This relatively recent YouTube video (video from 2011, at least that’s it’s copyright date - time set to display of first wagon with cabin) of a limestone train on the Chichibu Railway shows several of the hopper wagons with what look like modern equivalents of old European Railway style brake cabins.
Are these brake cabins on in-use (non-preserved) rolling stock at this late date? If not, what are they used for?
My guess if you’re up for one would be that there’s equipment contained in that compartment that handles opening the hopper gates for each 10 car set. Hopefully someone can chime in with some facts.
What is Wikipedia talking about when it states that American freight cars continued to have such features until the mid 20th century for new construction?
I was also puzzled by the Wikipedia statement as well, but they may have been referring to cabooses.
I was wondering about that statement, too. I wonder if they might be referring to the doghouses on some steam tenders. They did say “goods wagons” though, so they must know about US railroads.[^o)]
The (whatever)-brake (fu) seems to have become an extint species since the privatization of Japan’s rail network thirty or so years ago. A few full brake vans (yo) of the most recent class are available for use as rider cars, required for some special movements.
Since Japanese freight cars have been air brake equipped since the early 1930s there is no need for a separate brake van to assist in stopping a train.
Chuck
Chuck, you seem to be the go-to guy for Japanese railroading for the forums - the cabins (with doors) were built into open hopper wagons, and there were 2 such wagons in that train in the video. These were not separate full brake vans, they were built into the wagons, which could be considered a modern analog of those Pre-WWI brake cabins mounted on European rolling stock of the day. This is what prompted my statement in the first place.
I could go along with those cabins housing control equipment for the hoppers as suggested by Leo_Ames, albiet in North America equivalent equipment controls (if there were any) would probably be in a small metal control box rather than in a man-sized cabin.
Looking again at the wiki entry (it was kind of tough getting good images of prototype brake cabins), when I first read it I thought it stated 1910 for American rolling stock (which is already kind of a late date for North American Brake Cabins, come to think of it - actually, were brake cabins all that popular anyway in North America?); I agree that a mid-20th century is pretty much silly, especially when discussing Class I railroads and not tourist narrow-gauge short-lines, so maybe this wiki article needs an edit.
What I had in mind was that perhaps these were specially built for a specific assignment where it’s not convenient or safe for the operator to be alongside the car when the cargo is being dumped from each 10 car set.
Shelter for the operator working the controls rather than being present just to protect the equipment contained within.
Since I’m not familiar with the Chichibu Tetsudo I could be totally out of range, but those might have been hopper-brakes, required to get eyes to the front on long push moves (especially moves which might cross public roads at grade.) Depends on the rules imposed by governmental entities on one of the railroads not included in the national network. Another possibility is that the law requires personnel operating the dump controls of moving cars to be on board and protected. Are those cars dumped while standing, or moving?
One problem with the Wiki entry is their inclusion of passenger equipment with separate enclosed seats for train crew. Like the freight-brakes, they had FU added to the usual car designator. One of the images was a sign for an OHAFU - a coach with a phone booth size brakeman’s compartment (open to the car’s central aisle, not the outside.)
Chuck
A quite similar covered platform was shown in a small photo at the bottom right corner of page 39 of the 1966 article referenced below, and captioned as " ‘CABOOSE’ . . . Phelps Dodge style." In the text at the bottom of the middle column of the same page, it’s described as “At the tail end of each train [typically only 7 to 8 cars - PDN], . . . an abbreviated covered platform with open sides, tacked onto a dump car. This European-like attachment satisfies the requirement a for shelter and provides space for an engineer. There’s just enough room for a seat, and a flat window gives forward vision for train movements.”
But apparently there are no controls for dumping the cars, and certainly none for operating the train. Because even back then - almost 50 years ago ! - some of these trains were operated by a single man, an engineer with a belt-level control unit and a backpack transmitter for remote control of the locomotives (GP30’s and GP9’s). So it was basically the end cab for a push-pull operation.
Unfortunately, photos of these cars are tough to find on-line.
“Copper + GP30’s + C.T.C. - Phelps Dodge copper mine at Ajo, Arizona” (“New Cornelia Branch”)
by Sims, Donald, from Trains, July 1966 (Vol. 26, No. 9), pgs. 36 - 41 inclusive.
- Paul North.
Being for assisting in backup moves makes sense if this fleet is involved in a lot of backup moves regularly.
The only thing thing that perhaps casts some doubt on that being the case in this specific instance in my mind is that they’re each followed by exactly 9 cars in that video.
I could understand one not being on the rear if this particular movement didn’t require one at the rear for a backup move. But it’s quite a coincidence I think that there’s exactly 9 normal hoppers after each one of these special cars.
That makes me think that whatever this is, it has something to do with the unloading and that we’re seeing two sets of 10 hopper cars rather than 20 fully independent pieces of rolling stock.
Well, after some searching around on Japanese & Foreign Rail enthusiast sites, I believe the mystery is solved:
Image above is from the website Trainpaparazzo, and the specific page for the wagon shown is Wokifu132
Caption: "This is a hopper car equipped brakes on Chichibu line. Chichibu Railway operates freight trains for cement plants. "
On another page with a hopper with no cabin, the caption just states “This is a hopper car on Chichibu line.” - that one is identified as Woki234, so it seems Chuck’s description of the “FU” designation meaning brake (cabin?) does holds true.
So, to answer my own initial question: Yes, apparently Japanese railways do use Brake Cabins in the 21st Century (now, why does all the stock seem to have brake hoses, it doesn’t make much sense I fear).
BTW, Leo, on the various sites there were different numbers of wagon in various rakes of these Woki hoppers, so at least some rakes are made of individual wagons…
Seems odd, but mystery solved.
Nothing made a lot of sense to me, brakeman’s cab particularly. I wonder if there’s something to do with the routes these travel that makes it impractical for them to get out on the ground to set retainers before descending down a heavy grade?
Another view from the other side of another one, #Wokifu123, is here:
http://www.trenomania.org/TMF-Estero/displayimage.php?album=1816&pos=6
But heck, they appear to have odd ideas about this kind of thing anyway. Here’s a link to "a boxcar and a guard’s van (!), #Wafu51: http://www.trenomania.org/TMF-Estero/displayimage.php?album=1816&pos=2
And one of a “guard’s van”, #Yo15: http://www.trenomania.org/TMF-Estero/displayimage.php?album=1816&pos=8
- Paul North.
And the key words were stuck in the small print of the caption of the WAFU51 photo; “Discontinued in 1987 and now guards vans are not used.” Note, too, that the box end of that box-brake is only about 1/3 of the total carbody, and that it’s obviously stuffed and mounted.
As for the apparently active hopper-brakes, I’d be willing to wager that they’re being used as hopper cars with the brake cabin locked and unused. No good reason to scrap perfectly good cars, or to waste money modifying them. Note that the ‘markers’ are just red painted discs. No sign of a lamp.
Chuck