Model Railroading > Live Steam Brake Systems

What kind of brake systems are used on the large scale stuff generally referred to as "Live Steam"?

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

Depends on what the builder wants to put on.

Some have vacuum brakes that are powered by a steam ejector.

On smaller engines (3/4" or 1" scales), the riding car will have a lever that presses a metal pad against the top of the rails, and the engineer's weight is what provides the force. (At least at my club, not too many guys in the smaller scales use more than one riding car.)

Others you just throw in reverse. My 1.5" diesel has no brakes, but the hydraulic transmission will stop the train pretty quick by putting it in reverse.

Most steam engines in 1.5 and 1.6 scale have steam brakes, some have vacum. In addition a lot of tenders have vacum brakes. Some tenders have foot pedal operated brakes associated with the foot rest that are very effective. A small minority have steam air brakes on them. It is very expensive to have those and the steam air pumps require a lot of maintenance. On some large engines a battery operated air pump in the tender is used for air brakes and they generally work well.

On my 4-6-0 I have just steam brakes on the engine. They are effective. Vacum brakes on engines are not really very good but are great on cars. The type of brakes used in some cases depend on the use of the engine. If a large amount of passengers are carried it is best to have vacum brakes on the cars. Steam brakes can lock up the drivers and the engine will just keep on sliding with a lot of weight behind it, especially on aluminum rail. Most 4-6-0's range between 350 and 550 lbs in 1.5 scale and just a few passengers together greatly out weigh the engine.

On my 4-6-0 I have steam brakes on the locomotive only too but
find the Fred Flintstone method of stoppage most effective.

On most of the 15" gauge stuff I worked on they had working air brakes, much like the regular train brakes only smaller. Or they might have truck brakes on them, so they would put air in the brake pipe to apply the brakes instead of decrease the pressure.

That would be called "straight air".

The vast majority of live steamers I have encountered and run do not have steam brakes. They have straight air for train brakes, that is the brakes are off when pressure is not applied, and on when pressure is applied. If the cars break away they do not stop on their own. Instead the use of safety chains is widespread.

The reason for straight air instead of full blown triple valve is that triple valve braking (where pressurizing the lines releases the brakes) is a level of detail that most live steamers are not willing to deal with. It adds a lot of complexity to a brake system.

There are a few live steamers who use triple valve braking and swear by / proselytize about it but they are the exception, not the rule.

A few engines use steam brakes for independent / engine brakes. A Shay I run here locally has steam engine brakes. Steam brakes apply much more slowly and require a larger piston, they are much less effective and efficient than air brakes. But they do make a satisfying noise when you release them. :)

Not many people use steam pumps to generate air for air brakes, except on larger engines. The pumps do not scale down well and tend to use up a lot of power. They work better for pumping water.

Instead 12V compressors hidden in the tender or a tool car / box car take care of the air supply. A good car battery will last all day long and also power your lights.

use of brakes varies world-wide. In New Zealand, most clubs have standardized on steam vacuum brakes via the use of a steam ejector.

The problem with this (as they just found out in a recent accident) if a novice engineer runs low on steam, the ejector also stops working. There was a runway with injured guests and an overturned large (K-37) locomotive. They have since started actually enforcing driver's ticket rules (making sure only checked out engineers are running public trains) as well as reviewing their safety protocols.

Cheers,

-Mike
(owner of three live steam engines)

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
Photography, Railroading and more..

Mike: do you have any pictures of the K-37 (in an up-right position)?

These are shot on a friend's 5" scale, 15" gauge railroad. All the locomotives have independent air brakes and straight air for the train brakes. Using the train brake on these locomotives do not apply the locomotive's brakes. The independent brake is for the locomotive only. The engines can be configured to double head with the lead (helper) locomotive handling the train brake. When set up this way, the trailing locomotive (road engine) acts like another 'car' in terms of braking. When set up like this the trailing road engineer can't 'bail off' his locomotive brakes. Normal operation on this railroad is to have the trailing road engine control the train brake and the leading helper engine assist in braking the consist if needed.

All the steam locomotives on this railroad have steam powered air pumps and run quite smoothly most of the time. Independent air brake pressure is about 35psi and the train brakes are around 55-65psi. The steam side(s) are lubricated with Lunkenheimer 'Major' #4 or #5 hydrostatic lubricators and steam oil. The air side uses a high grade synthetic compressor oil fed via common drip feeds. They operate just like the big ones and these scaled down ones do well at 150-175psi of saturated steam.

Loads of fun to hostle and loads of fun to fire and hog.
SV

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Is the engine a 2-6-2?

Thanks for the info and photos. Looks like fun stuff! As a locomotive engineer, I would want both independent and trainline air brakes on anything large scale like that. Does anyone use a system where the brake cylinders on the cars are spring pressured with direct air to "release" the brakes (similar to truck brakes)?

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

Chance rides makes there trains with a truck like brake system. One hose releases the spring parking brake and the second applys and releases the service brakes.
http://www.chancerides.com/peoplemovers/cphuntington_train.html

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/13 08:30 by NSDTK.

tomstp Wrote:
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> Is the engine a 2-6-2?


Yes, with Baldwin influences. Similar to the standard gauge Sierra Railway #30 & 32, except this 5" scale/15" gauge locomotive scales out to 36" narrow gauge. There is also an operating 2-4-2 as well as another 2-6-2 under construction. There is also a Shay in the works, whose trucks have been completed.

Lastly the locomotive pictured below gets little credit, but does a vast amount of work on the railroad from hauling occasional passenger trains during the summer months to MOW assignments year round. Powered by a Kubota diesel and driven using a hydrostatic transmission that is linked to the throttle (so that you actually 'notch up' the power) and the drive axles are connected together with side rods. It too features an engine driven air compressor and brake stands as mentioned in the previous post.

The cab is a little cramped, but still a fun duty assignment!
SV

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Even in 1.5 scale diesels are great work train engines.