Steam locomotive ergonomics.
A retrospective study of some of the ergonomic factors of the man/machine interface of the steam locomotive of the 19th century. Reference is made to the dominance of mechanical requirements over human engineering factors, to the perceptual task of drivers, and to the specialised form of the machine and its control position. Examples are given of the application of some ergonomics to control position design in the 20th century, and the present day 'non-steam' control positions are described so as to form comparisons with the 19th century control position practices.
Coombs
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