The original Brakestick was made of hickory and it was boasted that it could not be broken ! Primary use of Hickory brakestick was for the old "Vertical Handbrakes i.e Staff Brakes. . The best Railroad movie i have ever seen is "The emperor of the north " Starring Ernest Boginine R.I.P , also Lee Marvin as the cagey "Hobo Great movie. And also shows use of brakeclub although Ernest tool of choice was a sledge hammer "OUCH" Though attrition the old hickory brakeclub faded away as technology improved. After 5 decades passed, the need for a brake tool resurfaced. F.R.A data demonstrates that almost 40% of railroad injuries are caused due to employees ascending and/or descending railroad equipment.
Railroads are experimenting with freight car 'Brake Tool's ' Employee feedback has been mixed ? One thing all railroaders agree on is not having to ascend and/or descend equipment. Other than that, complaints very. There to cumbersome, heavy, hard to use, and if you do not have one assigned to you ? You have to find where they have them stored. From what i have read railroads are getting pretty adamant about usage. Some railroads even have mandatory use of braketool. Currently are several tools on the market operation of them all, are similar. There is one new Brake tool that is pretty unique can be seen @ www.brakeclub.com. Please give feedback / discussion on current brake tools, and what experience you have had with there use. Boomer1956
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