Headlight

We just learned about the Chimney.

Another part of a locomotive is the Headlight or headlamp.

The headlight isn't really for the people driving the train, because they are going too fast to be able to stop if they saw something.
It's really meant to warn everyone to get off the tracks and to stay out of the way.
There are also workers at stations who need to know the train is coming, and they can see the light from very far away.


(from: wikipedia - steam locomotive components)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Valve Handle

Chimney

We just learned about the Superheater.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Chimney.

The smoke from the boiler goes up the chimney pipe so the smoke goes up high and the engineer can still see down the tracks.


(from: wikipedia - chimney (locomotive))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Valve Port

Superheater

We just learned about the steam locomotive Boiler.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Superheater.

When the water gets heated up by the fire and goes through the fire tube boiler, it gets really hot and leaves the boiler as steam.
To make it even hotter, that hot steam is sent back into some other pipes to get heated even more.
This is called a superheater.

Superheated steam is better because it is more of a dry steam.
The dry steam holds the heat better, and helps the inside of the engine not get wet and rusty.


(from: wikipedia - superheater)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bonnet

Boiler

We just learned about the Firebox on a locomotive.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Boiler.

We learned before about the Fire Tube Boiler that has a bunch of tubes full of water that are heated up by the burning coal in the Firebox.

The boiler is the long cylinder shaped part of the locomotive that has all of that fire burning and hot water heating inside of it.


(from: wikipedia - boiler)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Valve Body

Firebox

We just learned about the Locomotive Piston.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Firebox.

Remember we learned about the Tender Coal Car where all the coal is stored, and the Fireman who is the person in the Cab that shovels the coal from the Coal Car.

The Fireman shovels the coal into the Firebox where it burns up really hot, which heats up the water to make steam.


(from: wikipedia - firebox (steam engine))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Valve

Locomotive Piston

We just learned about the Piston Rod.

Another part of the Locomotive is the Piston.

This is the thing that pushes and pulls the piston rod, using the power of the steam.

Remember we've learned about how hot steam pushes out, and then cooling the steam makes a vaccuum that pulls or sucks in.
- The pushing and pulling of the steam and vaccuum is pushes and pulls this piston
- The piston pushes and pulls the piston rod
- The piston rod pushes and pulls the connecting rod
- The connecting rod spins the train wheel around


(from: wikipedia - piston)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cam

Piston Rod

We just learned about the Connecting Rod.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Piston Rod.

This is the big straight metal rod that is connected to the piston that goes up and down with the steam and vaccuum.

The piston rod is connected to other metal rods that help turn wheels and make the engine go, but the piston just goes straight back and forth and does not turn around at all.


(from: wikipedia - piston rod)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Linear Actuator

Connecting Rod

We just learned about the Coupling Rod that hooks all the wheels together.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Connecting Rod.

Remember that we learned about how steam pressure works with a steam cylinder to push and pull a piece of metal in a tube called a piston.

The piston is hooked up to the connecting rod, which takes that forward and back pushing an pulling and makes it into a circular push and pull to spin the locomotive's wheel around.


(from: wikipedia - connecting rod)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Rack and Pinion

Coupling Rod

We just learned about the Brake Shoe.

Another part of a steam locomotive is a Coupling Rod or Side Rod.

When the steam engine uses its power to turn the wheel of a steam locomotive, it is usually only turning one wheel.
That wheel is connected to the other wheels by a big metal rod called the coupling rod.

So when the driving wheel is turned, it makes all the wheels turn and spin at the same speed so it makes the train more stable and gives it more power.


(from: wikipedia - coupling rod)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Air Gap

Brake Shoe

We just learned about the Trailing Wheel.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Brake Shoe.

When the train has to stop, there is a rounded piece of metal called the brake shoe that is pushed against the wheels to try and slow them down.

The scraping of the brake shoes on the metal wheel also helps clean the wheels, and after a while the brake shoes get worn down and need to be replaced with new ones.



(from: wikipedia - brake shoe)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Electromagnet

Trailing Wheel

We just learned about the Smokebox at the front of the engine.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Trailing Wheel.

Back behind all of the other big wheels that move the train is a smaller wheel.
This wheel has an axle bar going under the train that helps make the engine more stable especially where the fireman and engineer are standing.

Because it is not connected to any of the other gears that move the train along, this wheel is very strong and doesn't wiggle around so much.


(from: wikipedia - trailing wheel)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Windings

Smokebox

We just learned about the Air Brakes.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Smokebox.

This is the place on the front of the locomotive where the hot air and smoke goes to.

