Rack And Pinion Collection

Plate showing a typical air pump
5307891 Plate showing a typical air pump.; (add.info.: Plate showing a typical air pump. Fig 33 shows a typical pump with a rack-and-pinion mechanism for exhausting the bell)

Lewis Gompertz's (1783/4-1861) improvement on Baron von Drais's bicycle
530685 Lewis Gompertz's (1783/4-1861) improvement on Baron von Drais's bicycle, powered by a rack-and-pinion on the front wheel. Wood engraving c1880. ; Universal History Archive/UIG

Diagram of a rack-and-pinion mechanism
5307894 Diagram of a rack-and-pinion mechanism.; (add.info.: Diagram of a rack-and-pinion mechanism used for operating an air pump. Dated 19th century. 01/01/1850); Universal History Archive/UIG

Cross-section of the rack-and-pinion mechanism
5307893 Cross-section of the rack-and-pinion mechanism.; (add.info.: Cross-section of the rack-and-pinion mechanism used for operating an air pump. Dated 19th century)

Gornergrat rack and pinion railway, Switzerland (chromolitho)
968668 Gornergrat rack and pinion railway, Switzerland (chromolitho) by European School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Gornergrat rack and pinion railway, Switzerland)

Pipe tile machine, 1844. Creator: Unknown
Pipe tile machine, 1844. Exhibit at the Southampton meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society of England:a compact and simple invention for the manufacture of pipe or D tiles

Blenkinsop steam locomotive at Middleton colliery near Leeds, West Yorkshire, 1814. From Costume of Yorkshire by George Walker, 1814

Lewis Gompertzs improvement on Baron von Draiss bicycle, 1821. The dandy or hobby horse was the forerunner of the bicycle and was invented by Baron von Drais in France in 1817

Mountain locomotive
Antique illustration of a Mountain locomotive

Blenkinsops toothed rack locomotive

The Pitman: from George Walker The Costume of Yorkshire, Leeds, 1814. The steam locomotive is the one built by Matthew Murray for John Blenkinsop

Swiss rack-and-pinion railway, artwork C018 / 7092
Swiss rack-and-pinion railway. 1883 engraving of a rack-and-pinion railway running between Montreux and Sion in Switzerland

Rack and pinion
Toothed cogs of a rack and pinion drive (photographed at the 2011 Paris Air Show)

All Professionally Made to Order for Quick Shipping

From the steep slopes of the Gornergrat in Switzerland to the coal mines of West Yorkshire, rack and pinion systems have revolutionized transportation and industry since the early 19th century. This innovative technology, which combines a toothed rack with a meshed pinion, was first used in the pipe tile machine of 1844 and later adapted for steam locomotives like Blenkinsop's toothed rack locomotive in 1814. Lewis Gompertz even improved upon it for his bicycle design in 1821. By the late 1800s, mountain railways and even the Swiss rack-and-pinion railway adopted this efficient means of transmitting power and overcoming steep inclines. The Pitman, depicted in George Walker's Costume of Yorkshire, would have marveled at the progress made possible by this simple yet effective mechanism.