The train driver in the courtyard

sizzle sizzle
White steam gushed out of the drains on both sides of the speeding train, which looked quite spectacular.

Inside the front of the car.

"Pull water!"

Following Li Aiguo's order, Lao Zheng pulled the water injector joystick, which was as thick as a finger and shaped like a long furnace hook, located on the upper right side of the furnace.

Drawing water is a technical job, and the boiler operator needs to adjust the size of the valve according to the steam conditions in the furnace.

Because there is no instrument to display the steam conditions, it can only be determined by the boiler operator's "feel", so it is a job that requires experience.

Adding water to the boiler is one of the basic skills that a newly apprentice boiler operator must learn.

It would take an apprentice boiler operator three or five shifts to master the skill. He would often have to struggle for a while before adding water and would have to ask the master boiler operator for help.

Lao Zheng is an experienced person. He squints his eyes and senses the air pressure and water flow in the furnace through the feedback from the valve, and adjusts the valve from time to time.

Water flowed from the water tank in the coal-water truck into the furnace through pipes, and the air pressure in the furnace gradually returned to normal.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the needle on the dashboard turn below the warning line.

"It was really scary just now. The air pressure suddenly rose without any warning. Fortunately, driver Li had sharp eyes, otherwise we would be in big trouble this time." Liu Qingquan still felt a little scared when he thought of what happened just now.

Inspector Zheng nodded appreciatively.

Being a train driver is a mechanical and boring job, and many people tend to slack off at work.

It’s no longer like the apprentice days, where I had to follow rules and regulations and keep an eye on the dashboard all the time.

Often leads to accidents.

Li Aiguo has been a train driver for so many years, but he can still maintain the same caution he had at the beginning. This spirit is particularly rare.

only.
Li Aiguo's frown did not relax as the air pressure dropped.

"Driver Li, what's wrong?" Liu Qingquan saw a clue and asked.

Li Aiguo asked: "Why did the furnace pressure rise abnormally? We need to use water to solve the problem."

"Well, steam engines are very complicated things. Maybe it was just an accident. There's nothing to worry about." Liu Qingquan said disapprovingly.

For him, as long as there was nothing wrong with the steam engine, he didn't care.

Li Aiguo disagrees with this view.

The Patriot steam engine was improved by him personally through the Progress steam engine, and he was particularly familiar with the internal structure of the steam engine.

The increase in furnace pressure just now was not an accident, but something went wrong with the steam engine!
Liu Qingquan and Lao Zheng both felt that Li Aiguo was worrying too much.

At this moment, Huang Jing, who had been staring at the dashboard, suddenly shouted, "Quick, look, the air pressure is rising again!"

They all looked and saw that the needle on the air pressure gauge on the dashboard was jumping rapidly. It would soon exceed the warning value.

"That's impossible, we just pulled water!"

Old Zheng scratched his head and said depressedly: "When I added coal, the amount was the same as usual, not exceeding the standard at all."

Looking at the rising air pressure, the driver team was caught in a dilemma.

Now we can either continue to draw water to lower the temperature of the furnace, but the air pressure may still soar.

Another is to reduce the amount of coal filling.

However, in that case, the train might not have enough power.

"The train has broken down!" When Lao Zheng realized this, his face suddenly changed.

They are currently conducting experimental runs, and if the train breaks down, points may be deducted.

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the driver's building suddenly became tense.

Zheng Shanyuan sat up straight, stared at Li Aiguo, and tapped his knees unconsciously with his fingers.

Liu Qingquan looked at the rapidly rising barometer and asked hastily, "Driver Li, what should we do now?"

Li Aiguo said in a deep voice: "Safety first. Since pulling water can't solve the problem, stop the car and check it now."

Lao Zheng hesitated for a moment and said, “I don’t think there’s any need to make a fuss. As long as there’s air pressure, our train can move forward.

Besides, the amount of coal filled is not enough to produce such a high air pressure. Maybe there is something wrong with the barometer."

The job of the boiler operator is to deal with the furnace air pressure, and he is more familiar with the air pressure than the chief operator and the assistant operator.

