Water Tank

Water Tank. . , This water tank has a capacity of 3000 gallons. The water tank has been reconstructed, but it is on the original footings. Water tanks were placed along railroad lines to fill steam engines with water. Steam engines were the first engines widely used for industry. They were invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1705 and James Watt (Watt light bulb) who made big improvements to the engines in 1769. Steam engines powered all early locomotives, steamboats and factories, and therefore acted as the foundation of the industrial revolution. The engines that are used at the 1880 Train are the 1928 Mallet engine #110 with a water capacity of 2700 gallons, the 1919 #7 engine with a water capacity of 4000 gallons and the engine built in 1926 #104 with a water capacity of 1600. , For more information on steam engine operation see the interpretive panel near our engine house otherwise known as the round house. , Trucks , Two samples of different kinds of trucks are located here. , Trucks are the wheeled apparatus that support railway cars. The first set of trucks is a standard gauge Bettendorf Truck with coil springs and was used for heavy freight cars. This type of truck was introduced in the 1930s and used until 1993. The next sets of trucks are also Bettendorf but are narrow gauge circa 1920-1940. Smaller gauge (narrow gauge , 36 inches) railroads were built in mountainous terrain for accessibility to mines and less costly. Standard gauge is 4 feet-8½ inches which is the distance between the inside vertical surfaces of the rail. , The history of this gauge dates back to the ruts made by carts and chariots in Pompeii. In present day, the space shuttle rocket boosters are designed around the width of standard gauge, because the boosters are hauled by rail after production. (So, the major design feature of what is arguably the world's most advanced transportation system was originally determined by the width of a horse's backside.)