Excerpt from Locomotive Breakdowns, Emergencies and Their Remedies: An Up-to Date Catechism A. That will depend upon the degree to which the defect has been allowed to advance. In the case of a blowing valve or piston there is usually little danger in running, provided that it is due to simple wear and not to a broken part. Where the pounding is light there may be no immediate danger; but this defect will continually increase and, when it is allowed to become excessive, a breakdown may be the result. Where the water is of such a character as to cause the boiler to foam or prime there is danger that water may be carried over to the cylinders and cause a breakage there. A poor draft may merely mean a delayed train. It should always be remembered, however, that any defect, no mat ter how slight, may be the direct cause of greater ones, which mav result in a breakdown or disaster. Q. What are the duties of the engineer in regard to these classes of defects? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.