"I know this too, but have you ever thought about what caused the problem with the barometer?" Li Aiguo asked.

Lao Zheng's face suddenly changed and he quickly stopped the shovel that was about to fill the furnace with coal.

When Liu Qingquan saw Li Aiguo preparing to stop the train, he became anxious and said loudly: “Driver Li, this may be an accident, maybe nothing will happen.

The train has now reached the bridge. If we stop the train, we may not be able to participate in the 'first pass'."

Lao Zheng also turned his eyes to Li Aiguo, waiting for his decision.

"There is now a fault inside the train, and this fault is likely to affect the safety of the train."

Li Aiguo said calmly: "We are train drivers. Our primary mission is to ensure the safety of the train and passengers. Everything else must be done in order to give way to this mission."

Before he finished speaking, the speed of the train dropped suddenly as the amount of steam in the furnace decreased.

There was even a problem of insufficient power, which means that even if Li Aiguo did not order the train to stop, the train would not be able to pass through the Yangtze River Bridge smoothly.

Lao Zheng and Liu Qingquan both sighed deeply.

"We were so unlucky that we were about to win, but something unexpected happened."

Li Aiguo ignored all this and decisively put it down.

Hiss, hiss, hiss. The wheels rubbed against the rails, emitting sparks of fire and a creepy friction sound.

Workers who were doing the final inspection of the bridge noticed that the train suddenly stopped, and immediately became alert and reported it to the guards patrolling nearby.

The guard realized that something was wrong, and while asking his teammates to keep an eye on the train, he quickly ran towards the bridge fortress.

Inside the locomotive.

Li Aiguo's decisive action once again won Zheng Shanyuan's praise.

But he didn't comment.

As a train driver, Li Aiguo was able to stay sober in the face of honor, and stopping the train was just a satisfactory performance, which was far from excellent.

"The spot that I had already gotten was gone just like that!" Liu Qingquan punched the carriage angrily.

Huang Jing, who usually liked to chatter, was silent now.

On the railways, regulations are everything.

No matter what the reason is for the train to break down, the train driver cannot shirk responsibility.

This is also the fundamental reason why train drivers are reluctant to stop when many trains encounter problems during their journey.

It is normal for train accidents to occur.

The rules are not so unreasonable. As long as the train can be repaired and arrives at the destination on time, no points will be deducted.

But repairing the train is easier said than done.

There are thousands of parts in a locomotive, and finding out where the problem lies is harder than climbing a mountain.

At this moment, Huang Jing saw Li Aiguo staring at the barometer with a serious expression.

She leaned over and asked in a low voice: "Master, did you find anything?"

Liu Qingquan and Lao Zheng, who were looking dejected, also came over.

Li Aiguo pointed to the barometer and said, "Look, there is still a primer in the furnace. As the train stops, the air pressure drops."

Air pressure expert Lao Zheng frowned and said, "Driver Li, it is normal for the furnace temperature to drop and the air pressure to drop. There is no need to bring it up."

"Look carefully and see how much the air pressure drops."

"That's normal."

"It's abnormal because it's too normal."

Li Aiguo patted the dashboard and said, "Old Zheng, have you forgotten that the air pressure system of the steam engine is malfunctioning?"

As soon as these words came out.

Old Zheng understood instantly: "This shows that the increase in air pressure is caused by other components and has nothing to do with the furnace itself."

Huang Jing was listening at a loss. Not wanting to disturb Li Aiguo, she quietly asked Liu Qingquan: "Master Liu, what is the air pressure system? What are the other components? What is my master talking about?"

"I don't understand either." Liu Qingquan said: "I'm just a co-driver."

Huang Jing: "My master is just a driver, and Master Zheng is just a boiler operator"

Liu Qingquan: “.”

He felt that he had to improve his professional skills in the future, otherwise he would be looked down upon by his apprentices.

After discussing for a while, Li Aiguo seemed to have grasped the key to the matter, but he couldn't figure it out.

"That's right. Let's analyze what kind of fault would not cause any special impact but instead cause the air pressure to rise."

Li Aiguo felt around and found no paper or pen on him.

At this moment, Zheng Shanyuan took out paper and pen from his canvas bag and handed it over.

