Ethanol? how much would you have to use? used to see barrels of ethanol in major northern yards in the 1980s. Now with air dryers not so much but I assume that brake line freeze ups are still a problem. Steam Lines are another issue as I understand it Canada uses steam on some of its trains. A frozen steam line could be life and death up there.
So when did air dryers come into wide use?
Mr. Carleton will have a better answer when he sees this topic.
I think the active removal of water from the compressed air with dessicant is only a few decades old on locomotives. (The Graham-White 975 design only goes back that far). Note that the air dryer system is separate from (but depends upon!) the "spitter" valves that you hear on some locomotives, which physically remove even small accumulations of condensate quickly. If these were not present (or working correctly) it is possible that the dryer's desiccant element might saturate, or one tower of a 2-tower dryer might saturate before the other is purged.
Remember, too, that the main reservoirs serve as a form of dryer as well. I've drained plenty of water out of the first main res - usually very little, if any, from the second.
Then again, I've heard of crews that don't bother, allowing the main res to fill up with water, which, of course, then can get into the lines.
Our ALCOs have "spitter valves" which help keep the main res drier than it would be otherwise.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
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