Wagon
A railway goods vehicle which has no roof.
Wagon tippler
A mechanical device which is able to lift up a whole wagon and tip out its
contents.
Wagon turntable
A short-length turntable consisting of a round plate on which two
tracks at right angles to each other are located. These devices are
used for maneuvering individual wagons between tracks which are at too
obtuse an angle to each other to be connected with points.
Wainwright, H
Chief Mechanical Engineer for South Eastern & Chatham Railway (1899-1913).
Waist (panel)
The area of a carriage body about half-way up the body-side; specifically
the narrow panels below the windows on a traditionally paneled coach.
Wales Railway Centre
A museum in Bute Road, Cardiff.
Walschaerts valve-gear
A steam-engine valve-gear used extensively on outside-cylindered
locomotives. One component of motion is taken from an eccentric
or return crank secured to one of the driving axles at approximately
90 to the main crank. From this a rod (eccentric rod)
transfers movement to one end of a centre-pivoted link (radius link)
which is thus oscillated. Movement is then taken from a die block
which is free to slide within the radius link via a rod (radius rod)
to one end of a lever (combination lever). The combination lever
combines the movement of the radius rod with that of the cross head
via a union link connected to the other end of the combination lever. The
combined movement is transferred to the valve spindle via a third
connection on the combination lever near the end connected to the radius
rod. Reversal is carried out by moving the radius rod so the die block
takes up a new position at the other end of the slide.
| Washout Plugs Boilers were fitted with plugs to enable internal inspections to be carried out and the scale formed to be washed out. Most washout plugs will be around the firebox, with just a few near the smokebox end of the boiler barrel. Larger holes, known as mud-holes, were often provided around the bottom corners of fireboxes and the top front corners.  |
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| A Washout Plug | A Mudhole door in situ |
Water column
A device consisting of a vertical tube from which a flexible hose hangs.
The device is used for filling the water tanks of locomotives.
Water crane
A water column on top of which an additional hinged horizontal pipe is
attached.
Water Gauge
Fitted to the boiler in a locomotives cab the water gauge shows the level
of water in the boiler. The gauge is usually a strong glass tube, which
lead to sayings such a `half a glass' when referring to boiler water level.
It is often surrounded by a protective cage to prevent it being knocked,
and also to prevent broken glass being sprayed around the cab if it should
break.
Water legs
Downward extensions to the boiler around the firebox.
Water Scoop
To save having to stop to take on more water, many steam locomotives were
fitted with water scoops which could pick up water with out stopping from
long troughs laid along the track between the rails.
Water tower
An elevated water-storage tank.
Water troughs
Longitudinal troughs of water laid between the rails of a train
track, for the purpose of a locomotive picking up water without
stopping.
Webb compound
A steam locomotive compound system in which two outside high-
pressure cylinders exhaust into a single inside low-pressure
cylinder.
Webb, Francis William
Chief Mechanical Engineer for London, North Western Railway (1871-1903).
Weight shaft
A component of the Stephenson valve-gear attached to the
reversing crank in such a way that it counterbalances the weight of
the eccentric rods and expansion links.
Well tank
Some steam locomotive carry their water supply in a tank set between the
locomotive frames. As this greatly restricts the tank size, many
locomotives with well tanks also had small side tanks.
Well wagon
A goods wagon in which the portion between the two axles or
bogies is lowered so as to provide room within the loading-
gauge for a high load.
Welsh Highland Railway
A preserved narrow gauge railway in Wales.
Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway (1)
Absorbed into Great Western Railway on 1 Jan 1922.
Welshpool & Llanfair Light
Railway (2)
A preserved narrow gauge railway in Wales.
West Somerset Railway
A preserved railway in Somerset.
Westinghouse brake
A compressed-air powered automatic continuous-braking system for
trains, now used almost exclusively (see also vacuum brake).
Westinghouse pump
A steam-operated air compressor used on steam locomotives whenever
compressed air is required. These pumps are often seen secured to some part
of a locomotive boiler, and have the appearance of one or more pairs
of end-to-end cylinders with one of the pair incorporating cooling
fins.
Wheel Arrangement
There are various ways to describe a locomotives wheel arrangement, the
most common used for steam locomotives is the Whyte System which
consists of three digits, the first specifying the number of wheels before
the driving wheels, then the driving wheels, followed by any trailing
wheels. This may also be followed by a T to indicate a side tank engine, ST
to indicate a saddle tank, PT for pannier tank or WT for well tank.
The same system can be used to describe internal combustion locomotives
without bogies. In these cases it is usual to append letters to describe
the power and transmission method.
e.g. 0-6-0PM would be a petrol engine with mechanical transmission,
DH would be diesel hydraulic, DE would be diesel electric.
Another typical method for diesels without bogies simply states the number of wheels (it assumes that all wheels are driven) followed by the power and transmission method as above. e.g. 4wDM is a four wheel diesel with mechanical transmission.
The Continental System is usually used for diesels with bogies.
Powered axles are indicated by letters and non-powered by numbers
(ie. A=1 powered axle, B=2 etc), if the axles are independently powered, a
small letter o is added after the main letter. Thus a locomotive with two
bogies, each having two powered axles will be Bo-Bo if the axles are
independently powered (the norm for diesel electrics where each axle has
its own electric motor), or B-B if the axles are not independently powered
(which is the norm for diesel hydraulics).
An exception to the usual rule is when there is an unpowered axle between
the powered ones (eg class 31). This arrangement is described as A1A-A1A.
Wheel drop
A short length of track which can be mechanically lowered down from
the tracks at either end of it. Thus a pair of wheels of a vehicle which
are positioned over the wheel drop can be removed from the vehicle.
Wheelbase
The distance between the centres of the first and last axles of a vehicle.
Wheelset
The combination of two wheels and the axle to which the wheels are
attached.
Whistle
Steam locomotives were usually fitted with a whistle, typically mounted on
top of the firebox.
Whyte System
See wheel arrangements.
Working time table
A time table used by railway operators, which includes the times of
all regularly-run trains (not just passenger trains).