journals on the axles, to bed down the bearings as described in Chapter VI.
It should be understood that many of the above operations are carried on simultaneously by different gangs of men. For the purposes of quick erection, as many men as possible work together on the same engine under a leading hand or “chargeman,” as he is termed. The chargeman is responsible for the whole work on a single engine, and frequently may have two or three engines in hand at once. He is in turn responsible to the shop foreman, who superintends the whole of the work done in the shop, in which a dozen to twenty engines may be in course of erection.
Boiler, Smokebox, etc. The engine is now ready for the boiler to be placed on the frames. The boiler comes in a finished condition from the boiler shop, with all mountings attached, and is lowered on to the frames by an overhead crane. It is at this stage that the accuracy of the boiler shop work is tested finally, for when the firebox has been lowered down into position between the frames, the expansion angle irons K Fig. 2,[1] must be square so that they rest evenly on the top edges of the frames, whilst at the same time the bottom flange of the smokebox tubeplate or the front end of the boiler barrel, must fit accurately
- ↑ The function of expansion angle irons is explained in the primer on The Steam Railway Locomotive. Particulars of other details mentioned in this chapter may also be found there.
