Category Archives: Books

L.D. Porta Centennial Anthology Vol 2

This second volume continues on from the first, with articles and papers about the Argentinian engineer Livio Dante Porta (1922 – 2003) focusing on his later career between c.1960 and his death in 2003. The Argentinian engineer Livio Dante Porta (1922 – 2003) remains an unsung hero in the long history of steam locomotive development. […]

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Reminiscences of a Trainspotter

For those who are not technically minded (and for those who are), here is a book by David Wardale that bears no resemblance to his 1998 Magnum Opus “The Red Devil and Other Tales from the Age of Steam”. In a letter to myself dated December 2022, Wardale wrote the following words which serve as […]

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L.D. Porta Centennial Anthology Vol 1

The Argentinian engineer Livio Dante Porta (1922 – 2003) remains an unsung hero in the long history of steam locomotive development. Most famously, perhaps, in his iconic book “The Red Devil and Other Tales from the Age of Steam“, David Wardale refers to himself as the “Wizard’s Apprentice” and Porta as the Wizard whose theories […]

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Porta Papers Volume 2 now on Sale

  ASTT’s publication of Porta Papers Volume 2 is now on sale.   The volume includes three papers by Porta: Adhesion in Advanced Steam Locomotive Engineering Facing the Oil Crisis, 1984 (revised 1986); Fundamentals of the Porta Compounding System for Steam Locomotives, 2000; A Proposal for the Tornado Project, 1992. As a corollary to the Tornado […]

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Porta Papers Volume 1 – now on Sale

Volume 1 of a collection of technical papers by Livio Dante Porta is now available for sale – see the book sales section. This first volume focuses on the tribology and lubrication of valves and pistons, and should be essential reading for everyone involved in new-build steam, and wise reading for anyone who is interested […]

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