File:Every boy's book of railways and steamships (1911) (14778859133).jpg

Identifier: everyboysbookofr00prot (find matches)
Title: Every boy's book of railways and steamships
Year: 1911 (1910s)
Authors: Protheroe, Ernest
Subjects: Railroads Steamboats
Publisher: London : Religious Tract Society
Contributing Library: Boston College Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

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us that we are on a gradient that ascends1 yard in 150; and the engine cannot keep upthe speed that was possible on the level, unlesswe rid it of a portion of its load. Graduallywe mount the incline, and as we pass over itscrest we note another gradient board. This timethe arm is at a downward angle and the figuresare 1 in 300. The slope is only half as much inour favour, as it was recently against us ; but inall probability it will be longer, and the time ourdriver lost during his climb he will be able to makeup in his descent. On and on we rush. Here there are meadowson either side of us, presently we pass through awood, and a few minutes later we are hurtling acrossthe top of a huge embankment that has beenthrown across a wide valley. Then there is acrunching of brakes, and our rate is lessened untilit is a mere crawl. Why ? We are now on astretch of moorland apparently miles from every-where. The driver knows why. Ahead of us is asignal with its arm stretched out at right angles,
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HOW A RAILWAY IS WORKED 93 and until it falls lie will not pass it, however longwe may be detained. He is crawling in the hopethat he will be given clear without necessitatingan actual stop. Down it goes, and the traincommences to gather speed again. A quarter ofa mile further on, we can judge quite correctly whythe signal was against us. We are passing a branchline, and there is a train that has only recently leftthe line upon which we are travelling. The engine is steadily eating up the miles;probably the driver is attempting to make up forthe time which we lost, when the signal was againstus, for in a race against time every second counts.We can time the speed we are making by meansof the quarter-mile posts along the side of the line.Count the seconds which the train takes to passbetween any two posts and divide by 900. Wefind that the time is 15 seconds for 440 yards,which is, of course, exactly at the rate of sixtymiles an hour. In this case we can find the result by the easiestm

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