Forney, Matthias N. (Matthias Nace) 1835-1908 creator Kosak, Georg text utu 2025 monographic en 1 online resource : multiple file formats "Catechism of the Locomotive" by Matthias N. Forney and Georg Kosak is a technical manual written in the late 19th century. It presents a clear, catechism-style guide to the principles, construction, and operation of steam locomotives for railroad personnel, mechanics, students, and interested readers. Expect plain language, abundant diagrams, and practical calculations covering thermodynamics, boilers, engines, valve gear, performance, and safety. The opening of the work sets out transcriber notes, plates, and publishing details, then a preface explaining how a German catechism by Kosak inspired a translation that Forney ultimately rewrote into an American-focused handbook, with acknowledgments and a defense of the “catechism” title. The introduction defines the broad audience and the commitment to simple explanations, briefly teaching the algebraic symbols and drawing conventions used. The text then begins its Q&A: it explains the basic steam engine (cylinder, piston, slide-valve, eccentric, rocker, flywheel), the forces of air and steam (atmospheric pressure, boiling point, saturated vs. superheated steam, absolute vs. effective pressure, expansion laws), and the ideas of work, energy, and the mechanical equivalent of heat. It introduces indicator diagrams to read cylinder pressures, and develops slide-valve action through motion-curves, lead, lap, travel, release, and the effects of connecting-rod angularity. Finally, it starts the topic of expansive working of steam, showing how to compute mean pressure and why cutting off early saves fuel, touching on wire-drawing and the comparative economy of different cutoff points. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Based on Georg Kosak's "Katechismus ... der locomotive". See preface. Release date is 2025-06-25 Peter Becker, Harry Lamé and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) Originally published: Bridgeport: F. Keppy, 1874 Locomotives -- Handbooks, manuals, etc. TJ Bridgeport: F. Keppy, 1874 40017709 https://archive.org/details/catechismoflocom00forn https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76379 https://archive.org/details/catechismoflocom00forn https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76379 UtSlPG 260607 20260610134752.0 76379