LNWR Glossary

Glossary Results for prefix "bo"

Board of Trade	Government department responsible from 1839 onwards for the supervision and regulation of railways. To start with the Board of Trade inspectors who were responsible for supervising the railway companies often complained that government regulations were being ignored, but as time went on a succession of Acts of Parliament gave them greater enforcement powers. In 1919 the BOT was replaced by the Ministry of Transport which inherited much of the work and powers of the Board of Trade Railway Department.
Boat Train	On the LNWR this usually meant a train between Euston and Holyhead, Liverpool or Fleetwood (under the LMS also Heysham and Stranraer) timed to coincide with the departure or arrival of a ship. For cross-channel ferries to a daily or weekday schedule (e.g. Holyhead-Kingstown and Fleetwood-Belfast) the departure of the ship would be delayed if the boat train were running late; as would the departure of the boat train if the ship were late. Boat trains for ocean liners (e.g. Liverpool-New York) were run specifically to connect with the liners’ sailings and were available only to their passengers.
Boff Van	Nickname for a Bicycle Van a guards van fitted with cycle racks designed by a guard named Boff.
Bogie	Swivelling four- (or sometimes six-) wheeled undercarriage on a carriage or locomotive which enables the vehicle to negotiate curves.
Boiler	This is the heart of the engine. It contains the firebox where the fuel is burnt to produce hot gases. These gases pass through tubes which run the length of the barrel of the boiler and are surrounded by water which is thus heated to produce the steam that is used to propel the engine.
Boiler Pressure	Early boiler pressures were low. Stephenson’s ‘Locomotion’ of 1825 had a pressure of 25 psi, while his ‘Rocket’ of 1829 had a pressure of 50 psi. Ten years later, boilers with 100 psi capability were being built. By the turn of the century pressures had reached 200 psi on some larger locomotives and rose to a peak of 280 psi.
Boiler Trolley	A low wagon to carry boilers. See Trolley.
Bolection	A moulding or beading around a window (“light”), holding the glass in place.
Bolster	A transverse load bearing support fitted to the floor of a wagon designed for the carriage of long loads of timber, steel etc.
Bolton & Leigh Railway	The oldest section of the original constituents of the LNWR, the B&L was incorporated in 1825 and opened in 1828-9. It was eight miles long from Bolton to the Leeds-Liverpool Canal at Leigh, and in 1831 was extended for two miles by the Kenyon and Leigh Junction Railway to join the Liverpool & Manchester Railway at Kenyon Junction. The B&L leased the K&LJ in 1836 and, together with the L&M, was amalgamated with the Grand Junction Railway in 1845. Among the B&L’s noteworthy locomotives were Stephenson’s “Lancashire Witch”, Hackworth’s “Sans Pareil” — fresh from the Rainhill Trials — and Bury’s first two engines, “Dreadnought” and “Liverpool”.
Booking Clerk	An employee who issues passenger tickets. From early practice of entering each passenger transaction into a book.
Booking Lad	A trainee or junior signalman employed in busy signal boxes to enter information in train register and deal wth the telephone. In later years staff shortages meant that the “lad” was often a senior or older man assigned light duties for health reasons.
Bottom Doors	Doors fitted into the floor of a wagon intended for coal or mineral traffic, enabling it to be discharged by gravity.
Bow Works	The main works for the North London Railway.
Bowen Cooke, Charles J (1859—1920)	Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LNWR, Bowen Cooke introduced superheating to that railway with conspicuous success, taking great care to get things right. His comparative trials between non-superheated and superheated units were more meticulous than most. His George the Fifth 4-4-0, often considered the best passenger locomotive the LNWR ever had, was a superheated version of the existing Precursor type, while his Prince of Wales 4-6-0 was a similar updating of the existing Experiment. His major new design was the Claughton class, a handsome four-cylinder 4-6-0 that never quite lived up to its promise, probably because of poor air access to the fire and inefficient draughting in the smokebox. He was in office from 1908 to 1920.