Review of How Steam Locomotives Really Work (Paperback)

If you want to know how a steam locomotive really work buy this book, if you are looking for anecdotes, beautifull pictures curious details etc. don't!. I am not a trains fan but I have an interest in the history of technology and I bought this book because I wanted to know how a steam locomotive works. I liked this book a lot because it delivers exactly as promised. The text is technical because the subject is technical and you need a spat of phisics to understand it all. The book explains in detail how the different parts and systems of a steam loco work and how the whole comes together as well as the whys and hows of some operational and maintenace practices. You can also see that steam is not a friendly technology and that steam locos are, by their own nature, difficult to operate and maintain and you get some idea of the amount of labor and skill needed to do it. The fundamental limitations of the technology are also shown and you understand why in certain aspects the last steam locos were so similar to the earliest ones, why some designs were on the tracks for decades and finally why they have become museum objects rather that daily used machines. After reading this book I appreciate steam locos a lot more than I did before.

Product Description
Steam locomotives were developed in the early part of the 19th Century, initially by Trevithick, and then most successfully by George Stephenson, whose engine Locomotion inaugurated the famous Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825. For the next 150 years, steam locomotives were further developed and refined, until the advent of new electrical technology superseded them. Although British Railways operated its last main-line steam locomotives in 1968, there is still immense interest in the large numbers of locomotives that have been privately preserved, and which run on heritage railways and in various parts of the world.This book describes the anatomy and physiology of the steam train, to enable all train enthusiasts to understand the workings of the various types of engines in use. It covers the design of the engine, the process of converting fuel into mechanical tractive effort to haul passenger and freight trains, and the function and design of the various components of the engine. The authors also outline the reasons behind the safe and efficient operation and maintenance of steam locomotives. Although the steam locomotive originated in the UK, there were parallel lines of development in North America and in various other European countries, many of which introduced their own individual features. These are dealt with in the book, which will appeal to railway enthusiasts throughout the world.

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