Locomotive Engine Driving
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.UMWr '• .;.'.«.• .•.^•>.riiMfe|il^^^SHfr^ Pi 1 •iri^ p Eli I ^' . •-'• -*L - ,'5't.-- > / A* ,' Ss.^> ' rX t.*V **: '-^- ', i.4:. 4. •* 'j.jsefe' A v\ (aj o X \\ ."'eS' ^. ^>; .-'--^^ Loiid0n:Crost7-Iidfekwoo<i&C? ZSratioDers HaHCoiirt. LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE DRIVING A PRACTICAL MANUAL FOR ENGINEERS IN CHARGE OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES By MICHAEL EEYKOLDS MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF EXOIXEERS, FOUMERLY LOCOMOTIVE INSPECTOR LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SODTH COAST RAILWAY EIGHTH EDITION COMPRISING, BESIDES OTHER ADDITIONAL MATTER A KEY TO THE LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE SSEith nttmcrotts lUustratimts gpiol];u. LONDON CROSBY LOCKWOOD AND SON 7, STATIONERS' HALL COURT, LTJDGATE HILL 1888 \_All rights reserved'] 1 J :i TO THE ENGINEMEN AND FIREMEN OF LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES THEOUGHOUT THE UNITED KINGDOM THIS WOEK IS AS A TRIBUTE OF EEGARD AND RESPECT BY THEIR SERVANT THE AUTHOB rrxv^^ PEEFACE. I AM ambitious to extend and improve the social condition of locomotive drivers by placing within their reach a standard test of capacity that will be unaffected by local or temporary prejudices, fancies, fashions, or accidental connections. It appears to me that our enginemen of to-day will be to those of the next century what " Puffing Billy " in 1825 is to the " Monarch of Speed " in 1877. I hold a very strong opinion that our enginemen may be stripped of old habits and customs by self-help and self-reliance, and developed into a high state of efficiency. In carrying out such a measure of progress, difficulties, no doubt, which usually attend the work of reformation, will crop up ; and many disappointments await the pioneer. The engine is ahead of the engineman—all the hard scheming, comparatively speaking, is done ; but the engineman remains where he was in George Stephenson's time, and his stationary condi- tion jars with his surroundings. I propose to introduce certificates for locomotive drivers, which will in my opinion be an efficacious method of cele- brating and crowning the great and mighty work of Stephen- son, who particularly watched over the craft (enginemen), and was, I am informed, in his element when he was with them. One can easily understand this, for he was hims-elf originally an engine-driver. By means of certificates of proficiency I hope to see the vocation of engine-driver brought up to the standard of what, Vi PREFACE. I think, Steplienson would have worked it to, tiad he lived longer. He would have made every possible provision for the recognition of ability, and for giving enginemen a fair opportunity of advancing with the engine and with the times. By such means each man would develop the brightest tints of his nature ; and I see no reason why such anticipations should not come to maturity in the region of fact. The life of engine -driving has in recent years undergone great changes for the better. In the improvements of engines and in personal comforts, introduced even during the last twenty years, locomotive enginemen may find much upon which to congratulate themselves. But—to summarise their experience—it has consisted of labour and bustle without progress. This unsatisfactory condition of things may, it is anticipated, be amended by the institution of certificates, with the encouragement of corresponding degrees of rank and of special uniforms. Certificates of examination afford a useful means of gauging a man's capacity, when one might otherwise be deceived by appearances. My object in writing this work has been to communicate that species of knowledge which it is necessary for an engine- driver to possess who aspires to take high rank on the foot- plate, and to win a certificate of the first class. In the first part the elements of the locomotive are described, the general working conditions are specified, the principles and methods of inspection are elaborately set forth, and the causes of failure are analyzed and exposed. Moreover, the various duties of an engine-driver, from the moment that he enters the running- shed until he returns to it, are completely but concisely explained ; whilst the duties and the training of a fireman are described with much detail, and the principles of the management of the fire—not an easy problem— are very fully investigated. With a brief notice of the arithmetical problems which most usually come within the range of an engine-driver's PREFACE. VII pra<itlce, the scientific principles of expansion, combustioDf &c., involved in his practice, are explained. Finally, the groundwork of examination for first-class, second-class, and third-class certificates of proficiency is succinctly set forth ; to which is added a carefully compiled collection of regulations for enginemen and firemen. Extracts from the General Acts of Parliament for the Regulation of Railways are added in an Appendix. Michael Reynolds. Bkighton: August, 1877. NOTE. I