CEE 408-15 Railcars 4 - Air Brakes Parts 1&2-2020

Introduction to
Train Braking
Systems
CEE 408
Fall 2020
© 2020 Chris Barkan All Rights Reserved
Outline and Learning Objectives

• Train braking concepts
– Differences from motor vehicle braking & implications for traffic control
– Early railroad braking system
– Automatic air brake system
• Braking energy from locomotive
• Brake application throughout train
• Introduction to train braking system
– Major system components
– How they work and interact
– Dynamic brakes
• Brake system performance and metrics
– Equalization principle and braking ratio calculation, PLANE, Lever Ratio
• Special circumstances and components
• Limitations in current system and ECP brakes
© 2020 Chris Barkan All Rights Reserved 2 CEE 408 - Railcars - 4: Air Brakes
Decelerating the train
• From a safety standpoint, deceleration is considerably
more important than acceleration
• The same low coefficient of friction between steel
wheel and steel rail that allows low rolling resistance,
also severely limits braking ability
• Two key objectives of braking system:
– 1) permit deceleration and stopping for various
speed restrictions and traffic control purposes
– 2) control train speed on grades
• Although trains can be decelerated in less distance
than they can be accelerated, stopping trains requires
considerably more distance and time than motor vehicles
– For example from an initial speed of 60 mph:
• an automobile requires about 300 feet, and a truck about 360 feet to stop
• a long, heavy freight train may take 11,000 feet,
more than 30 times greater distance!
11,000’
300’
Fundamental difference between railroad

and motor vehicle traffic control
• Consider the comparison of the train and
auto driver’s view at right
• Train stopping distance generally exceeds
sight distance, opposite of highway
• Freight trains may travel 70 mph and HSR
trains exceed 200 mph. If there is another
train stopped on the track ahead, how is the
operator to know in time to stop the train?
• Trains operate on a fixed guideway or
single-degree-of-freedomsystem
– train operator cannot alter the train’s
course to avoid a collision (i.e. cannot
change lanes or swerve to avoid
collision)
• Requires different type of traffic control
system than motor vehicles that accounts
for these factors
Elements of train braking
• Brake shoes apply force to rotating wheels, the resulting friction

generates retarding force that slows the rotation
• Limited by:
– force of brake application
– adhesion between wheel and rail
Early train braking was manually controlled and operated
• Trains were stopped using hand-operated brakes on each car

• Locomotive engineer use his whistle to signal to the brakemen that brakes
needed to be applied
• They ran and jumped from car to car applying each cars’ brakes individually
• Performed their duties, day and night, rain or shine, regardless of conditions
• Hazardous, inefficient and not very effective!
Limited hand-brake effectiveness
constrained rail transport efficiency
• Braking force limited by human strength (forcing the brake shoe
against the wheel)
• Dangerous not be able to stop a train, particularly on down-grades
• Hazardous work, not only for brakemen, and potentially dangerous
train operations
• Constrained speed, capacity of cars and length of trains
• Limited line capacity
• Denied railroads ability to further exploit economies of scale
• Strong economic (and safety) incentive to develop new technology
Development of train brakes applied directly from locomotive

• Early concept: Air compressor on the locomotive pumped air via piping
and hoses to each car in the train
– Locomotive engineer used a hand-operated valve to control air
pressure to brake cylinders which transmitted force to brake shoes
– No compressed air storage on individual railcars
– Called “Straight-Air” Systems
• Disadvantages
– Not fail-safe if air pressure was lost due to: loss of air supply, hose
uncoupling, or rupture
– Slow propagation leading to severe slack run-in, brakes in front of train
applied sooner than those in the back
• Two systems were developed to address these disadvantages:
– Vacuum Brake - standard for Great Britain, India, South Africa, and
other countries.
– George Westinghouse’s Automatic Air Brake – now the dominant
system in North America and Europe
Modern train brakes
Braking Force
Brake Applied To: Common Types of Application
Independent Locomotive Light operation (locomotive w/o cars)

