Located at the confluence of Will’s Creek and the Potomac River, Cumberland, Maryland, is known as the Queen City of the Alleghenies. Because of the unique geography of the mountain passes, Cumberland became a transportation nexus between the Eastern Seaboard and the inland bounty of the United States. The National Road, a federal project initiated by Pres. Thomas Jefferson, passes through Cumberland, as does the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and Canal. Rail lines and roads stretch out west, south, and north to industrial, agricultural, and natural resource areas. Regional short-line railroads served to move coal to the loading docks of the canal in Cumberland. Today the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad features steam-power excursions from the old Western Maryland Station next to the canal basin, while 6,000-horsepower diesels haul heavy freight through the CSX Yards in South Cumberland.

Railroading Around Cumberland (Images of Rail: Maryland)

Arts & Photography

Stakem, Patrick

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing

This book is an overview of the Civil War ironclads that changed Naval Warfare forever. It focuses mainly on those ships designed and deployed on inland rivers. The day of the wooden ship, even updated with steam engines to replace sails, was coming to an end. The heavier cannon was prevailing over sturdy oak timbers. Offense was surging ahead of defense. Even in the Revolutionary war, wooden ships fell to hot-shot, cannon balls heated to red heat in a furnace. Steam, iron, and firepower were the new parameters of naval warfare. Another topic is that of Union and Confederate submarines. The most popular sub was the CSS Hunley, which sank a Union warship, but never returned to base. In fact, the North and the South produced and deployed dozens of different submarine designs. In addition, the adaption of observation balloon's on floating platforms is covered, as well as the Navy's first hospital ship. There is a section at the end of this book showing where to see some of the surviving equipment.

Riverine Ironclads, Submarines, and Aircraft Carriers of the American Civil War.

Engineering & Transportation

Transportation

Independently published

This book is about trains and railroads, canals and roads, and the industries that relied on them. It spans more than a 265 year period, from 1854 through the current day. The discussion is centered geographically on the City of Cumberland, Maryland, in Allegany County, near the western end of the State. Cumberland is called the Queen City of the Alleghenies. This discussion does not focus on the equipment or operations of any one particular railroad. Many different forms of locomotion are discussed. Why Cumberland? Besides being my home town, the answer is found by looking at a topological map. There are many ways into the town. In the early 19th century, on the way from the Eastern seaboard to the Ohio River, there were not too many choices. The routes had already been surveyed, in part by a young Virginian in the employ of Lord Fairfax. His name was George Washington, and he would figure prominently in the history of the region, and the country. Heading west from Cumberland, the choices were to continue to follow the Potomac River Valley to the south, or to use the natural gateway of the Narrows, and the water level route of Wills Creek. The National Road, built in 1807 pushed over the mountains, but the resultant grades limited the weight of the freight traffic that could be carried, and the traveling speed The choices delineated by Washington and other early surveyors and explorers are as valid today as when they were made.

Transportation Options on the Frontier: The Railroads, Canal, and Roads of Cumberland, Maryland (Western Maryland)

History

In 1736, Peter Studebaker brought his family to the United States. He bought land and settled in Hagerstown, Maryland, and constructed an iron furnace, and wagon works. He had a good working knowledge of iron production, and applied it in his adopted country. He also knew some tricks on wood preservation. In Eastern Pennsylvania, a farmer's wagon industry developed. As farmers moved further west, they needed a good wagon to carry their families and possessions, and then to work the farm. This resulted in the Conestoga wagon, and the Prairie Schooner, two very different designs. The diversity of working trucks today was reflected in the diversity of wagons back then. After gold was discovered in California, a huge migration of American headed west to seek their fortunes. Many farming families went west for cheap farmlands. With the coming off the transcontinental railroad, freight wagons were needed for the "final mile" delivery. Stage coaches carried the mail, and business pass angers. In town, the doctor kept a single horse buggy for patient calls.

