Meet the Locomotive (Ian Allan Abc) Book

There were few more important factors in the rise of Britain as 'The Workshop of the World' in the nineteenth century than the steam engine. Steam provided the power that ensured that Britain had a head start in industrialisation whilst the steam locomotive ensured that raw materials could be carried efficiently to the new factories and the finished goods economically to the ports for export to an eager world. In essence there are few pieces of technology simpler than the steam locomotive, but, as with all technology, steam locomotive design did not stand still and many innovations and developments - such as compounding - were brought forward over the years to make more complex a machine which was essentially a very simple concept.Meet the Locomotive is a slightly quirky and delightful period piece of a book, which we are reprinting for the second time in a few years.In the book, author R. Barnard Way provides an easy to understand layman's guide to the intricacies of the steam locomotive. Using simple diagrams, the various elements that go towards converting coal and water into steam and power are discussed and fully explained. First published some 50 years ago, this pocket guide to the operation of the steam locomotive has found a new market today. It is a valuable introduction to how the steam locomotive works for those developing an interest in steam traction, perhaps through their involvement in the heritage railway sector, but who do not fully understand many of the terms applied to steam locomotives. It also provides information on the various parts of a locomotive and what their function is.