Steam & Excursion > Stops Like These With Your Train Were Necessary For Safety!

The date is August, 1957 and West Side Lumber Shay #10 has stopped her loaded log train just after crossing River Bridge on her way down from the woods to the mill at Tuolumne.  While we see the brakeman simply standing by, there was a reason for the 19-car train of logs to come to a stop here.

First the grades that the train was descending from camp 8 down to river bridge were such that the engineer has had to use heavy applications of straight air as he made the descent.  This has caused the brakes to become quite hot in the process.  The train was brought to a halt to allow the cast metal brake shoes to cool and be ready for more descent ahead as the drop down the canyon walls towards the mill.

The conductor on the rear of the train is taking this opportunity to talk to the bridge tender who lives in the shack on the lower end of River Bridge.  They will check the bridge and surrounding grasses and bushes to make sure that no sparks from the hot brake shoes have started any fires to endanger the bridge. 

Once they feel the bridge is safe and the brakes have cooled they will board the train again and be on their way.  Wit the grades ahead, they will make one more stop at Flume, ust outside of Tuolumne to perform one more brake test before heading the last stretch to the mill gates.  These log triains of big Sierra pine logs is heavy!

Martin



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/20 05:14 by LoggerHogger.

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So, tell me about the air brakes under those monster logs?

​Wes.

 

Wes,

The West Side used both straight air and automatic air brakes on their trains.

Martin

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge RR also uses the dual straight and automatic air brakes on its train.  The straight air is favored on most southbound runs.  Cars have dual brake lines and hoses.

Having dual straight and automatic air must require check valves and clever plumbing, so that the two systems don't defeat each other.  Like the triple valve bleeding off the straight air application or vice verse, but still be able to bleed off air when intended.

I guess an alternative would be to have two complete air systems, including the brake cylinders.

Edit:  Wonderful photo, by the way!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/21/20 08:34 by Elesco.

Westinghouse had a dual automatic/straight air system.  There was an add-on piece that went between the K-triple valve and the aux reservoir.  The straight air line was plumbed into it.  In the adapter was a butterfly valve that allowed operation of both brake systems at the same time.

The D&S system uses a straight air line plumbed into the exhaust port of the K-triple valve where the retainer line is usually plumbed.  In this case the retainer line goes to a "T".  One side is the traditional retainer valve, the other is the straight air.  There are cut out cocks for the retainer and straight air lines.  In normal service, the straight air is cut in and the retainer cut out.  When the triple valve is in release/recharge position, the brake cylinder is in communication with the exhaust/retainer port.  By senting straight air into the retainer port the air simply goes "backwards" through the valve ports to the brake cylinder. 

Re: Earlk..., above...

?Is the "T" , a plain-tee, or is it a double check valve-like device?

​W.

If you double checked it you couldn't bleed the straight air side, if you shuttled it you'd still need to bleed the
straight air side for the retaimers to operate. A straight tee would be fine as long as you had manual shutoffs
in the two control legs to isolate the retainer valve and the straight air pipe. 

Out 

Got it..
Thanks,
 
​W.

Correct, it is a simple pipe "T" with a cutout cock on each side.  The retainer line attaches to one cut out cock, the straight air into the other cut out cock.  To convert from straight air to automatic with retainers, you have to go under each car and cut out the straight air and cut in the retainer valves.  

With practice, you could do some sexy train handling by using the automatic air, and have the straight air pipe be your "continuous and variable retainer", by lapping the straight air valve, when you release the automatic air.  You could hold the retained air as long as you'd like, or bleed it off as desired.  However, for reasons I was never privy to, it is verbotten to use the automatic and straight air at the same time

New York Air Brake and I imagine Westinghouse also makes two opposite style Glad Hands, Clockwise and counter clockwise.
Does the D&SNG RR use the opposite types on each different brake line or use the same glad hand on both different line?

As Information, a normal common-carrier air operated dump gondola have duel air hoses on each end and the train line hose will mate to another freight car, but the other hose line is for pumping the air to reservoirs on the car and they have the reverse glad hand that can not mate to the train line.  Without a special goose neck combination hose, the train line can not be used to pump up the air dump reservoirs.
Tomorrow I will post some photos of another variation of a straight air line glad hand used on the San Juan area narrow gauge.