have had much, 'pleasure in revising the text of this ivork, the production of Mr. Reynolds. It contains a body of original carries with it the matter J in a fresh field of literature, which charm of novelty, as well as the more lasting attraction of solid utility. Many engineers will perceive in its pages the reflection of their own experience; and it may be questioned whether the business of a locomotive-engine driver could have been better presented, by a practical man, for the instruction of the engineers and firemoi of the United Kingdom. D. K. Clark. PEEFACE TO THE THIED EDITIO^^T. It is my high privilege to thank most sincerely locomotive engineers and firemen, the press and the public, for their help and patronage in making "Locomotive Driving" a practical success. Short of eight months since, the first edition was issued, to take its chance—to rise or fall. I sometimes fancied it Vlll PREFACE. would live and thrive ; at other seasons I thoasjht it would die by the "Gorgon visage of neglect," for in its manuscript form it was unheeded by some, and set aside by others ; and it had no friends. It was harshly judged, and wearily I wrapped it in brown paper, and laid it on a shelf, where it remained for a considerable length of time. But, when a lad, I had read of Columbus strolling as far as the gate cf the Convent Juan Perez de Marchena to talk with the Prior about the vast continent beyond the Atlantic, of the spheri- cal form of the earth, of the construction of maps, and of other subjects, and I remembered how the Prior " shut him up," and how it turned out in the end that the Prior was wrong—very much wrong—and Columbus was right. I never forgot the story. So I flung aside uncharitable thoughts, and fetched the manuscript down off the shelf, hoped for the best, and found a discriminating and active publisher. Result : Success. I have been blamed for writing : ft book —Found guilty of scattering light where there ivas no light. However, " Locomotive Driving," as is evi- dent from the great demand for the work, and from the large number of letters I have received from all parts of the globe—supplied a want, proved of assistance to many ; and this is my great reward. This, the third edition, like its predecessors, has been revised by Mr. D. K. Clark, the eminent author of " Railway Machinery," and other works. Much additional information is contained in this edition, more especially in the "Key to the Locomotive Engine," which wdll, I hope, bo of assistance to every person whose avocation necessitates a thorough knowledge of a locomotivo engine. I hope also that the other extra matter supplied will prove acceptable to the young engineer. It will, I be- lieve, materially assist him in mastering the technical language employed in the profession. Michael Reynolds. Bkighton : Mill/, 1878. ——— ————• CONTENTS. fAGS rNTRODUCTORY CHAPTER . , . r „ , . 1 PART I.—DESCRIPTION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE LOCOMOTIVE. Chapter I. General Description of the Locomotive: — Classification of Locomotives.—Tlie Boiler.—Barrel. —Fire- box Shell.—Fire-box.—Tubes. —Smoke-box.—Chimney. - Boiler-mountings.—Framing.—Cylinders.—Horn-blocks. Guide-bars. — Crank-shaft.—Excentrics.—Expansion-links. — Steam-pipe and Blast-pipe. —Feed-pumps.—Injector. Slide-valves.—Lead.—Lap.—Inside Lead.—Compression. Axle-boxes.— Springs.—Wheels.— Coupling-rods. — Brick Arch.—Fire-bai's. —Ash-pan. —Blower. — Sand-box. — Cab. —Tools, &c.—Tool-box.—Gauge-glasses . 8— 32 Chapter II, Detailed Description of the Locomotive, with Key : —The Express Locomotive, " Grosvenor," by Mr. W. Stroudley.—Frame.—Boiler. —Regulator.—Safety-valves. Gauge-glasses. —Cylinder and Valves.—Slide-bars. —Cylin- der-covers.—Pistons and Piston-rods.— Connecting-rod. —Valve-gear. — Excentrics. — Reversing-handle. — Crank- axle. —Wheels. — Axle-boxes. — Springs. — Feed-pumps. Lubrication. — Steam-brake. — Speed-indicator. —The Cah and its Fittings. —Workmanship. — Literal References. — Principal . Dimensions .... 33—56 Chapter III. Characteristics of Good-workixg Engines Performing Long Runs:—The "Pandora" Express, by Mr. John Ramsbottom.—Boiler. —Principal Dimensions. Express Locomotive, by Mr. Patrick Stirling. —Principal Dimensions and Weights.—Express Bogie Locomotive, by ——— ———— X CONTENTS. FACTE Mr. S. W. Johnson.—Differences of Sister-engines. —Free Running,—Steadiness and Safety .... 57—68 Chapter IV.—To set the Slide-valves . 69—71 Chapter V.—How to become a Model Engine-driver:— The Model Engine-driver. '— How successfal Driving is attained 72—78 PTER VI.-- Duties of an Engine-driver:—Rules ana Principles.- -The Notice Board.—Inspection of the Engine from the Foot-plate.—Inspection of the Engine over a Pit, in Shed.—Big-ends. — Little-ends. — Excenti-ics. — Inside Springs and Axle-boxes.—Gearing.—Glands. —Piston-rod, &c.—Ash-pan. — Smoke-box. — Brake. — Screw-shackle. Condition of the Fire in the Shed.—Examination after arriving in Shed ........ 79—91 Chapter VII. Duties and Trainino of a Fireman:—Train- ing Firemen.—Making up the Fire.—Oiling the Ma- chinery .........