Ever wondered how a steam locomotive actually turns fire into motion, what all its parts are called, why a locomotive is a “4-6-2 Pacific”, what those semaphore signals mean, or what the driver, fireman and guard each did? This is our growing guide to how Britain’s steam railways worked — the machines, the signalling and the people who ran them.
The science, step by step: fire, boiler, cylinders, valve gear, the blastpipe and the wheels.
A plain-English glossary of every major part, from smokebox to tender.
What 0-6-0, 4-4-0 and 4-6-2 “Pacific” mean — the Whyte notation, with examples.
Semaphore and colour-light signals, the block system and how the railway is kept safe.
Who did what on the footplate and the train — the roles that ran every steam service.