Don’t you know…The D/B will always hold the train back. The company and the fine folks at General Electric say so. [:P] Seriously, most of our trains are sized so the D/B will hold them back. In the event, they don’t, out comes the air.
We’re suppose to intiate an emergency from both the head and rear at the same time. Well you can guess how often that works. And if we have a UDE, we’re also suppose to intiate an emergency from the rear, to prevent the hind end from slamming into the head end.
Be for I retired From the BNSF as a engineer (40yrs)I was running coal trains with DP power Creston Ia. to Galesburg,Il and we ran these trains 50mph. They were 130 car trains at 18,000 ton and at 50mph in emergency it would take about 3/4—1mi. to stop.
Because the EOT/HTD system is an emergency means to stop a train, I know this because I work for the RR and have for 29yrs as a Carman/AirRunner, I calibrate, prepare the system to be applied to the trains, work on, and test the system.
Sure, you may think you know it all but you don’t know why the system was designed, or the story behind their being invented do you.
Wanna see something funny? Try typing in anglecock as two words.[:D] I once worked with a conductor that had a women trainee. He wouldn’t tell her to close the anglecock, instead he would tell her to close the angle valve.[:D]
you wrote that full service and emergency braking are bad ways to stop a train at speed. I dont see where you get your info. In some cases this is the only way to stop a train period. throttle modulation only works in limited situations and if you can get a drawbar on a brake application it was going to break anyways. these parts will not just snap apart. but regardless of air brakes do’s and dont’s what i really want to know is how in the heck do you tear a train apart with dynamic brakes? i Really like to know the answer to this one.
I remember the FRA quoting a derailment / runaway on Cajon pass as an example for 2 way EOT’s . If I remember correctly a stack train ( perhaps more than one ) desending the grade kinked an airhose and cause the train to runaway through a populated part of Bakersfield. Apparently when the slack came in , the hoses bunched.
That example was used in the FRA ruling requiring thier use.
you are right and i dont know why everyone is against you. the EOT activated at the right time will keep the rear from running into the head end. Just like you say. and then when the conductor walks back to the rear of the cut. closes the train line then proceeds to fix the damage caused by ripping the train apart from the rear then you go on your way. 2 or three times of this in a trip and you will get all your overtime and a few days ( months) off. plus a very mad conductor. they dont like being woke up from the nap they was taking to go fix things.
On the exCNW lines equipped with Automatic Train Control, we do a lot of stopping without the “first service” application. Our ATC is a two aspect system. You have either a Clear or a Restricting cab signal. When the cab signal goes to Restricting above 40 MPH, you have 6 seconds to go to “suppression” before you get a penalty brake application. Below 40, you have 70 seconds to get under 23 MPH.
On the lines that have been equipped with CTC and wayside signals, now you might have some warning that you will get train control. On the remaining portions without wayside signals, your first indication is the cab signal dropping out and getting the high speed whistle.
If I know, or suspect, that I will be getting train control, I try to get slowed down so as not to have to go to suppression. Whenever we go to suppression, we have to come to a stop before releasing the brakes. If I see a signal that will give me train control, I’ll set first service and follow thru to get slowed down. Even if I can’t get below where I need to be, at least I have a brake application already started.
Jeff, I witnessed something a couple of weeks ago from the ped bridge near the power plant- westbound was coming up on a flashing orange, started to slow down, and then he actually stopped with his consist blocking the C St. crossing, after which he immediately got it going again, albeit slowly- is what you described apparently what happened to him?
Another aside to this- witnessed two young Darwin award wannabes in baseball uniforms- ran out across the EB main to touch the above train as he started to roll… no idea where their parents were.
There is a right and a wrong time to dump the rear , for example if I had a bunch of emptys on the rear and loads up front , I would think twice about dumping the EOT . Seems to me a good way to get a knuckle on the power. Loads on the rear …yep … dump the EOT , mixed train, yes , dump the rear , your taking your chances dumping them either way . I would do my best to remember the old saying that there are two ways to run a train , streched , or bunched . I would use independent to hold the front end in the best I could keeping them bunched if possible . I try to know where my slack is even if I dump them .
The Cajon runnaway was not a kinked airhose. It was a closed anglecock about 20 cars back in a manifest that was like 80-90 cars long. By the time the crew realized what was happening it was too late. The 20 cars worth of brakes could not hold the train on the 3.0% grade. The train only made it about 4 miles and didn’t make the curve after the I-15 underpass. The wreck killed the crew and the resulting toxic fire was bad enough that the whole pass was shut down for 3 days (138-15-and the railroads). This train would not have run away if it was equiped with a 2-way EOT. Because
Who put the burr in your saddle, I know what Dynamic Brakes are, and how they work, I worked in the backshop doing the work you all gave away. Moving Locomotives in the shop area. I also know the Trainmen lost alot of jobs when they did away with the Cabooses, but those aren’t the reason to jump in everyone’s %#@* and are you still workin? You don’t have to call people names.
Big Jim wrote: “I know what he is trying to say, but,written that way it is pretty stupid.”