
A wire frame on top of

another track.

of steel on which

engines were usually used

for short runs with

lightweight trains.

Rail

bed

The

layer of material

emitted.

spread over the formation

!an electric train that

on which the

electricity

from cables suspended

above the track.

ties

Tender

car,

attached to a steam

locomotive, that carries the

locomotive's water and
fuel, either

Smokestack
The metal tube from which
steam and smoke is

a train's wheels run.

'electrified tracks.

of

Tank

warning or advising the

engineer

up

its

water and fuel

chassis rather than

in a separate tender.

controlling the

Ithey are

carried

own

on
Signals

taken over because

picks

extra heat.

into the correct order to

.the 1930s, electricity

'locomotive

the boiler barrel

Shunting
Pushing cars and coaches

cheaper
and more efficient.

left

Suspension
The springed system
between the wheels
and frame that absorbs
shock caused by running
over uneven tracks.

has

by applying

Shoe brake

(pinion) that pull trains

iAn

it

in

wood

or coal.

Tie

The wooden or concrete

strip to which rails are
attached.

and

Wheel code
(Whyte

track are laid. Also

called ballast bed.

notation)

The

Piston

Rolling stock

A metal plug powered

Cars, coaches,

by steam that slides

forward and backward

railroad vehicles.

inside a cylinder.

Safety valve
The apparatus inside
the dome of a steam
locomotive from which
steam is released if

Valve

steam engines by number

and other

^\%

-'l

pressure inside the

\3 boiler
becomes too

classification of

of wheels.
4-6-2

Smoke
box
The compartment

in a

steam locomotive where

steam and smoke collect
before being sent up the
smokestack.

high.

Spark arrester

Sandbox

A box
Cylinder
Piston

which sand is
stored to be fed by pipes
onto the rail ahead of the
driving wheels to stop
them from slipping.
in

device in the smokestack

from
being thrown into the air.
to prevent sparks

4-4-0

Superheating
Increasing the temperature

31

INDEX
A

diesel. 24.

Abt rack

mountain

railroads, 22-23

electric, 24, 26-27,

10-11. 28

28

articulated locomotives,

electro-diesel.

16

track. 8. 10, 19, 22.

bells,

types of locomotive

Number

0-8-4, 14

999. 29

0-12-0. 16

steam, 6-21, 25

warning, 11

bogie trucks, 10.

20. 27
"Big Boy." 16. 29
boiler. 6. 8. 9.

4-2-2. 12-13
26,

29

4-4-0. 10-11. 28.

23
Flying Scotsman. 20-21

23

4-12-2, 16-19

6. 9.

Pacific class Al. 20-21

Pacific class A3, 20-21

brakes. 13. 11. 23. 26

brick arch. 18

Pacific class A4. 20

pantograph. 29
Pennsylvania. 16

and Exeter Railway

General. 11

Railways class 73

passenger compartments.

Great Central. Railway. 14

Great Northern Railway,

13.

electro-diesel.
12.

24-2^

20

C
Caile. J.F..

chairs. 6

headlights, 10

rack loco. 22-23

heavy

radio handset, 24

16-19

Channel Tunnel. 26
Chapelon 4-6-2. 29

rails. 6. 12.

Huskisson. William, 7

Rocket, 6-7.

steam,

Crampton

warning bells. 11
wheel code. 8, 31
wheels

selector.

cranks. 7

31

steam dome, 6
Stephenson. Robert.

Railway,

6,

Stirling "Single" no.l.

^

London and North-Eastern

DeWitt Clinton. 29

Railway, 20

Lord of the

Isles,

6.

Stirling. Patrick, 12

Locomotion, 28
locomotives see engines

29

Acknowledgments
Dorling Kindersley would like to

thank the following people

12-13

helped

in the

28

Engine 9000, 16

M
M-10000

superheating. 20

book:

suspension, 26

Index by Lynn Bresler

Alan Austin

Gary Biggin
diesel.

28

Mallard. 28

32

who

preparation of this

Artworks by:

electric trains. 24, 26-27,

30

pinion. 22. 31

splash guards. 13

Liverpool and Manchester

cylinders. 6, 7

16. 18. 28,

26

side aisle. 13

Le Shuttle. 26-27
7, 17,

driving, 7, 8, 12. 15.

Schmidt. Wilhelm. 20

2-2-2-0. 8-9.

cylinder valves,

carrying, 17, 18, 30

saddle tanks. 14

intercom, 24

Crampton, Thomas. 8

31

29

28

7,

11. 25

connecting rod, 7
cab. 11. 30

engine

no. 9000. 16-17

valves. 31

coal, 6. 18. 19

coal push. 18. 30

Pacific

valve gear. 17

rack and pinion. 22, 23

freight locomotive.

Union

Gresley. Sir Nigel, 20

Pacific Railroad, 16,

23

pistons. 7, 31

Bullet train. 29

Union

17. 19

IS
British

29

28

4-6-2, 20-21.

firebox, 6, 8, 18. 30

tubes,

28

2-8-8-0, 17

18. 19.

boiler pressure. 21

Bristol

2-2-2-0, 8-9.

overhead wire.

fire

28

Trevithick's locomotive, 28

24-25

24, 25

transformer, 24, 26

25

Roman. 11
American 4-4-0.
Abt,

rail,

traction motors, 24, 26

Railroad. 20

28

diesel-electric, 24,

railroad. 11

third (live)

Missouri Pacific

engines

tank engines. 14-15

Richard Chasemore

tenders. 18. 19. 31

Hans Jenssen

Texas, 11

Chris Lyon

*"*

LOOK INSIDE
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TRAINS
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fascinating locomotives
WHAT
is

does a boiler look like inside? kind

of engine pulls cars through the Channel Tunnel?

a tank engine?

WHICH

c
-

locomotive had huge driving wheels? steam locomotive

was the largest single unit ever built? train was the first
to be involved in a fatal accident?

HOW
do steam locomotives work? does a hand brake
stop a train? do electric trains pick up current
from

a third rail?

Find the answers to these and other

fascinating questions in

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