When air line is not in use
Train Cars Service applications
Emergency applications
Hand Individual Car Applied by hand to
secure a railcar(s)
Dynamic Locomotive Service applications
• Four different types of brake system in use

– Independent Brake: is the air brake system on the locomotive
– Train Brake: is the most important and will be focus of most of our discussion
– Dynamic Brake: is also important in train operation; it is a type of regenerative
brake, in which the locomotive traction motors function as generators to provide
resistance using the locomotive wheels (much like modern hybrid cars)
– Hand Brake: is a means of mechanically setting the brake on individual cars
without compressed air - typically used today as a “parking brake”
Schematics of locomotive and car

air brake systems
Locomotive Car
System System
Air hose
connection
Major elements of the automatic air brake system
• Locomotive components
– Air compressor
– Brake valve
– Main Reservoir
– Brake cylinder
– Foundation (system of rods,
levers, fixtures and brake
beams & shoes)
• Railcar components
– Train line
– Auxiliary & emergency
reservoir
– Control valve
– Brake cylinder
– Foundation (system of rods,
levers, fixtures and brake
beams & shoes)
Locomotive and train brakes
• Locomotive engine provides the energy for the air brake system
• Pump on locomotive compresses air, some of which is stored in a pressure
tank (main reservoir) on the locomotive
• The rest of the compressed air is transmitted to the train
• At each coupling there is an air hose and each car has a pipe
(train line) that transmits the compressed air from one end to the other
• Each car has a pressure tank (auxiliary & emergency reservoirs) that
stores the compressed air
• Each car also has a brake cylinder that converts the compressed air into
mechanical force when needed
• Mechanical force from cylinder is transmitted by a series of rods and levers
to brake shoes that apply pressure to the wheels on the cars
• Locomotive engineer uses the brake valve to control when, and with how
much force the brakes are applied.
Basic Air Brake Concept
• Pressurized air supplied by locomotive is contained in reservoirs on each railcar
• During braking, pressurized air is admitted into the brake cylinder
• Piston pushes out against a series of rods, levers and fulcrums
• These transmit braking force to brake shoes that press against the wheel tread
Freight cars use tread brakes
Applied Released
• Brake shoes pushed against each wheel tread causing friction and retarding
force to slow train
Passenger cars also use disk brakes in
addition to tread
Locomotive Air Brake

System
• Air Compressor powered by engine

• Main Reservoirs store compressed air
• Independent brake valve controls locomotive brakes
• Train brake valve controls train brakes
• Brake cylinder applies pressure to brake shoes
pressed against wheels
Air Brake Components - Railcars
• Combined brake reservoir - stores pressurized air in two, independent chambers
– Auxiliary Reservoir - for regular “service” applications
– Emergency Reservoir - for emergency applications
• Control valve - responds to changes in brake pipe pressure actuated by the
locomotive engineer (driver) to cause different brake application and release actions
• Brake cylinder - converts air pressure into mechanical force
• Retainer valve - vents air pressure from brake cylinder when brakes are released
Air Brake Components - Railcars
• Brake foundation - series of levers, rods and brake shoes that

transmits brake force from cylinder to wheel treads
• Train line or brake pipe - transmits air pressure from one end of the car
to the other
• Brake hose & glad hand - means of connecting the train lines of
adjacent cars
Brake System on Car
Simplified diagram of brake system