"Driver Li, use this."

"Thanks."

Li Aiguo took it, put the paper on the dashboard, picked up the pen and started drawing.

Afterwards, Zheng Shanyuan saw what it meant to draw a diagram of an air pressure system by hand.

Complex parts flowed onto paper under the pen.

At this moment, the big hand that held the valve all day turned into the hand of an intellectual.
In particular, even without using a ruler, the proportions of the individual line segments remain coordinated.

Even though Zheng Shanyuan didn't understand the air pressure system, he believed that after this thing was enlarged several times and compared with the production accessories, it would definitely fit perfectly.

Zheng Shanyuan finally understood why Li Aiguo could receive so many honors at such a young age.

Li Aiguo has modified the air pressure system and is particularly familiar with various accessories and parts related to the air pressure system.

In just a few moments, a complex drawing was completed.

"Even if there were problems with the pot, the superheater, the smoke pipe, and the firebox, it wouldn't cause such a weird situation."

Li Aiguo suddenly pointed his finger at the lower part of the furnace near the air pressure detector and said: "The piston and connecting rod here, if high temperature is generated...
As the train stops, the piston stops reciprocating and the heat disappears, which may be the source of the problem."

Hearing this, Liu Qingquan and Lao Zheng both frowned: "Driver Li, the piston connecting rod is the most important part of the train. Because it is hidden under the front of the train and cannot be checked from the outside, it is inspected in the maintenance workshop every day.

This steam locomotive is so important that the workers of Jiangan Locomotive Depot could not help but pay attention to it.

This locomotive is a new one that just came out of the factory. All the parts are new, so it is impossible for it to have any problems.”

Although they didn't know what the pneumatic system was, they had heard of pistons and connecting rods and thought Li Aiguo's statement was a bit ridiculous.

"Is there something wrong here? Let's just get off the car and check it out."

Li Aiguo turned around and entered the coal truck, and took out several wrenches, screwdrivers and other tools from the tool cabinet.

Liu Qingquan and Lao Zheng did not expect that Li Aiguo would actually dismantle the train on the bridge. They were all shocked.

"Master, let me help you." Huang Jing ran over and helped Li Aiguo take the tools off the front of the car.

At this time, the two of them came to their senses and hurried forward to help.

Although they did not agree with Li Aiguo's approach, nor did they think that Li Aiguo could find out the problem and fix the locomotive with his simple work, they were comrades in the same driver team.

At the critical moment, they will stand on Li Aiguo's side without hesitation.

Under the scorching sun.

A train stopped on the railway bridge, and the workers on the highway bridge stopped their work and looked at the train below.

"Look, someone got off the train. Is he going to repair the train?"

"This guy mistook a train for a truck?"

"Hey, look, he's starting to dismantle the locomotive."

It is a rare thing in itself for a train to break down and stop on the bridge.

Nowadays, it is even rarer to see a train driver repairing a train on the spot.

For a moment, the bridge was crowded with people.

Sudden.

A roar of an engine was heard, and a GAZ jeep and a GAZ truck came roaring over, and stopped on the bridge with a click.

Zhou Wenzhong arrived at the scene with a dozen guards and immediately responded according to the established strategy.

The guards first raised their rifles and pistols to prevent the enemy from taking the opportunity to cause trouble.

Zhou Wenzhong then walked to the railing, stuck his head out and shouted at the top of his voice.

"What happened to the train?"

The sound has been distorted after being transmitted over long distances, but it can still be heard clearly.

Li Aiguo raised his wrist to check the time. It was exactly ten minutes. It seemed that the bridge guards' reaction speed was acceptable.

He climbed out from the bottom of the locomotive, waved his hand and shouted, "It's okay, the train has a little problem, wait for me to tighten two screws and it will be fixed."

"Really? Worker, take your time."

When Zhou Wenzhong received a report from a worker that a train had stopped on the railway bridge, he was shocked and thought that the last group of enemies had launched an attack.

Zhou Wenzhong recognized that it was Li Aiguo and immediately felt relieved.

He left a guard on the bridge, then dispersed the workers and drove away in a GAZ jeep.

