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Runaway Train

DMiller

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No there isn't, only item even close is the manual handwheels at the car ends that suck up a length of chain attached to the brake linkage, and in no way will ONE car hold a train, would drag it along as a sled.
 

John C.

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So railroad train brakes default to the release position?

I agree that one car can't hold a train but many cars will. I have moved twenty five loaded coal cars on a one percent grade and used the hand brakes to stop and hold them in place. We had ten guys riding on ten different cars and had everyone set their hand wheel brake on call and the cars stopped with no problem. When I worked on the Weyerhaeuser section, out of Enumclaw, loaded chip cars were held in place with the hand brakes. As I recall the air brakes were set and then the hand wheels turned up tight. The brake shoes were tight on the wheels at that point. We never had a run away on either line.
 

RZucker

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So railroad train brakes default to the release position?

I agree that one car can't hold a train but many cars will. I have moved twenty five loaded coal cars on a one percent grade and used the hand brakes to stop and hold them in place. We had ten guys riding on ten different cars and had everyone set their hand wheel brake on call and the cars stopped with no problem. When I worked on the Weyerhaeuser section, out of Enumclaw, loaded chip cars were held in place with the hand brakes. As I recall the air brakes were set and then the hand wheels turned up tight. The brake shoes were tight on the wheels at that point. We never had a run away on either line.

No, default is a full application in the case of a broken air hose or a train breaking in two (broken coupler knuckle or drawbar). The air in the car tanks sets them up tight... til that air bleeds off. Usually that gives the crew time to start cranking hand brakes down tight. But... a break in two, you better be fast at closing the air valve on the last car and pumping up air as fast as possible (usually full throttle) to get the front end released and catch the rear half before too much time passes.
 

John C.

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In most cases a default setting would be what would happen if there were no air pressure at all. In the case of equipment of trucks default is spring applied. Apparently in the case of the railroad no air pressure means a car rolls uncontrolled down the tracks.
 

Birken Vogt

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They default to air applied by reservoirs on the car like an antique semi trailer. But that air will not hold forever. And there is no way to use a compressor to hold the brakes of a car applied. Supplying air to the car releases all brakes and recharges the reservoirs.

They do need to roll free for yard operations where they push them over a hump or whatnot. Not sure if they just drain the reservoirs or have other ways to release air when not connected to an air supply.
 

RZucker

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They default to air applied by reservoirs on the car like an antique semi trailer. But that air will not hold forever. And there is no way to use a compressor to hold the brakes of a car applied. Supplying air to the car releases all brakes and recharges the reservoirs.

They do need to roll free for yard operations where they push them over a hump or whatnot. Not sure if they just drain the reservoirs or have other ways to release air when not connected to an air supply.
This^^^. When the trains are in the yard being readied for the hump, a guy goes down each side of the train on a 4 wheeler dumping the air tanks. Then they roll freely.
 

StanRUS

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They default to air applied by reservoirs on the car like an antique semi trailer. But that air will not hold forever.
Yep
Apparently in the case of the railroad no air pressure means a car rolls uncontrolled down the tracks.
Yep, if the car(s) reservoirs lose all air pressure.
Westinghouse single line system was/is standard worldwide.
 

John C.

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I remember hearing my uncle and my dad talking about doing the grease thing a time or two. I guess you have to stay out of earshot when they stop turning the wheels. The railroad people didn't think it was very funny and they followed the laughter for a long way during the chase.
 

RZucker

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I remember hearing my uncle and my dad talking about doing the grease thing a time or two. I guess you have to stay out of earshot when they stop turning the wheels. The railroad people didn't think it was very funny and they followed the laughter for a long way during the chase.
I never hit any grease, I ran that engine through rain, snow, and ice. Blow on some sand and you were good, but green weeds... We had a couple of spur tracks and sidings that weren't sprayed to kill the weeds. you would back in to pick up a car or two and when you went to pull out the wheel slip alarm would go nuts and sand didn't seem to help much. And after the weeds you had to remember to drag the brakes a bit to clear the wheels off or you had no brakes. Oh what a stink.
 

John C.

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I didn't get the idea that the train got away. Maybe I read it wrong but I think it was parked at a high point and the flood waters overtook it. At least that's the feeling I got when I saw the time lapse showing how high the water got in such a short period of time.
 

Queenslander

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Flat as a billiard table in both directions for as far as the eye can see.
I suspect that the ballast and formation was scoured out from under the rail and parts of the train simply fell over.
Unfortunately, we seem to seeing more of these extreme weather events.
This region had been severely droughted for several years and then suddenly overwhelmed by a record breaking flood.
Up to half a million cattle lost, possibly the biggest disaster to have ever hit the Australian agricultural industry.
 

Tones

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5% of the Australian beef cattle herd gone. It's a massive hit.
 
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