I have a question that has been begging an answer. On Steam Engines, are the rods on each driver the same on both sides? I know its a dumb question. But thank-you for the help.
The method of attachment is the same, but the drivers (and therefore the rods) are 90º out of sync from one side to the other.
Here’s a decent intro to steam locomotive operation:
http://www.nymr.demon.co.uk/works/works.htm
Regards
Ed
I was aware of the 90 degree offset, but the original question has me wondering: what about three cylinder locos? (And I don’t mean Shays, either. [swg])
Wayne
That depends. Some 3-cylinder locos had the cranks nominally at 120 degrees from each other, while others had the outside cranks quartered normally at 90 degrees, and the middle cylinder at 135 degrees.
Cheers,
Mark.
Thanks, Mark. The 120 setting makes sense to me, but not the 135. Then again, math was never one of my strong points. [swg]
Wayne
Just to be sure we’re on the same page…of course, the third piston was in the middle of the other two, there wasn’t one on one side and two on the other!! [swg]
Eh? What are you on about now?
DrW:
Elementary. It’s halfway between the other two. 135 x 2 = 270, 270 + 90 = 360.
Most railroads had the right side driver lead by 90 degrees. The Pennsylvania however had a left side lead. Don’t know of any others.
Thank-you for your help.