Studebaker's Wagons

Americas

MARC is the Maryland Rail Commuter service, operating in the Baltimore/Washington area. MARC began operating in 1974. MARC trains are operated by Amtrak on the Penn Line, and CSX Transportation on the Camden and Brunswick Lines under contract to the Mass Transit Administration (MTA) of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). The MTA acquired control of MARC, Maryland's commuter rail system, under legislation by the Maryland General Assembly in 1992. MARC had been providing service throughout the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area for 18 years at that time. The Maryland Department of Transportation has broader responsibilities than commuter rail; it oversees bus and subway systems, roads, airports, and the Port of Baltimore.Besides giving the history of MARC and the details of its stations and equipment, this book is designed as a ride-along guide that you can take with you, whether on your daily commute, or using the MARC rail to explore sections of the great cities it serves. The stations are presented in alphabetical order for easy access. A bit of history and information on the surroundings are given for each station. For those who are interested in the motive power and rolling stock, a brief description of the locomotives and rolling stock is given. A bibliography is included.The latest edition has additional information on the pending "Purple Line" of street cars, and its connections with MARC, as well as information on the planned MagLev system.

MARC : Maryland Area Rail Commuter - a Rider's Guide (Railroads)

This book describes two men whose careers intersected at the Mount Savage Locomotive Works in Western Maryland. T.H. Paul was Master Mechanic of the Works. But left to form his own business based in Frostburg. He focused on narrow gauge locomotives. His break with the Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad, owner of the Mount Savage Shops, was amicable. He sent business to Mount Savage, and they sent him business concerning narrow gauge and mining equipment, which they did not manufacture. Its was a win-win. When the Mount Savage Locomotive Works Catalog came out in 1889, Paul's engines were featured prominently.James A. Millholland had come to Mount Savage with his father, also James Millholland, in 1866. He worked at the Mount Savage Locomotive Works and the Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad, then for the Georges Creek & Cumberland Railroad.Paul's father was a Mill Wright, and Millholland's was a railroad man. Both Paul & Millholland became Master Mechanics of the Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad. And, both men contributed to the state-of-the-art in 19th century railroads, and both had patents granted to them. Both were key figures in the Industrialization that was taking place in western Maryland and the Nation as a whole in the 19th century.

T. H. Paul and J.A. Millholland Master Locomotive Builders of Western Maryland (Railroads)

This is a book about the many ways things can go wrong. First we start with a series of expert opinions to guide us. Then, we cover some of the formal analysis tools engineers use to makes sure things don't go wrong, such as the Failure Modes and Effects analysis, Fault Tolerant Design, Redundancy, and Safety Engineering. Then we look at some of the tools applied afterwards, such as Root Cause Analysis. Unfortunately, we learn more from failures than from successes. It can be argued that all failures are human failures. We make errors in judgment, we use the wrong model, we solve the wrong problem, we don't verify our solution. There are, of course, natural disasters.There is a select group of case studies, from a huge mass of experience. These are some of my favorites. There's room for more in a Volume 2. The case studies span the fields of aerospace, both launch vehicles and spacecraft. The two Shuttles that were lost are discussed, as well as the Soyuz Capsules and the Mir space station fire. Three of the many spacecraft lost near or on Mars are discussed. Then we get to aviation incidents, and nuclear weapons incidents. This is followed by some cases from road and rail transportation, and the maritime environment. We discuss incidents involving infrastructure, such as bridges and pipelines. What rarely gets done is a good post-mortem report, particularly covering lessons learned, what went right, and what went wrong. We take a quick look at some valuable lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy. Now, if you want to stop reading here, I will understand, but the next topic is failures in medical devices, then a select cases of being injured or killed by safety equipment.Light-heartedly, we look at San Diego's Big Bay Boom, an amusing, yet safe, incident involving fireworks. As a wrap up, we look at the Carrington Event, and cover Extinction Events in general.Enjoy, and don't worry. What's the Worst that could happen?

What's the Worst That Could Happen?: Bad Assumptions, Ignorance, Failures, and Screw-ups in Engineering Projects

Engineering

This book will help you understand the fundamentals of robotics and telerobotics for the space environment. It will point out what the robotic systems can and can’t do. Examples of systems and case study’s and design examples will be presented.We will review the basics and definitions of robotic and telerobotic systems, as well as the unique characteristics of the space environment to determine where the trade-offs lie. We will compare and contrast with underwater, military, commercial, hazmat and other terrestrial systems. We will not discuss CAD/CAM or manufacturing, which probably makes up 90% of the applications of robotics on Earth. We will review system level components, and discuss sensors, power sources, actuators, and computation and communication systems. Actuators will include tools and grippers. Necessarily, we will discuss simulation, task planning, guided autonomy, and autonomous systems, as well as system models. Today’s robot systems are deaf, blind and stupid. And, we expect them to operate in an unstructured environment. But, they are getting better, as technology advances. Robotics are handicapped. in terms of mobility and manipulation, sensory input, cognitive processing, learning and the application of experience. However, they have better computational capability, better communications capability, fewer environmental constraints, and, certainly, fewer ethical issues. (Leaving aside the issue of military armed robots). Over 150 references are included