rod and lever arrangement
Coupler and air hose connection
Drawings show the

Angle Cocks & Glad Hands angle cock in the
open position
• Angle Cock: Valve (on/off) at both ends of
Diagrams from NYAB
a car or locomotives brake pipe
– Function is to connect and control flow
from the brake pipe to the air hoses that
connect cars and locomotives in a train
– Normally open in trains, but must be
closed on the end of the first and last
cars or locomotives in the train (to keep
the compressed air from escaping)
– The cock is “open” if the handle is “in
line” with the path of airflow
• Glad Hand: Connector between two
air hoses
– Connected by hand, disconnected by
pulling apart
How is brake application
BRAKE VALVE
controlled? Automatic Brake
Valve Handle
• Most North American
train brakes are controlled
by varying the air pressure
in the train line
• Locomotive brake
– “Independent”
– Directly controls air
pressure into brake Independent Brake
cylinder on locomotive Valve Handle
• Brakes in cars in train
– “Automatic brake”
CONTROL VALVE
– Controls reduction in
pressure in the train line
– Causes Control valve in each car
to admit air from reservoir in each
car into brake cylinder
Basic air brake system schematic
CONTROL
VALVE
Brake Shoe
• http://www.trainweb.org/railwaytechnical/air%20brakes.htm
Types of Brake Applications / Positions
• Release / Charging
– Equilibrium state
– Cylinders are “charged” with air from the train line
• x lb. Reduction (less than full service)
– Used to control trains on low to moderate grades
– 5 minutes to recharge
• Full Service Reduction
– Used to control trains on moderate to steep grades
– Approximately 15 minutes to recharge
• Emergency Application
– Risks associated with slack (derailment possibility)
– Long time associated with recharge (up to 40 minutes)
Brakes in Release Position
CONTROL VALVE
Brake Shoe
• Note position of slide valve in Control valve

Release / Charging
Emergency Auxiliary
Release 90 90
90
Cylinder
• Using Initial Brake Pipe Pressure of 90 psi
Brakes applied
CONTROL VALVE
Brake Shoe
• Note different position of slide valve in triple valve

10 LB Reduction
Emergency Auxiliary
10 lb Reduction 90 80
80
25
Cylinder
Full Service (26 LB*) Reduction
Emergency Auxiliary
Full Service 90 64
(26 lb Reduction)
64
64
Cylinder
* The pressure associated with a full service reduction varies for different
initial brake pipe pressures
Brakes in Lap Position
CONTROL VALVE
Brake Shoe
• Note position of slide valve in triple valve

Emergency Reduction
Emergency Auxiliary
Emergency 77 77
77
Cylinder
• Emergency cylinder pressure is 6/7 of the initial train line pressure

Automatic brake valve in
locomotive
• The automatic brake valve controls the
train brakes, and has six positions
• Release, Minimum Reduction, Service,
Suppression, Handle Off and
Emergency
• Shown below in Release
Photo & videos from San Diego Railroad museum: http://www.sdrm.org/faqs/brakes/control/26stand.html

Video of 20 lb.
reduction
• Watch white needle (Train Line) on gauge go from 110 to 90

Video of Release
• Watch Train Line gauge return to 110 psi

Video of Emergency
Application
• Watch Train Line gauge go from 110 to 0 psi, and red needle (Locomotive Brake
Cylinder) go to 90 psi
Braking activities take time and result in different pressures
and braking force in different parts of the train
Increasing train size and weight led to need

for improvements in braking system
• Greater variability in braking force applied through train caused problems of
run-in as the front of the train stopped sooner than back
• Heavier cars and trains meant more braking energy needed and also increased
difference in braking force needed when cars were empty or loaded
• Longer cars and trains increased the volume of the train line (brake pipe) also
affecting brake performance
Refinements in Modern
Braking Systems
• Attempts to improve air brake performance
have been the rationale for a succession of
increasingly sophisticated control valves
• AB Control Valve
– Developed and implemented in the 1920s
& 30s when the average length of freights
cars was less than 40’ and weight was
approximately 50 tons.
– Propagation speed for the AB control
valve equipped brakes was
about 350 ft./second
– Time delay between the application of the
brakes and when all of the cars in the
train have their brakes applied
• Railroads rapidly adopted 50 cars following
World War II and moved to 70 ton capacity
• As cars and trains got longer there was a
need to further improve braking system
performance
AB Control Valve
• First of current generation of
control valves
• In 1920s, longer, heavier trains led to
need for more braking energy
available in an emergency application,
and more gradual application to
reduce severe slack
• AB brake system included a new, split
reservoir with separate (larger)
section just for emergency
applications
Emergency Auxiliary
Reservoir Reservoir
First Improvement: ABD Brake
• Modern trains may be more than 9,000 feet long so there can still be a
15 second difference between the front and the rear of the train
• Synchronization of both application and release of brakes is important to
stable train dynamics
• Subsequently the ABDW and ABDX brakes have been developed
– ABDW propagation speed is about 500 ft./second
– ABDX propagation speed is up to 600 ft./second
• Importantly, all of these newer brake designs are reverse compatible
– Many cars in the fleet are
still equipped with older
designs and it is not cost-
effective to retrofit them
– New designs must work with old.
Further Improvements to Control Valves
• ABD and ABDW