Zheng Shanyuan was a little confused by this scene.

Just one sentence, and the guard leader believed it so easily? This is too ridiculous.

But this is a good thing. As long as the train is repaired, the impact of this incident can be minimized.

Although he felt that the possibility of repairing it was slim, he still did not want the 131 driver team to lose their "first pass" qualification because of this incident.

Li Aiguo was preparing to crawl under the car again.

Suddenly he thought of something and called Huang Jing, Lao Zheng and Zheng Shanyuan to stand by the railing on one side and not get close to the opposite railway.

Huang Jing said: "Don't worry, Master, we understand the rules."

Li Aiguo also reminded Liu Qingquan, who was exercising the driver's power on his behalf in the front of the car, to pay attention to the changes in the pointer on the dashboard.

Under the scorching sun, Li Aiguo crawled under the locomotive to repair the train.

The temperature under the locomotive was high. He endured the scorching heat and removed a bottom side guard plate with skilled hands and quick movements.
Listening to the clanging sounds coming from the bottom of the carriage, Lao Zheng and Huang Jing became nervous. It would be great if the train could be repaired.

Woo woo woo. A train is rushing towards us from a distance.

When Liu Dali, a driver from Jiang'an Locomotive Depot, saw the train approaching the railway bridge, he suddenly became nervous.

So much so that the deputy driver in charge of lookout noticed his abnormality and turned his head to ask, "Liu Da Che, what's wrong with you?"

"Hurry up and look out, and pay attention to your duties!" Liu Dache scolded harshly.

The co-driver looked at him in surprise.

Liu Dali is not so well-behaved on weekdays.

But he thought it was because the inspector was in the car, so Liu Dali wanted to behave better, so he didn't care.

The assistant driver stuck his head out of the window and suddenly exclaimed, "There's a train parked on our target track. It's the 131 driver's crew's train!"

Liu Dali suddenly jumped up from the driver's seat and pushed the co-driver away, ignoring the inspector who was right next to him.

When Liu Dali saw that there was indeed a train parked on the side track, he shouted excitedly.

"Well, I told you that the 131 driver team would be in trouble. We will definitely get the first pass qualification back!"

The assistant driver and the fireman looked at each other, their eyes full of confusion.

To get back the 'first pass' when they were behind, an accident would need to happen to the 131 driver group.

How could Liu Dali know this in advance?

Liu Dali also realized this and smiled awkwardly: "I guessed too."

He sat back in the driver's seat.

When approaching the target train, instead of slowing down, it increased the throttle a little, blew the whistle twice, and the train whistled away.

The whistle was so deafening that Lao Zheng and Liu Qingquan rolled their eyes, but they could do nothing about it.

The inspector saw this scene and shook his head helplessly.

Train drivers all over the world are one family and should help each other when encountering difficulties.

People like Liu Dali who wish others bad luck have very low ideological and moral qualities.

But if the 131 driver team cannot solve the problem, then Liu Dali will really be qualified for the "first pass".

The situation was reversed in an instant, and the Jiangan Locomotive Depot regained the initiative, but the assistant driver and the fireman seemed very depressed.

Liu Dali hummed a little tune for a while, and then felt that he was the only one celebrating. He said unhappily, "Lao Chen, Xiao Zhang, are you unhappy?"

"Why are you so happy? We didn't earn this with our own real ability." Old Chen sighed.

Xiao Zhang said depressedly: "We are just luckier."

"Luck, do you really think it's just luck?"

Liu Dali suddenly stopped talking halfway and waved his hands at the two of them: "You two are really boring! No matter what happens, I'm going to become a 'Shoutong' driver."

During the subsequent drive, Liu Dali hummed a little tune and was in a very good mood.

Li Aiguo was in a good mood at this time.

After a while of work, we finally found out what was wrong with the train.

Li Aiguo called Lao Zheng and Inspector Zheng Shanyuan to the bottom of the car, pointed to an iron box under the piston and connecting rod and said, "See, this thing is called an oil cup, which is responsible for lubricating the piston and connecting rod. Now there is a small hole on it, and all the lubricating oil has leaked out.

