"John D. Fitzgerald - The Great Brain At the AcademyUC - 4" - читать интересную книгу автора (Fitzgerald John D)

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that cord? The one on the left? It rings the bell to let pas-
sengers know we will be leaving in a few minutes. Don't
yank on it too hard or the bell will just spin around. You
can tell by the feel of the cord and the sound of the bell
when you are doing it just right."

Boy, oh, boy, was Tom in his glory. He never expected
they would let him ring the bell. He had heard locomotive
bells many times in Adenville. But the sound of the bell
on engine number 205 as he rang it was the most beautiful
sound he had ever heard.

"That's enough," Ed said. "I've got to look out the
cab window now so I can see when the conductor gives us
the highball. 'Highball' is another railroad term, Tom,
meaning the arm signal to start. Get your hand on that
other cord that blows the whistle. Give it two quick pulls
when you hear the conductor call 'All aboard.* "

By this time Tom was more excited than a dog chas-
ing a rabbit. In a couple of minutes he heard Mr.
Walters calling, "All aboard!"

Tom jerked the cord twice and heard two short blasts
from the steam whistle. "Do we start now?" he asked.

"Not until the conductor gives me the arm signal," Ed
said. "There it is. Now grab that handrailing so you don't
fall."

Tom took hold of the handrailing. He watched the
engineer release the air brakes. Ed turned a valve, then put
his left hand on a bar about two feet long with a round
handle on one end.

"This used to be called a Johnson bar," Ed said, "but
now we call it the throttle. The farther I push it forward
the more steam pressure it will release to the cylinders
and the faster we will go. I take it nice and easy so we

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don't jerk the cars we are pulling until we get under way.
A steam locomotive is about the simplest machine ever
invented. But each one is just a little bit different. You
take this one. I have to sort of coax it and drive it by the
feel of the throttle."