DMiller
Senior Member
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.
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.
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.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.
YepThey default to air applied by reservoirs on the car like an antique semi trailer. But that air will not hold forever.
Yep, if the car(s) reservoirs lose all air pressure.Apparently in the case of the railroad no air pressure means a car rolls uncontrolled down the tracks.
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.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.