They likely have both tread and disc brakes. Amfleet was delivered with just disc braking. But, the tread brakes were added to help keep the wheels from developing a “false flange” which causes rough riding. I don’t think you can brake at full service from 100 mph with just tread braking w/o doing some thermal damage to the wheels. The braking HP at those speeds is just too high.
If my memory is correct, some equipment prior to Amfleet and the original Metroliners had disk brakes, Budd equipment in particular. Some RDC’s? The Keystone? El Capitan bi-levels?
Yes, Dave, I remember noticing, in the early fifties, the disc brakes on lightweight sleepers, and I recall that they were Budd-built sleepers.
As to speaking of “Budd-built,” I was talking with a VIA man a few years ago and comparing the equipment built for the original Canadian and the Renaissance equipment, and spoke of the “Budd-built,” and he said that the RDC’s came to mind when I used that term.
One of the things required in wheel maintenance is to remove material so as to restore the correct wheel tread “profile” or shape. This can be done by removing the wheel set and machining the wheel surfaces on a lathe. I read there is something called the “Lidgerwood method” where special cutters are substituted for the brake pads and the rail car is pushed back and forth to turn the wheels, a method not requiring removing the axles.
After one or more reprofilings, the wheel set needs to be replaced. Back in the day, steam locomotive wheels had steel “tires” that could be replaced to have more wheel surface.
Do you think this Amtrak method suggests a way that more metal can be added back to the wheel tread, in this case, by a kind of “friction stir” welding process? You put on special brake shoes, set the brakes, and then t
FWIW Just checked 3 old SOU RR lightweight cars. Although the side fluting was the same the trucks and, bearings, & auxiliaries underneath were different.
At least 2 appear to be PS. All 3 cars had only tread brakes and no disk brakes. Only car number found was 2204.
Paul - A continuous wheel tread replenishment system? Out of the box thinking! Out of the box, rolling across the kitchen table and crashing to the floor! But, I laughed!
And leave the people still waiting on the train without HEP, so without A/C and lights? I think that is a bad idea.
If the thought to make multiple trips to carry the passengers at least to Richmond occurred, a saner mind could well have squelched it.
I believe it was mentioned the train had 261 passengers - probably 98% of all those passengers were destined well beyond Richmond. How many passengers can the Richmond Amtrak station support for a extended period of time with food, beverage and A/C?
They could at least get a cab to the airport. [:)]