The coal burns up and the hot air goes through the boiler.
After that the hot air needs to be released, so it goes into the smokebox and then out the chimney.
Because the smoke is so dirty, it leaves a bunch of ashes in the smokebox, so the front of the train can be opened up and cleaned out when it gets too dirty.



(from: wikipedia - smokebox)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Stator

Air Brakes

We just learned about the Sand Dome.

Another part of steam locomotives is the Air Brakes.

When the engineer wants to stop the train, he pulls a lever to use the brakes.
The lever opens up something called an air reservoir which is a place where high pressured air is stored.
It is kind of like a really tight balloon filled with air, and opening it up causes the air to come blowing out.

The air goes through some tubes to get to a piece of metal called the brake shoe, and the air pressure pushes the metal brake shoe up against the wheel to stop the train.



(from: wikipedia - railway air brake)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Rotor

Sand Dome

We just learned about the Safety Valve.

Another part of a locomotive is a Sand Dome or Sand Box.

When a locomotive is speeding down the tracks and the metal tracks get wet, sometimes the wheels might slip.
To keep from slipping, the locomotives can spray sand onto the rails as the train is going.

On top of the train is a dome that opens up so the sand box can be filled up with sand when the train stops at the station, just like it does with water.
The sand goes down into a pipe, and when the engineer pulls the right lever it opens up the sand pipe and using some of the steam it can blow grains of sand onto the tracks so the train doesn't slip and slide.


(from: wikipedia - sandbox (locomotive))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Electric Motor

Safety Valve

We just learned about the Johnson Bar that controls the train speed.

Another part of a steam locomotive was the Safety Valve.

This was a valve that could be opened to let off steam if the pressure in the steam engine was getting too high.


(from: wikipedia - safety valve)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bearing

Johnson Bar

We just learned about the Valve Gear.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Johnson Bar, also called the reach rod or reversing lever.

This is a lever that is hooked up to the Valve Gear, and is up in the Cab so that the engineer can push or pull on it to control the speed.

No one really knows why it has the name of Johnson Bar!


(from: wikipedia - johnson bar (locomotive))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Axle

Valve Gear

We just learned about the Train Whistle.

Another part of a steam engine is the Valve Gear.

This is a gear that is hooked up to the piston that is moving the train along, and lets the engineer open or close it to go faster or slower.

If they open the piston up all the way the train will go faster but will use more fuel.
If they close the piston all the way the train will go slower but will use less fuel.


(from: wikipedia - valve gear)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Shaft

Train Whistle

We just learned about the Cab where the Engineer and Fireman work.

Another part of the steam locomotive is the Train Whistle, also called the air whistle or steam trumpet.

When locomotives started becoming popular, people knew it would be dangerous for a big train to be rolling down the tracks and it was very tough for a train to stop.

The engineers put a whistle on the top of the train and hooked it up so that steam could get blown out of the whistle to make noise.

It was hooked up to a lever, and it could be pulled hard or soft, so it could make a little woo or a big WOOO or even a woo-ahh woo-ahh sound.

Because it made different noises, each engineer could have their own style of blowing the whistle, and people could sometimes figure out who was driving the train based on what the whistle sounded like.

Later on they made the whistles even better and would have 2 or 4 different notes combined to make a nice sounding whistle that could be heard for miles.

The engineers used the whistle to tell people the train was getting ready to go, to warn someone at a crossing that the train was coming, and also to let people at the train stations know they were coming.


(from: wikipedia - train whistle)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Pulley

Cab - Engineer and Fireman

We just learned about the Tender.

Another part of a steam locomotive is the Cab.

This is where the engineer and the fireman are at.
The engineer or driver is the person who uses all the controls to make the locomotive go faster or slower, and to help control the engine.

The fireman is the person who is in charge of the fire that keeps the train going.
So he has to shovel coal from the coal bunker into the engine, and also help refill the water compartment for the steam.




(from: wikipedia - cab (locomotive))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Sprocket

Tender

We just learned about the Fire-Tube Boiler.

Let's go step by step and learn all the parts of a working steam locomotive!

One part of the locomotive is the Tender, or coal car.

This is a big box that is pulled behind the engine that is full of the fuel that the locomotive needs to run.
It can be full of wood, coal or oil, and it also is full of water that is used for the steam.

Usually the water was on the bottom of the tender, in a place called the water compartment.
The coal or other fuel was on top in a place called the coal bunker.

The engines used a lot of water, which is why railroads came up with places to refill with water using big cranes when they stopped at train stations.



(from: wikipedia - tender (rail))


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Gear