train

Check Out This Sneaky Railway Smuggler Tram

Check Out This Sneaky Railway Smuggler Tram

Mike Senese

By Mike Senese

Mike Senese

Mike Senese is a content producer with a focus on technology, science, and engineering. He served as Executive Editor of Make: magazine for nearly a decade, and previously was a senior editor at Wired. Mike has also starred in engineering and science shows for Discovery Channel, including Punkin Chunkin, How Stuff Works, and Catch It Keep It.

An avid maker, Mike spends his spare time tinkering with electronics, fixing cars, and attempting to cook the perfect pizza. You might spot him at his local skatepark in the SF Bay Area.

View more articles by Mike Senese

This goes without saying, but don’t build one of these.

Continue Reading
Building a Tribe With Kinetic Steam Works

Building a Tribe With Kinetic Steam Works

By Michael Colombo

Michael Colombo

In addition to being an online editor for MAKE Magazine, Michael Colombo works in fabrication, electronics, sound design, music production and performance (Yes. All that.) In the past he has also been a childrens' educator and entertainer, and holds a Masters degree from NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program.

View more articles by Michael Colombo
2

At this past year’s Maker Faire Bay Area, I had the privilege of riding atop a steam-powered Case 40 horsepower steam traction engine from 1940 with Stephen Rademaker.

Continue Reading

This Automatic Window Closer Senses Loud Locomotives

By Matt Richardson

Matt Richardson

Matt Richardson is a San Francisco-based creative technologist and Contributing Editor at MAKE. He’s the co-author of Getting Started with Raspberry Pi and the author of Getting Started with BeagleBone.

View more articles by Matt Richardson
44

Ed Rogers lives next to active train tracks, which leads to a lot of noise in his bedroom when a train passes and the windows are open. Like any good maker, Ed solved his problem with a homebrew automatic window closer. He attached a pair of linear actuators to the windows with 3D printed brackets. These actuators are controlled by an Arduino with an H bridge and can be activated by a button on his nightstand. Not only that, but the project also integrates a motion detection system to close the windows automatically when a train is passing.

Continue Reading