– Greater responses to pressure differentials
– Accelerated service braking release
– Improved maintenance characteristics
• ABDX
– Improvements to emergency valve and greater emergency
stability
– Continued accelerated service application
• DB-60
– Replacement of slide valve with poppet valves
• ABDX-L and DB-60L
– Reduction of transmission time for longer cars
Modern DB-60L Complete Control Valve
Capable of propagating brake signal up to 900 ft. per second

Equalization Principle of Air Braking

• North American brake systems operate on the principle of volume
equalization
• The control valve on each car responds to a reduction in brake pipe
pressure by venting air into the brake cylinder
• This occurs until the reduced auxiliary reservoir and cylinder pressure
equal the brake pipe pressure
• This condition is known as equalization
Brake cylinder pressure calculation
and system design
• The volumes of the reservoirs, brake cylinder (BC) and piping

must be properly balanced to achieve the correct BC pressure
• AAR requires that a 30 psi reduction in brake pipe (BP) pressure
result in a BC pressure between 63.5 and 66.5 psi
• Brake cylinder pressure is inversely related to:
– Volume of the piping
– Size and stroke of the brake cylinder
• Calculation of these parameters is required to design a brake
system that conforms with operational requirements and
AAR standards
Modern Combined Auxiliary & Emergency

Reservoir and Separate Brake Cylinder
Reservoir Auxiliary Reservoir Emergency Reservoir
2,500 Cubic Inches 3,500 Cubic Inches
• Stores pressurized air
• Applied to the brake cylinder
when commanded by the
control valve
• Total Volume
= 6,000 in3 (cubic inches)
Brake Cylinder
• Converts pressurized air into
mechanical force
• Approximately 8 piston travel
• 640 in3
Photo
© 2020 from NYAB All Rights Reserved
Chris Barkan 46 CEE 408 - Railcars - 4: Air Brakes
Example of equalization pressure calculation
• Determine volume and

pressure in reservoir
(example here using 70
psi brake pipe pressure)
• Determine volume and
pressure in cylinder
• Account for atmospheric
pressure (=14.7 psi)
• With control valve
opened, determine new
pressure
• This is equalization or
full service pressure.
Formulae for calculating brake cylinder pressure in full

service and emergency brake applications
Full service =
where: Pbc = brake cylinder pressure (psi)

Pbp = brake pipe pressure
Vaux = auxiliary reservoir volume (cu. in.)
Vbc pipe = volume of all brake cylinder piping
Vbc = volume of brake cylinder
94 = volume of reservoir pipes and passages inside bracket
174 = volume of reservoir pipes and passages inside bracket,
plus brake cylinder passages inside bracket
14.7 = nominal atmospheric pressure
Emergency =
Vemg = emergency reservoir volume (cu. in.)
Calculation of equalization or full service cylinder
pressure for different brake pipe pressures
Use the following values: Pbp Pbc Reduction in brake Ratio
pipe pressure for
Vaux = 2,440 cubic inches Full Service Pbc :Reduction
Application
Vbc pipe = 70 cubic inches (= Pbp- Pbc)
Vbc = 640 cubic inches
and the formula and 70
constants on the previous
slide to calculate the 75
equalization pressure for
80
each brake pipe pressure
85
Calculate the reduction in
the brake pipe pressure 90
required to achieve a full
service application 95
Calculate the Ratio of the 100

full service brake cylinder 105
pressure to the reduction
in brake pipe pressure 110
Introduction to Train
Braking Systems
Part 2
CEE 408
Fall 2018

