27-07-2017, 06:59 AM
29-07-2017, 12:10 PM
A rail air brake is a rail brake braking system with compressed air as a means of operation. Modern trains are based on a fail-safe air brake system based on a design patented by George Westinghouse on March 5, 1868. The Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO) was subsequently organized to manufacture and sell the invention Of Westinghouse. In several forms, it has been adopted almost universally.
The Westinghouse system uses air pressure to load the air tanks (tanks) in each car. The full air pressure tells each vehicle to release the brakes. A reduction or loss of air pressure tells each car to apply its brakes, using the compressed air in its reservoirs.
The pneumatic brake can fail if you accidentally close one of the couplings where the tubes of each car are joined. In this case, the brakes on the wagons behind the closed valve will not respond to the driver's command. This occurred in the Pennsylvania Railroad train accident 1953 to the Federal Express, a Pennsylvania Railroad train that became a fugitive while heading into the Union Station of Washington DC, causing the train to collide with the concourse of passengers and Fall across the floor. Similarly, in the accident of the Gare de Lyon train, a valve was accidentally closed by the crew, which reduces the braking power.
There are a number of safeguards that are usually taken to prevent this type of accident from happening. Railroads have strict government-approved procedures for testing air brake systems when composing trains in a yard or picking up en-route vehicles. These usually involve connecting the air brake hoses, loading the brake system, adjusting the brakes and manually inspecting the cars to make sure the brakes are applied, and then releasing the brakes and manually inspecting the cars to ensure the brakes are released . Particular attention is paid to the most remote car of the train, either by manual inspection or by an automatic limit switch, to ensure continuity of the brake line throughout the train. When the brake line continues throughout the train, the failure of the brakes to apply or release in one or more cars is an indication that the triple valves of the cars do not function properly. Depending on the location of the air test, available repair facilities and regulations governing the number of inoperative brakes allowed on a train, the car can be repaired or taken to the next terminal where it can be repaired.