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Railway Mechanical Engineering a Century of Progress Car & Locomotive Design
Railway Mechanical Engineering a Century of Progress Car & Locomotive Design
Hard Cover w/ dust jacket
445 pages
Copyright 1979
CONTENTS
1 Introduction and Overview 1 D. G. Blaine
2 Train Braking and Speed Control Systems 21 D. G. Blaine
3 The History of the Steam Locomotive in the United States 57 E. T Harley
4 The History of the Diesel Electric Locomotive in the United States 103 A. N. Addie
5 One Hundred Years of Progress in Railway Mechanical Engineering-Electric Locomotive Development 137 P. H. Baker, A. C. Bieber, J. C. Caldwell, R. E. Rinehart, and M. A. Schleigh
6 The Development of Remote Multiple Unit Locomotive Control 161 Charles W. Parker
7 Canadian Rolling Stock Developments 171 Kelly J. Arrey and W. G. Blevins
8 The Evolution of Rail Freight Vehicles in the United States 185 William P. Manos
9A Railroad Passenger Cars. A Century of Mechanical Engineering 217 William Van der Sluys
9B A Short History of the Railroad Passenger Car 231 John H. White, Jr.
10 The History and Development of Railway Passenger Car Trucks in the United States 245 F. T. Burgess and K. L. Jackson
11 Temperature Comfort in Rail Transportation Vehicles 275 O. M Chiesl
12 Wrought Steel Passenger Car and Locomotive Wheel Development 293 O. B. Capps
13 Cast Steel Freight Car Wheel Development 301 Bernard J. Eck
14 Technological History of Plain Journal Bearing Development 307 John Zupez
15Railroad Roller Bearing Development 313 Harry M. Jones
16 100 Years of Progress in Railway Car Hand Brakes 323 Charles F. Roselius
17 History of the Railway Freight Car Truck in the United States 337 Carl E. Tack and Robert B. Love
18 The History and Development of Standard Railroad Car Couplers 357 D. J. Albanese
19 An Abbreviated History of Draft Gears for American Freight Cars 371 William D. Wallace
20100 Years of Progress in Railway Mechanical Engineering-Special Freight Car Cushioning 393 V. Terrey Hawthorne
21Railway Friction Materials
Development of Brake Shoes: Part I - Cast Metal 399 Grant Arrasmith
Development of Brake Shoes: Part II-High Friction Composition 409 D. G. Blaine
22 Rapid Transit Cars, Trucks, Propulsion-100 Years Development 415 J. P. Van Overveen
INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW
In 1880, when the American Society of Mechanical Engineers was founded, Railway Mechanical Engineering had just emerged from what would be called an art to a true professional engineering discipline. The beginnings of the profession have their roots entwined in the development and application of the steam power plant to the land transportation field in England and Wales during the early 1800's. Importation of the railway to the U.S. occurred in the 1820's. It was then recognized by many that the great continental overland distances and forbidding mountain ranges were not amenable to conquest by a river and canal system.
Early railway engineers were rather broad gauged in their thoughts and actions. Railway engineers of the period had to be concerned with the layout and construction of the railway route and line as well as the provision for the necessary stations, shop maintenance and fueling facilities. In addition, they had to be concerned with the details of locomotive and car construction.
THE LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE
Major thought and consideration went into the design, construction and maintenance of the steam locomotive engine. Reasonably reliable motive power was essential for a practical transportation system to serve the public needs.
Following the lead of Richard Trevethick and George Stephenson, North American locomotive engineers quickly adapted the horizontal fire tube boiler to the rather rigid confines of the railroad clearance diagram. Some experimentation with vertical boilers on the Baltimore and Ohio showed that the heating surface and steaming rate couldn't be met well with this type. The width of the locomotive was limited to about 9 ft and the height to about 12 ft. The width was limited by the practical considerations of real estate required. Track center spacings were from 12 to 13 ft. Clearance on curves for passing trains was a prime consideration. The British standard gauge of 4 ft 8' in. (1435 mm) soon became the general standard, although the original Erie R.R. was built with a 6 ft track gauge (1829 mm). Several Southern Lines used a 5 ft gauge (1523 mm).
The cramped quarters for the fire box and boiler were not conducive to optimum combustion and heat transfer efficiency. Thus it became common to force fire a locomotive with the steam from the cylinder exhaust used as a blast aspirator up the stack. This created a considerable forced draft through the fire bed. Wood was the most common fuel in North America since it seemed there was no end to the hard and softwood forest stands.
This solution to producing enough steam to fill the cylinders at modest speed plus the cramped boiler and fire box dimensions obviated use of the condensing principle. Incomplete combustion was the rule of the day. Flaming red hot sparks spewing forth from the stack created early public liability damage claims by farmers and others within about 500 ft of the tracks. This led to a whole panoply of inventions for spark arresting gear which didn't spoil the draft through the firebox. The familiar antique locomotive print and picture usually has the front of the engine adorned by an enormous ballon, diamond or V shaped stack complete with iron netting and a spark ash collector. These became the rule of the day by the 1840's. Wood fired locomotives persisted until after 1900 in heavy lumbering and timber country. In the British Isles scarcity of wood led early to the use of coal as the predominant locomotive fuel.
The steam locomotive engine had other characteristics which worked against optimum efficiency of the power plant. Cold water was introduced into the boiler from the tank on the tender by feed water pumps usually driven from the piston crossheads. Another factor involved the wide variation in speed required for the locomotive to perform its normal work. High tractive effort was required at low speeds with very little horsepower and high boiler horsepower was required at moderate and high speeds.
Boiler and fire box design occupied the time of many engineers. The water leg fire box became universal. The 50-60 psig (4.6-5 bars) boiler pressures gave way to 80-100 psig (6.5-7 bars) by the 1860's and jumped to 120-140 psig (9.5-10.9 bars) range by the late 1870's and early 1880's.
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