STEAM ENGINE CROSSHEAD

A piston rod is attached to the piston and links it to the crosshead, which is a large casting sliding in crosshead guides , allowing it only to move in the same direction as the piston travel. The crosshead also houses the gudgeon pin on which the small end of the connecting rod pivots. In this way, the transverse forces are applied only to the crosshead and its bearings, not to the piston itself.