Braking ratios
• Braking ratios specify the basic performance of railcar
braking systems
• Braking ratios are defined as the total brake shoe force normal
to the wheel, divided by the total weight of the car
• Design brake ratios are calculated based on a 30 psi reduction
from a 90 psi brake pipe pressure
• Brake ratios differ for loaded and empty cars because of their
different weight
• Loaded net brake ratios are set to prevent thermal damage to
wheels while still providing adequate braking force
• The maximum empty brake ratio is set to minimize the likelihood
of wheel sliding
• Wheel sliding can cause flat spots and other damage to wheels
Formula for braking ratio

Braking Ratio =
where: P = brake cylinder pressure (psi)

L = lever ratio
A = area of cylinder (in2)
N = number of cylinders
E = efficiency (decimal ranging from 0 to 1.0)
w = car weight (lbs.)
Lever ratio
• Lever ratio design is part of the way brake ratio is modified to

suit a particular car type’s braking requirements
Example calculation of lever and braking ratios
Calculation of theoretical braking ratio at different
brake pipe pressures
Use the previous values for
brake cylinder pressure to Pbp Brake shoe Braking ratio Braking ratio
calculate the braking force: force (lbs.) (loaded) (empty)
P = full service application 70

for each brake pipe pressure 75
L=8 80
A = 56 sq in. 85
N=1
90
E = 0.85
95
w = weight (lbs.)
100
Calculate braking ratio for a
loaded and an empty car 105
assuming they weight 110
263,000 lbs and 63,000 lbs.,
respectively
Braking effectiveness is also affected by

type of brake shoe
• Composite material shoes have higher friction coefficient than cast iron
• AAR braking ratio criteria reflected this difference, with higher ratios
required for iron-shoe-equipped cars
Brake lever ratio limits
• Adjusting the leverage of the
brake system can be used to
increase braking force to
wheels
• But there are limits
• Higher leverage ratios mean
the throw distance of the rods
must be greater to achieve
sufficient clearance between
the brake shoe and wheel
when the brakes are
released.
• Higher braking force can also
be achieved with higher brake
pipe pressure, but this
increases wear and tear on
compressor and other brake
equipment
Common brake cylinders and lever ratios
• Former AAR method was to use theoretical brake shoe force as criteria for
maximum and minimum brake ratios
• Efficiency can vary from 45% to 75% for cars with conventional (body-
mounted) brake rigging
• Corresponds to a 30% range in stopping distance
• Cars with truck-mounted brakes have less variable efficiency (78%-88%)
Braking ratio versus car weight
• AAR rules require that a car that cannot comply with its requirements
must be equipped with an empty/load braking system
Effect of Loaded and Empty Car Weight on

Braking Ratios
• As car efficiency (i.e. capacity to light weight) has increased, so
has the disparity between the weight of the car in the empty and
loaded condition
• Greater efficiency could be due to:
– Cars optimized for their lading would have a low light weight,
but the usual maximum GRL when loaded
– Cars being constructed out of lighter material (e.g. aluminum)
Basics of railcar size, weight & capacity
Empty Loaded
56,000 lbs. 286,000 lbs.
64,500 lbs. 286,000 lbs.
Higher net to tare ratios make it difficult to comply with AAR requirements for
brake ratio using conventional brake system designs
Empty/Load (E/L) Devices

