OK, really dumb question here.....but what are brake wheels on modern era freight cars used for? Spotting cars on hills? Stopping runaway trains?
Thanks,
Tom
DingySPOK, really dumb question here.....but what are brake wheels on modern era freight cars used for? Spotting cars on hills? Stopping runaway trains?
Same thing they were used for on car 100 years ago.
They are used to apply the handbrakes to stop or hold a car, for whatever reason. Most commonly now its used to hold a car from rolling off.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
One use is like the parking brake on your car, to hold a car in place. Even a mild grade can make a car move with modern roller bearing trucks. True, it's not like the old days where brakemen had to ride the tops of the cars to screw down the brakes on the cars one at a time as the train was in motion. But, since all cars have brakes, it makes sense to have a way to apply them manually when necessary.
wjstixBut, since all cars have brakes, it makes sense to have a way to apply them manually when necessary.
Its also a Federal law.
dehusman wjstixBut, since all cars have brakes, it makes sense to have a way to apply them manually when necessary. Its also a Federal law.
As others has stated the brake wheel is to set the brakes to prevent the car from rolling..However,there are exceptions to the rules.Unless it has change there is no need to set the brakes in a classification yard...Now in outlaying "holding" yards the brakes needs to be set on cars-we usually set the first 2 cars.
Now..Don't bet the farm that the brakes will remain set if the car is spotted at a industry..You see once a car is loaded/unloaded the company may use a car puller or forklift to move cars so another car can be spotted for loading/unloading.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
every freight or passenger car operates with air brakes. when the cars are set-off by themselves, the air brakes go into emergency application. this prevents the cars from moving on their own when left unattended. however, the hand brakes MUST be used to prevent unwanted rolling when the air leaks out of the air brake system. eventually the air brakes will lose pressure and fail; mechanical hand brakes to the rescue!
there are exceptions to the rules of hand brake use; rule of thumb is to use them and never be in the wrong. some industries want enough hand brakes to prevent the 'coupled' cars from moving while others want ALL the hand brakes set. usually because of grade or other safety factors.
Hand brakes are very important , a car by it's self must have the hand brakes set or they will roll away , a gust of wind will move a car if the brakes are not set . I worked a derailment a few years back that was caused because the hand brake was not set , a Thunderstorm blew up and wind moved the car pushing it long enough for the car to reach a down grade the car rolled nearly a mile before hitting a derail putting the car on it's side before reaching the mainline . This made for an interesting night .
Thanks for the info guys. Very interesting.
carknocker1 Hand brakes are very important , a car by it's self must have the hand brakes set or they will roll away , a gust of wind will move a car if the brakes are not set . I worked a derailment a few years back that was caused because the hand brake was not set , a Thunderstorm blew up and wind moved the car pushing it long enough for the car to reach a down grade the car rolled nearly a mile before hitting a derail putting the car on it's side before reaching the mainline . This made for an interesting night .
At least the derail worked as intended!
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
I just wish it was a Federal Law to have crews remove the hand brake before they move the car. I just hate seeing a freight car move and then see a pair of wheels not rolling.
It is law, but it keeps the car department busy .
AuTiger19 I just wish it was a Federal Law to have crews remove the hand brake before they move the car. I just hate seeing a freight car move and then see a pair of wheels not rolling.
Ah,the hand brakes could be release but,the brakes could be sticking ..This could also happen when the engineer releases the train brakes.
Unless the crew makes a rolling inspection of their train they have no idea they have sticking brakes.
I've seen a case where the brakes were sticking, but most of the time I see handbrakes set and the car moved with them still on, just so the crewman can save some steps.