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Although my education so far has mostly involved rocks, not many people know that my real passion in life is for trains. While rocks merely sit around looking pretty, trains... move around looking pretty. There is nothing more majestic than a train in full flight; big, dirty and noisy, yes- but at the same time incredibly powerful, technical and intricate. All those moving parts! Who designed their fearful symmetry? What hand has created and assembled such a raw and untamed beast?!
In fact in many ways, trains are similar to a natural phenomenon, such as an earthquake or a volcano or a thunderstorm on a dark, sticky autumnal night. Both have a certain power over us, a certain hypnotic edge to their charm, a thrill of danger and excitement that comes from observation, however, the real enthralling magic of a train lies in its accessibility. It's very hard to get a research grant to study a volcano or a hurricane - but trains are all around us, calling to us, beckoning to us, playing games with us and reassuring us that yes! Yes you can join in!! You can jump on!! Trains are accessible to us in a way that a mere geologic phenomenon will never ever be! |
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Look - It's me, surrounded by trains!!! See how happy I am?! Perhaps when I grow up, and have finished fostering the links between trains and geology, I could become a trian driver! Wow - how cool would that be? Being surrounded by trains all day long! |
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The box to the left shows a handy identification guide to the different types of engines seen throughout the modern world. Since the demise of steam trains, many people thought the fanaticism associated with the railways would die too - but they were wrong! Trains will always have the power to captivate the aesthete in all of us!
Letters are given to the driving axles (A=1 etc...) and numbers to the carrying axles. Independantly powered axles are denoted by an 'o' following the letter. A plus sign accompanying bogie locomotives indicates that traction stresses are transmitted through an articulated member which connects the bogies, rather than via the frame. Power transmission is shown by black open circles and the carrying axles are shown in blue. |
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Although the rise of the truck and the road has brought a considerable challenge to the domination of freight and passenger transit by the track, the crude manner and un-environmentally friendly nature of these machines means they will never surpass the train as God&Nature's own method of transport- the 'rail'way. |
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