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An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the use of these self-propelled vehicles is increasingly common for passenger trains, but rare for freight.
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be transformed, by a connecting rod and crank, into rotational force for work. The term "steam engine" is generally applied only to reciprocating engines as just described, not to the steam turbine. Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separated from the combustion products. The ideal thermodynamic cycle used to analyze this process is called the Rankine cycle. In general usage, the term steam engine can refer to either complete steam plants, such as railway steam locomotives and portable engines, or may refer to the piston or turbine machinery alone, as in the beam engine and stationary steam engine.
A petrol engine or gasoline engine is an internal combustion engine with spark-ignition, designed to run on petrol (gasoline) and similar volatile fuels.
A steam locomotive is a rail vehicle that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material to heat water in the locomotive's boiler to the point when it becomes gaseous and its volume increases 1,700 times. Functionally, it is a steam engine on wheels.
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels.
The British Railways Class D3/7 is a class of 0-6-0 diesel electric shunting locomotives built as LMS Nos. 7080–7119. The class were built from May 1939 through to July 1942 by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at their Derby Works using a diesel electric transmission supplied by English Electric.
A pneumatic motor, or compressed air engine, is a type of motor which does mechanical work by expanding compressed air. Pneumatic motors generally convert the compressed air energy to mechanical work through either linear or rotary motion. Linear motion can come from either a diaphragm or piston actuator, while rotary motion is supplied by either a vane type air motor, piston air motor, air turbine or gear type motor.
A gas turbine locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a gas turbine. Several types of gas turbine locomotive have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels (drivers). A gas turbine train typically consists of two power cars, and one or more intermediate passenger cars.
A fireless locomotive is a type of locomotive which uses reciprocating engines powered from a reservoir of compressed air or steam, which is filled at intervals from an external source. They offer advantages over conventional steam locomotives of lower cost per unit, cleanliness, and decreased risk from fire or boiler explosion; these are counterbalanced by the need for a source to refill the locomotive, and by the limited range afforded by the reservoir.
A retarder is a device used to augment or replace some of the functions of primary friction-based braking systems, usually on heavy vehicles. Retarders serve to slow vehicles, or maintain a steady speed while traveling down a hill, and help prevent the vehicle from "running away" by accelerating down the hill. They are not usually capable of bringing vehicles to a standstill, as their effectiveness diminishes as vehicle speed lowers. They are usually used as an additional "assistance" to slow vehicles, with the final braking done by a conventional friction braking system. As the friction brake will be used less, particularly at higher speeds, their service life is increased, and since in those vehicles the brakes are air-actuated helps to conserve air pressure too.
The hot-bulb engine is a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignites by coming in contact with a red-hot metal surface inside a bulb, followed by the introduction of air (oxygen) compressed into the hot-bulb chamber by the rising piston. There is some ignition when the fuel is introduced, but it quickly uses up the available oxygen in the bulb. Vigorous ignition takes place only when sufficient oxygen is supplied to the hot-bulb chamber on the compression stroke of the engine.
A steam diesel hybrid locomotive is a railway locomotive with a piston engine which could run on either steam from a boiler or diesel fuel. Examples were built in the United Kingdom, Soviet Union and Italy but the relatively high cost of fuel oil meant that the designs were not pursued.
The Mekarski system was a compressed-air propulsion system for trams invented by Louis Mékarski or Louis Mékarsky in the 1870s. He worked in France, was born in 1843 in Clermont-Ferrand of Polish origin. Many references to him use the Polish name Ludwik Mękarski.
The counter-pressure brake, also named the Riggenbach counter-pressure brake after its inventor, Niklaus Riggenbach, is a dynamic railway brake on steam locomotives that brakes the locomotive using the driving cylinders. In doing so it reduces wear and tear and overheating of the driving wheel tyres and brake blocks and enables a continuously high brake force to be applied. The brake works by using the cylinders as air compressors and converting kinetic energy into heat. Steam is emitted during braking but this does not come from the boiler, it is produced by evaporation of water used to cool the cylinders.
The Still engine was a piston engine that simultaneously used both steam power from an external boiler, and internal combustion from gasoline or diesel, in the same unit. The waste heat from the cylinder and internal combustion exhaust was directed to the steam boiler, resulting in claimed fuel savings of up to 10%.
The Great Northern Railway (GNR) Class L1 was a 0-8-2T side tank steam locomotive designed by Henry Ivatt. It was originally designed for suburban passenger traffic on the Metropolitan City Lines.
An internal combustion engine is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high-pressure gases produced by combustion applies direct force to some component of the engine. The force is typically applied to pistons, turbine blades, a rotor, or a nozzle. This force moves the component over a distance, transforming chemical energy into kinetic energy which is used to propel, move or power whatever the engine is attached to. This replaced the external combustion engine for applications where the weight or size of an engine was more important.
FS Class 910 were 2-6-2 tank locomotives designed by Guglielmo Cappa for Rete Sicula where they were registered as RS Class 400. They were absorbed by Italian State Railways (FS) in 1905 and became FS Class 910.
A Naphthalene locomotive was tested in France in 1913. It was built by Schneider-Creusot for use in their own plant.