What do you call it?

[XavierJ123]

What do you call the very front of the steam locomotive? You know the part with the headlight? Is it the boiler backhead? And is there a thread somewhere that covers and defines model railroading nomenclature? Like what is a:
1.Truck
2.Driver
3. etc.,etc.,etc., ???????

 

[Triplex]

I'm not sure what the name for the front surface is, but the cylindrical body of a steam engine isn't all boiler. The front section is the smokebox. Look at a picture of a Union Pacific Big Boy or Challenger - the smokebox is gray while the boiler is black.

 

[jim currie]

what you refering to is the smoke box front and some of the later steamers had a small access door in the front cover. also the smoke box front on some locomotives was hinged itself.as to a thread covering that i don't know but i belive that the Model railroaders encyclopedia has one. also the older locomotive cyclopedia up to the 1952 edition have a Dictionary of locomotive terms for steam in them.

 

[zedob]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_locomotive_nomenclature

http://home.new.rr.com/trumpetb/loco/

try these two sites. I did a quick look see, but didn't come across the smokebox nomenclature.

 

[steamhead]

Hi,

The "Train Shed Cyclopedia" Vol. 22, refers to the section of the boiler beneath the smoke stack as the "smokebox", and its front end as the "smokebox cover".

Gus (LC&P).

 

[60103]

The backhead is the other end of the boiler, I think we use it to refer to the bit of the firebox that is in the cab, with all the controls and gauges and stuff hung from it.
I think we should start a thread of definitions -- and possibly translations.