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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 7, Issue 2 (June 1, 1932)

Know Your Engine!

page 45

Know Your Engine!

“It is Fitted with Many
Parts.”

Members of the Greymouth Railway staff snapped during the severe snow-storm last year.

Members of the Greymouth Railway staff snapped during the severe snow-storm last year.

Steam locomotive operation has thus been explained in a pamphlet for the guidance of Indian engineers (as reprinted in the “Railway Gazette”) :—

“To look at locomotive is pretty from locomotive came the locomotive shed. It is fitted with many parts. First will start from the front portion. (1) Fitted. with Chimney, the same is set on smoke box. The smoke box is set on the frame and the frame is set on wheels. Smoke box is extended which is called a boiler. And there is a boiler face plate which is fitted with whistle to avoid accidents and instruct public that train to start. Injection to inject water from tender to boiler fitted with vacuum brakes to stop a train running, & fitted with gauge column to show how much water in the boiler & fitted with hand brake to use when engine has no steam and fitted with a tender which carries the water. Top of the tender is the cool food for the Engine. The Engine is fitted with certain number of wheels & rods are fitted by the sides which are called side rods, other rods are connected from one end to the other. The biggest part on is called the big end. The small end is called the little ends. The little end is connected to the portion which is held by the motion bars & extend to a cylinder contains a head & a rod fitted with steam chest contains valves & inlets & chest connected to the portion which is held inwardly in the boiler with a throttle valve which is covered with big cap called dome the same leads on to the face plate fitted with a guide and regulator, that regulates the Engine to run. These fitted makes Engine look pretty. There is also nice cover made for the driver and fireman to be protected from sun, moon, rain & storm. So the parts of the locomotive and working of the same is a great pleasure to the driver, fireman, cleaner. Cleanliness is next to Godliness. To have a clean Engine makes the Engine pretty and the work a pleasure.”

Fast Work.

The “Railway Gazette” reports a recent example of fast work by train staff and passengers at King's Cross station, London. From the moment that an inbound suburban train arrived at the platform, to the time of re-starting with a substantial load of passengers, only 70 seconds elapsed. In this time the inbound engine was uncoupled, the tail lamps were placed on the last car for the outbound journey, the tail lamps were removed from the other end of the eightcar train, and a new engine was moved from an adjoining track, backed up to the train and coupled to it.

page 46
(A Photographic study by W. W. Stewart.) The Auckland-Wellington “Limited” Express at the platform at Auckland Station.

(A Photographic study by W. W. Stewart.)
The Auckland-Wellington “Limited” Express at the platform at Auckland Station.