The Science of Locomotives: 4 Classic Books on Railway Engineering

Classic Guides to Steam Locomotive Design, Maintenance, Performance, and Railway PracticeBy Baldwin Locomotive Works, Traveling Engineers' Association, John H. White, Angus Sinclair
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Length22h 7m

About this audiobook

The Science of Locomotives gathers four foundational works of railway engineering into a compact record of the steam age's technical imagination. Moving between practical instruction, mechanical description, operational guidance, and historical interpretation, the volume illuminates the locomotive as both a machine and a system: an achievement of metallurgy, thermodynamics, design, labor, and transportation infrastructure. Its range makes visible the changing vocabulary through which engineers, manufacturers, and railway workers understood power, efficiency, maintenance, and motion. The collection brings together the institutional expertise of Baldwin Locomotive Works, the occupational knowledge fostered by the Traveling Engineers' Association, and the interpretive perspectives associated with John H. White and Angus Sinclair. These voices represent complementary strands in railway culture: industrial production, professional practice, technical journalism, and historical preservation. Situated within the great nineteenth- and early twentieth-century expansion of rail transport, the books reveal how engineering knowledge circulated among builders, operators, enthusiasts, and historians, while tracing the locomotive's central role in modern industrial life. Recommended for students of technology, railway historians, mechanical engineers, and curious general readers, this anthology offers an unusual opportunity to compare distinct approaches to the same transformative machine. Its assembled perspectives reward close reading, providing both practical insight and a broader understanding of how railways reshaped work, travel, and technical thought.

Audiobook details

GenreOther, Literary Classics
Length22 hrs 7 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateMar 4, 2025
LanguageEnglish

Table of contents

1Illustrated Catalogue of Locomotives; Baldwin Locomotive Works
2Illustrated Catalogue of Locomotives; Baldwin Locomotive Works
3ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE
4CIRCULAR.
5Locomotive Engine Running and Management
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6Locomotive Engine Running and Management
7PREFACE.
8PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
9LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE RUNNING.
10CHAPTER II. HOW LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS ARE MADE.
11CHAPTER III. INSPECTION OF THE LOCOMOTIVE.
12CHAPTER IV. GETTING READY FOR THE ROAD.
13CHAPTER V. RUNNING A FAST FREIGHT TRAIN.
14CHAPTER VI. GETTING UP THE HILL.
15CHAPTER VII. FINISHING THE TRIP.
16CHAPTER VIII. RUNNING A FAST PASSENGER TRAIN.
17CHAPTER IX. HARD-STEAMING ENGINES.
18CHAPTER X. SHORTNESS OF WATER.—PUMP DISORDERS.
19CHAPTER XI. INJECTORS.
20CHAPTER XII. BOILERS AND FIRE-BOXES.
21CHAPTER XIII. ACCIDENTS TO THE VALVE-MOTION.
22CHAPTER XIV. ACCIDENTS TO CYLINDERS AND STEAM CONNECTIONS.
23CHAPTER XV. OFF THE TRACK.—ACCIDENTS TO RUNNING-GEAR.
24CHAPTER XVI. CONNECTING-RODS, SIDE RODS, AND WEDGES.
25CHAPTER XVII. THE VALVE-MOTION.
26CHAPTER XVIII. THE SHIFTING LINK.
27CHAPTER XIX. SETTING THE VALVES.
28CHAPTER XX. By J.G.A. Meyer. LAYING OUT LINK-MOTION.
29CHAPTER XXI. THE STEVENS VALVE-GEAR.
30CHAPTER XXII. THE JOY VALVE-GEAR.
31CHAPTER XXIII. THE STEAM ENGINE INDICATOR.
32CHAPTER XXIV. THE WESTINGHOUSE AIR-BRAKE.
33CHAPTER XXV. THE EAMES VACUUM BRAKE.
34CHAPTER XXVI. POWER OF LOCOMOTIVES AND TRAIN RESISTANCES.
35CHAPTER XXVII. WATER FOR LOCOMOTIVE BOILERS.
36CHAPTER XXVIII. EXAMINATION FOR LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEERS.
37Introduction of the Locomotive Safety Truck
38LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE SAFETY TRUCK CO. OF NEW YORK.
39The Traveling Engineers' Association to Improve the Locomotive Engine Service of American Railroads
40The Traveling Engineers' Association to Improve the Locomotive Engine Service of American Railroads
41PREFACE
42AIR BRAKE QUESTIONS
43COMPOUND LOCOMOTIVES
44SOUTHERN VALVE GEAR
45DUPLEX LOCOMOTIVE STOKER
46INDEX
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