Glossary of Transportation Law Terms

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Eccentric: In steam engine technology, part of the valve gear used by some designs to give motion to the valve.  It may best be described as an auxiliary crank.

Elevation: An angle in the vertical plane through a longitudinal axis; height above mean sea level, usually of terrain.

Emergency Application: An application resulting from an emergency rate of brake pipe reduction, on a train, which causes the brakes to apply quickly and with maximum braking force for the shortest practical stopping distance.

Engine, Steam: The portion of a steam railway locomotive which consists of the cylinders, valves, valve gear and connecting rods.  Put another way, it is that portion of the locomotive which provides the drive.  The equivalent in a road vehicle would be the engine and gearbox.  The word 'engine' is often misused to mean the whole locomotive.

Equal Protection Clause: Portion of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that prohibits discrimination by state government institutions. The clause grants all people "equal protection of the laws," which means that the states must apply the law equally and cannot give preference to one person or class of persons over another.

Equitable Remedies: Remedies that do not include monetary settlements. Examples include injunctions and restraining orders.

Evidence: The body of law concerning the manner of presentation of information to a judge or jury in a trial.

Exhaust Steam Injectors: First introduced in the UK about 1876.  The use of exhaust steam to assist the work of injectors allowed some fuel savings over the pure live steam injector. BR class H, J, H/J and K types of exhaust steam injectors are all basically similar.  Two controls are provided in the cab, a water regulator and a steam valve.  The water regulator handle has a "sector" to denote the position of the valve.  The valve itself is part of the injector body mounted outside the cab - often under it.

Exhibit: Any piece of physical evidence used at a trial.

Expansion: A given amount of steam will naturally attempt to expand into a space.  If that space is a cylinder occupied by a piston, the steam will push the piston until it can expand no further.  In a steam engine, the steam is admitted into the cylinder for a time until the supply is cut off.  The admission of steam pushes the piston until the admission is cut off, after which time the steam naturally expands and continues to push the piston.  The two phases are known as 'admission' and 'expansion'.  The point at which admission stops and expansion commences is known as cut off.

Ex Parte: Latin that means "by or for one party." Refers to situations in which only one party (and not the adversary) appears before a judge. Such meetings are often forbidden.

Expert: A witness who may give an opinion in court based on the particular competence of that witness.

Expressway: On the East Coast, an expressway is the catchall term for a grade separated limited access highway.