Railway Engineering History
The Lartigue monorail balanced its load on both sides of one rail
Ireland’s Lartigue railway carried loads on both sides of a raised rail. Its unusual layout makes load balance central to understanding the design.
RAILWAYS · HISTORY · DISCOVERY
Follow the line. Find the story.
Explore railway history through maps, museum objects and the places that connect them, from Montana to rail networks around the world.
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Locomotive Technology
A double Fairlie puts a chimney at each end of the locomotive
Recognise a double Fairlie by its central cab, two chimney ends and powered bogies, then use railway records to distinguish individual locomotives.
Locomotive Technology
A Shay locomotive sends power to its wheels through gears
Follow the shafts and bevel gears of a Shay locomotive to understand why its unusual layout suited demanding industrial and logging railway work.
Steam Locomotive Details
The Giesl ejector gave some steam locomotives a flattened chimney
A flattened chimney can reveal a chapter in a locomotive’s working life. Follow the Giesl ejector through dated photographs and railway records.
Steam Locomotive Details
A steam locomotive’s clack valve keeps boiler water from flowing back
The delivery clack is a small but important non-return valve in a steam locomotive’s water feed. Learn to distinguish its job from that of an injector.
Railway Engineering
Rail lubricators manage friction where wheel flanges meet a curve
Rail lubrication targets particular contact surfaces. Learn how gauge-face lubrication differs from top-of-rail friction management when reading railway equipment.