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An illustration of the steam engine with Walschaert gear system on rail tracks. The piston moves the long shaft connected to the wheel. The lever adjusts the rods on top up and the lower ones down to rotate the wheels opposite from the arrows.

Steam Engine with Walschaert Gear on Railroad

An illustration of the steam engine with Walschaert gear system on rail tracks. The piston moves the…

"Erected in 1904 to commemorate the peaceful settlement of a boundary dispute between Argentina and Chile. The monument stands about three thousand feet above the tunnel on the Trans-Andean Railroad. The figure of the Christ, twenty-six feet high, was cast from bronze cannon."—Webster, 1920

The Christ of the Andes

"Erected in 1904 to commemorate the peaceful settlement of a boundary dispute between Argentina and…

The first railroad train to be used in America.

First Railroad Train

The first railroad train to be used in America.

"The highest of the White Mountains is Mount Washington. We can go in an ordinary train to the foot of this mountain, and from there can ride to its summit over one of the oddest little railroads in the world. The mountain is more than a mile high, and this little railroad goes right up to its top. In some places the track is so steep that it looks more like a ladder than a railroad, and the cars which go up it are at times at such an angle that you would think they would slide to the bottom."—Carpenter, 1898

Railroad Up Mount Washington

"The highest of the White Mountains is Mount Washington. We can go in an ordinary train to the foot…

A diagram of a cross-section of a power station at the South Side Elevated Railway Company in Chicago. This picture is a good analogy for a modern power house of comparative capacity.

Power House

A diagram of a cross-section of a power station at the South Side Elevated Railway Company in Chicago.…

"An implement for clearing away snow from roads, railways, etc. a, caboose; b, cab; c, tender; d, show, plate, or scraper which cuts horizontally at a level with the tops of the rails; e, auger which cuts in to the snow-drift, and assists by its screw-like action to propel the machine (its centrifugal action projects the snow upward through the chute f, and laterally to a distance of 60 feet)." —Whitney, 1889

Centrifugal Snow Plow

"An implement for clearing away snow from roads, railways, etc. a, caboose; b, cab; c, tender; d, show,…

"An apparatus for extracting spikes, as from a rail. a, rail; b, spike to be extracted; c, fulcrum-piece hooked over the rail and supported on the sleeper d; e, claw-lever, with a heel shown in dotted outline, which is passed through a slot in the fulcrum-piece." —Whitney, 1889

Spike Extractor

"An apparatus for extracting spikes, as from a rail. a, rail; b, spike to be extracted; c, fulcrum-piece…

"A large nail or pin, generally of iron. The larger forms of spikes, particularly railroad spikes, are chisel-pointed, and have a head or fang projecting to one side to bite the rail. Spikes are also made split, barbed, grooved, and of other shapes." &mdash;Whitney, 1889 <p>Illustration of a dock spike, used in building docks and piers.

Dock Spike

"A large nail or pin, generally of iron. The larger forms of spikes, particularly railroad spikes, are…

"A large nail or pin, generally of iron. The larger forms of spikes, particularly railroad spikes, are chisel-pointed, and have a head or fang projecting to one side to bite the rail. Spikes are also made split, barbed, grooved, and of other shapes." &mdash;Whitney, 1889 <p>Illustration of cut spike, also called a large cut nail.

Cut Spike

"A large nail or pin, generally of iron. The larger forms of spikes, particularly railroad spikes, are…

"A large nail or pin, generally of iron. The larger forms of spikes, particularly railroad spikes, are chisel-pointed, and have a head or fang projecting to one side to bite the rail. Spikes are also made split, barbed, grooved, and of other shapes." &mdash;Whitney, 1889 <p>Illustration of two railway spikes, used to fasten the rails to sleepers.

Railway Spikes

"A large nail or pin, generally of iron. The larger forms of spikes, particularly railroad spikes, are…

"A large nail or pin, generally of iron. The larger forms of spikes, particularly railroad spikes, are chisel-pointed, and have a head or fang projecting to one side to bite the rail. Spikes are also made split, barbed, grooved, and of other shapes." &mdash;Whitney, 1889 <p>Illustration of a barbed spike.

Barbed Spike

"A large nail or pin, generally of iron. The larger forms of spikes, particularly railroad spikes, are…

"A large nail or pin, generally of iron. The larger forms of spikes, particularly railroad spikes, are chisel-pointed, and have a head or fang projecting to one side to bite the rail. Spikes are also made split, barbed, grooved, and of other shapes." &mdash;Whitney, 1889 <p>Illustration of a spike that is both barbed and forked.

Barbed and Forked Spike

"A large nail or pin, generally of iron. The larger forms of spikes, particularly railroad spikes, are…

"A large nail or pin, generally of iron. The larger forms of spikes, particularly railroad spikes, are chisel-pointed, and have a head or fang projecting to one side to bite the rail. Spikes are also made split, barbed, grooved, and of other shapes." &mdash;Whitney, 1889 <p>Illustration of two forked spikes. When driven into wood, the points spread and hook into the wood.

Forked Spikes

"A large nail or pin, generally of iron. The larger forms of spikes, particularly railroad spikes, are…