Robots and Telerobots in Space Applications

Computers & Technology

Computer Science

The era of the 16-bit microprocessor began in 1978 with the introduction by Intel of the 8086 and 8088 processors. Embedded controller versions of some of the general purpose cpu’s were also added to the families. The 16-bit microprocessors were a follow-on to the previous 8 bit chips. They offered not only greater integer word size, but more address range, and faster operation than their predecessors. Initially implemented in multiple chips, the march of technology finally allowed these 16-bit machines to be a single chips design. Floating point hardware was developed for the 16-bit integer cpu’s, and would later be incorporated into the same chip as the later 32-bit processors.At the same time, single-chip versions of some of the popular 16-bit minicomputers evolved. These included the DEC PDP-11 and Data Genera NOVA series. The 16-bit machines finally brought processing power to the desktop to begin to threaten the reign of the mainframes. Just imagine. A computer on every desktop. What would we do with that?

16 bit Microprocessors, History and Architecture (Computer Architecture)

The Nineteenth Century saw a period of rapid technology development, as steam power was applied to many aspects of manufacturing and transportation. People's lives became better, old things could be done more cheaply or faster, and new things were enabled. At the same time, machinery displaced jobs and switched the economy from a focus on agriculture to a new focus on manufacturing. A new age was being born, and birth involves pain, disruption, and change.Steam technology relied on the extractive industries for coal, iron ore, and other materials. There was a seemingly limitless demand for the raw materials and finished products of the steam age. A huge number of jobs were created, and fewer farmers were needed to feed the population. Vast patterns of migration brought Europeans to the America to share the Dream. Britain was the first to go through the disruption of the Industrial Revolution, and British Technology was the model for the United States. The U.S. looked to Britain for "lessons learned" on canal, railroad, and factory technology. All over the country, enclaves of technology sprang up, centered around the abundance of raw materials, or the availability of cheap power and transportation, enabled by streams and rivers.The elements required for a successful technology venture in the Industrial Revolution were: raw materials, labor, capital, technological expertise, and transportation. The cost of transportation touches all the other aspects. In England, a good canal network allowed raw materials to be shipped for processing, or product such as pig iron to be shipped to users from an area where the material was abundant. Capital began to accumulate when manufacturing of goods on a large scale became possible. Capitalism, with wages, attracted large numbers of laborers to factory's and mines. Finally, a small cadre of engineers and practitioners made continuous improvements in processes and machinery. A master ironsmith was worth his weight in gold, because he could apply the processes and co-ordinate the labor to produce the desired products. Wales became the major supplier of iron making expertise. England became the major supplier of Capital. Europe became the major supplier of cheap labor. In New England, the Manufacturing centers such as Lowell in Massachusetts were built near streams. Facilities in New York used water powered hammers and blowing engines to produce machine parts from iron ore. The technology fed on itself. These machines were shipped by ocean-going sailing ships, shallow draft riverboats, and canal boats to remote locations where raw materials were plentiful. The Industrial Revolution pulled itself up by its own bootstraps - It enabled the cheaper transportation and more widespread distribution of not only capital goods, but also the means to produce capital goods.The earliest industrial activities in Maryland occurred in the East, and near water. In colonial times, raw materials were exported to England. Maryland exported pig iron. After Independence, the States controlled the manufacturing ventures, providing them with charters, the right to exclusive use of a stream of water, and the right to build roads across others' property. The artery for commerce was water. Massive amounts of trees were cut to keep the furnaces going. Since the finished product, pigs of iron, were heavy, the need for proximity to water transportation was obvious. The industry's developed where the raw materials were in close proximity to port facility's. In the Western end of the State, vast beds of coal and iron lay waiting to be exploited. The iron furnace facility at Lonaconing used coke from coal), not charcoal as an advance in technology. But Lonaconing suffered from a transportation problem, which would be solved too late to matter. The coke furnace technology made its way to Mount Savage, where the first iron rail in the US was made. Later 100 locomotives would roll out of the Shops.

The History of the Industrial Revolution in Western Maryland

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