Curious Engineering

When I was a lad, we used to have a model railway club in our school's cellar. Not a euphemism, honestly. On the track there was a section which was an automatic "derailler" on one of the inclines. The idea being that if a carriage broke free and started to roll downhill, it would be derailled rather than continue to accelerate and possibly come to a worse accident. Apparently, this was/is a feature built into some hill railways across the globe.

Fascinating really.

Can you think of any slightly oddball bit of curious engineering designs/features.

Re: Curious Engineering

The Sydney Harbour Bridge automatically drops small bits of steel on the head of any tourist who says their cross harbour bridge is better. Not enough to hurt. Only the size of a small fishing sinker. But enough to jolt them back to their senses... But seriously folks..In Sydney you can see one small section of the above ground cross city expressway that comes to a dead stop in mid air. It was a mistake but was kept as a small car park. You can see the same thing in San Francisco not far from the Golden Gate Bridge. Does an engineering mistake count?

Re: Curious Engineering

I surprised we've still got the Qwerty keyboard since it was supposed to be set out like that to restrict typing speed.

Re: Curious Engineering

Skoose my pig ignrance Smithy (sorry for the spellun but I've had about 7 bourbons and Im feeling silly .. But why would anybody want to restrict somebody's typing peed. Or is it a union thing?..If so..I'm all for it. Lets change it to an abcdefg keyboard.

Re: Curious Engineering

I've been looking for those missing bits since 1961 Keezoy!

Re: Curious Engineering

'Twas actually the ossopite. Because the first typing machines were purely mechanical, a sequence of linkages had to be produced such that the mechanism wouldn't jam when typing at speed.

Re: Curious Engineering

They were called "Catch Points" and were used on all sorts of places. Some were automatic but some were manually controlled from a Signal Box so a Signalman could "trip up" a runaway train.
The points often led into areas of just ballast with no rails, just like the escape roads made of sand you sometimes see on the sides of steep hills.


*My name is Fruity and I was once a Train Spotter.*

There, I've said it now.

Re: Curious Engineering

Drive shafts for pumps, motors, generators, starters etcetera have a narrowed section such that it will shear at this point if undue loads are experienced elsewhere.

They are designed to fail.

For example, if water got into an air motor, or a stone got into a water pump, instead of forces building up and wrecking the expensive machinery, or electric motors seizing and overheating, the shaft will shear.
These can generally be replaced much more easily and cheaply than an expensive pump or motor.

Re: Curious Engineering

I think that's a bit of an urban myth. It is more likely the QWERTY keyboard came about because of the need to quickly and accurately transcribe morse code. The touch typists came later.

Re: Curious Engineering

Besides the Avro Vulcan Bomber, l love Concorde. I love its sleekness, its beautiful elegance and its pointy nose!
I wondered why this beautiful piece of engineering had the pointy nose and l read this...

Concorde's long, pointed nose had a hinge. As the plane took off, landed, and taxied, the pilots tilted its nose forward so that they could see the runway. For supersonic flight, the nose was hydraulically lifted, streamlining the plane's shape and allowing it to efficiently pierce the air.