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Reference.org
Rankine's method
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<p>Rankine's method or tangential angle method is an angular technique for laying out circular curves by a combination of chaining and angles at circumference, fully exploiting the <a href="/facts/Theodolite/G4ADP1bC">theodolite</a> and making a substantial improvement in accuracy and productivity over existing methods. This method requires access to only one road/path of communication to lay out a curve. Points on curve are calculated by their angular offset from the path of communication. </p><p>Rankine's method is named for its discoverer <a href="/facts/William_John_Macquorn_Rankine/zsX1bcVh">William John Macquorn Rankine</a> at an early stage of his career. He had been working on <a href="/facts/Railway/9nJQbsDV">railways</a> in <a href="/facts/Ireland/35vYxXdP">Ireland</a>, on the construction of the <a href="/facts/Dublin/Fv8ezm8a">Dublin</a> and <a href="/facts/Drogheda/Iooy6FoP">Drogheda</a> line. </p>