When the piston rotates at high speed, the temperature becomes higher and higher, estimated to be several hundred degrees.

It ended up affecting the pressure monitoring device.”

"We are really unlucky this time. Even a new car can have problems."

Old Zheng looked at the big red connecting rod emitting black smoke and said depressedly: "The workers and masters of the Changxindian Locomotive Factory are not skilled enough."

It was hot and stuffy at the bottom of the sink. Li Aiguo raised his arm and wiped his forehead, frowning and saying, "It's not a problem with the assembly process. The properties of the oil cup are similar to those of the oil tank.

The outer shell is made of steel plates, which cannot be broken even with nails. It is also located under the steam engine and has layers of protection. How could there be a small hole there? "

As he spoke, Li Aiguo's expression suddenly became serious.

"Driver Li, what did you find?"

"Bring me a screwdriver. One with a long handle."

Taking the screwdriver from Lao Zheng's hand, Li Aiguo rubbed the edge of the small hole with the screwdriver, seemed to have rubbed something white, and then he took the screwdriver back.

He handed the screwdriver to Lao Zheng and said, "Lao Zheng, look at what this thing is."

Lao Zheng pinched off the white substance from the screwdriver, rubbed it with his fingers, and said in surprise: "It's wax! How can there be a candle here?"

The appearance of candles instantly changed the nature of the whole incident.

The train failure changed from an accidental failure to a man-made one.

Everyone knew that the purpose of this accident was to prevent the 131 driver group from obtaining the first pass qualification.

Inspector Zheng Shanyuan's face turned serious.

He, who had been silent since the train stopped, said doubtfully: "Driver Li, even if you plug the small hole with a candle, there is no way to ensure that the train will not break down halfway.

If the train hadn't been out of the locomotive depot, and it had broken down, and there had been no repairman to help, wouldn't that person's goal have been unattainable?"

Lao Zheng also frowned and said, "Yes, if it breaks down in the locomotive depot or outside the railway bridge, we can get help at any time and it will not affect the driving mission.

How did that person accurately cause our train to break down on the railway bridge? "

Although the truth of the matter is still unclear, everyone already has a suspect in mind.

I just don't understand how the suspect did it.

“It’s not just sealing with the candle, it’s using the whole candle.”

Li Aiguo looked at the small hole and narrowed his eyes slightly: "If I'm not mistaken, someone probably drilled the bottom of the oil cup and plugged it with a candle.

In this way, at the beginning of driving, the lubricating oil will not leak because of the candle seal. "

“As the steam engine ran, the temperature of the connecting rod gradually increased, the temperature of the lubricating oil also gradually increased, and the candle began to melt.

It wasn’t until the entire candle melted that the lubricant started to leak out.”

"Because our driving plan was made in advance, it couldn't be a minute earlier or later. With precise calculations, that person would be able to accurately drop us off on the bridge."

The words fell.

Old Zheng and Inspector Zheng Shanyuan's faces turned pale.

They are all experienced people, they just didn't think it through at the beginning.

Now that I think about it carefully, I immediately realize the feasibility of this plan.

The most important thing is that the person who can do this must have a very good understanding of the patriotic steam engine.

The Patriot steam engine is in production but has not yet been assembled on a large scale.

Then the suspects can only be the two train drivers in Jiangan Locomotive Depot.
In order to get the qualification of "first pass", he even destroyed the train.

They couldn't help but shiver in the hot summer.

Huang Jing covered her mouth: "It's so scary!"

At this time, Li Aiguo finally figured out why Liu Dali was so arrogant in the morning.

It turned out that he had already taken action.

But now is not the time to pursue the matter. Li Aiguo took a deep breath and crawled out from under the train.

He called Liu Qingquan to take out a steel stick as thick as a thumb from the coal-water car, and got a few gaskets, and used external pressure to patch the oil cup.

This method can only temporarily solve the oil leakage problem, but it is enough.

Seeing Li Aiguo successfully patch the leak in the oil cup and climb out from under the train, Zheng Shanyuan asked a crucial question: "Driver Li, where is the lubricant? Without the lubricant, won't we still be at a loss?"

(End of this chapter)