Trains have steering wheels. Obviously.

[BitchfaceBarclay]

Otherwise they'd fall off the tracks.

H is trying to tell me otherwise. I simply don't believe him.

I am right aren't I?

Lovely post Boys

I agree. Lovely.

I do like a train. I like to get properly into it and do that thing where the woman in the heels is off to meet her lover and the chap in the coat is a spy and the teenagers laughing loudly will one day invent some lifesaving medical treatment.
I also get a lot of crochet and reading done and I can't do that in a car.

But I refuse to believe they don't need steering.

OP, have you seen toy electric trains running along tracks with a few straights and bends in them? Have you noticed how they just continue once they're switched on, with no-one operating them remotely and no little men inside steering them? It's the same principle for big trains.

Frankly OP you ought to consider leaving off the drugs - you appear to be somewhat mentally impaired.....!!

I need the drugs for the back. It's v v v bad. But they do make me feel a bit peculiar.

I never considered a train set.

Trainsets are slightly different though in that it's the flanges that keep the train following the tracks. On a full-sized train the flanges are only in contact with the rails on very tight curves. It's the conical shape of the wheels that steers the train and keeps it following the track, as per the link a pp provided above.

Well, you'll be safe from the brain-hunting zombies, come the apocalypse.

^Also stealing this 😂

Love this thread, takes me right back - land of the 73's here. And at college I got in with a group of bashers including the famous Mr Driffield and KV. Happy and slightly mad times.

Well well well, I hadn't known about the conical wheels, I'd thought it was all in the flange. Thank you newdaddie and MamehaSan. Wow. Really, wow.

OP, are all your conversations at home so fascinating? Again, I'm deeply envious.

Don't trains still have a dead man's button / handle? So if they let go of it, it stops the train?

How the feck can a wheel be comical?

Or even conical?

Boys, I mentioned your post to my husband as he's a train enthusiast and he got all enthusiastic too. Then he said something about "you should look up Buster Keaton's Our Hospitality as a wonderful film about a beautiful mid-19th century train". He seemed so happy about it that I thought I should post back

Err so what about when the track splits in two/goes different directions? How do they go the right way?

They have points, and a signalman in a box changing the points so the train goes the right way. Or something.

My youngest loves trains. (And buses and trams) but he does go on and on sometimes so I tend to switch off quite a bit.

We went to see our towns old signal box the other week. So exciting. I forgot my weak lemon drink.

Err so what about when the track splits in two/goes different directions? How do they go the right way?

They use points. See here.

WEAK LEMON DRINK! I love hobbies

Err so what about when the track splits in two/goes different directions? How do they go the right way

You know when you hear a funny clackety noise?

I think that's the train going at high speed over gaps in the track where the points are.

Orlantina , they do but its more something they have to press i think its every 30secs or so (dp has told me but i zoned out ) when it sounds.

One of the drivers on the network we both work for became quite ill a few months ago and when he didnt press it the train applied the breaks itself.

waves to fellow enthusiasts we spent all day at a diesel gala yesterday, my fav is the class 66, more commonly reffered to in our house as a shed

I have tea. And Murder in the orient express.
H has highlighted things in the timetable. He owes me for this.

I'd love a mug like that! It's ace!

Then he said something about "you should look up Buster Keaton's Our Hospitality as a wonderful film about a beautiful mid-19th century train". He seemed so happy about it that I thought I should post back grin

Thanks for the tip - I certainly will.

I just asked DS what class the first picture of the cab is. He said "some kind of turbostar, in the 170s

He's spot on! Class 170/4

How the feck can a wheel be comical? (conical)

Fab autocorrect, op. If you do a google image search for "rail wheel profile" there are tonnes of drawings that show a cross section view of a wheel and rail. The cone effect is only very slight, but it's enough to steer the train. The video in newdaddie's link shows how it works really clearly.

I can't believe I'm posting about wheel profiles on MN

boysofmelody these are the trains i was thinking of when i saw the pic of the drivers cabin. They are still used alloa-glasgow queen street at times

It's not just a dead man's switch though. There are boxes under tracks to detect the speed of trains and commence braking if they're too fast. Obviously this is on newer stretch/ train combinations.
But the warning to the driver that they're travelling to fast (for curves further signals etc) isn't that new.