• Cars with a large differential in weight:
– When loaded - could have inadequate braking force thereby
affecting safety
– When empty - could have too much braking force causing wheels to
lock up leading to slid flat wheels
• The solution to this
are devices that
allow differential
application of brake
forces depending
on the empty
or loaded condition
of the car
• These devices are
known as the
empty/load valve
Empty/Load (E/L) Devices
• Sense the change in the load of the car by mechanically monitoring the
extent that the cars springs are depressed
• Automatically adjusts the amount of air pressure to the brake cylinder
Empty/Load brake arrangement
Slope-sheet-mounted
E/L valve
(NYAB)
Braking ratio requirements with empty/load device
Truck Mounted
Brakes
• Certain modern car types do not
allow conventional carbody-
mounted brake rigging
• No practical means of
mechanically connecting brake
shoes to a single cylinder
• Solution is to mount several brake
cylinders on trucks
• Each cylinder is supplied by air
from reservoir and controlled by
control valve
Very Long Railcars
• Prior to the 1960s there were few freight cars longer than 50 feet.
• The widespread introduction of long cars such as intermodal flatcars,
hi-cube boxcars, and autoracks substantially increased the length of
the train and the volume of the train line, without increasing the number
of control valves.
• The consequent reduced number of control valves per unit volume of
train line caused brake signal propagation to again became a problem
• AAR mandates additional control valve or vent valve under certain
circumstances
Vent Valves
• Vent valves supplement regular control valves by venting air pressure from
the train line when the brakes are applied (special control valves ABDX-L
and DB-60L serve the same function).
• Cars with more than 75 and up to 125 of brake pipe, are required by AAR
to be equipped with either a vent valve or one of the special control valves.
• Cars with more than 125 of brake pipe (i.e. articulated intermodal cars) are
required to have at least one additional control valve.
Braking Precautions
• Engineer must be skillful in use of brakes
– avoid dynamic problems with differential braking of the train
– using the air supply faster than it is being replenished and
being unable to stop the train at all
• Fanning the brakes on and off can deplete the air pressure
• Retainer valve - enable partial or slower release of brakes, formerly
were essential for safe operation on long and/or steep grades
– D: Direct Exhaust
– SD: Slow Direct
(through air orifice)
– H: High Pressure
(retains approximately 20 psi
in brake cylinder)
The Wreck of the Federal Express - January 1953
Two-pipe air brake system solves some of
the problems
• Often used on passenger trains and on some, specialized freight train systems
• Permits recharging system independent of brake control
Limitations of Current Braking System

• Despite over a century of advancement, the physical constraints
inherent to pneumatically controlled brakes still impose limits on brake
performance
• Brake propagation signal constrained by speed of the air pressure
moving from car to car along train line (speed of sound). Trains are
often over a mile in length.
• Contributes to:
– excessive in-train forces
– challenges in train handling
– long stopping distances
– safety risk of depletion of air brake reservoirs
• Problem is not so much with the braking system itself, but the
pneumatic control system
• Isn't there a better way?
Air Brake System
APPENDIX
Westinghouse Steam-Powered Air Brake
• George Westinghouse invented a new power braking system

– Like earlier systems, the Westinghouse brake system used
compressed air from a steam powered compressor on the
locomotive
– But most importantly, it incorporated a Fail-Safe design in the event
of brake line ruptures
Westinghouse Brake System Concept
• Air pressure from the locomotive was used to control the application of air
pressure to brake shoes on each car
• But the immediate source of the air pressure to apply the brakes was a
storage or auxiliary reservoir on each car.
• The auxiliary reservoir on each car was continuously being recharged
with air from the locomotive when the brakes were not being applied.
The Triple Valve
• The key to the success of the

Westinghouse system was the
control valve on each car that
interpreted changes in train line
pressure to changes in brake
cylinder pressure
• Early versions of the control valve
were referred to as the triple valve
because of its three basic functions:
– charge brake reservoirs
– apply brakes
– release brakes
Refinements in
Automatic Brakes
(1) (2) (3)
• Early air brake system was
successful, but still had limitations (3)
– All air released through
engineman’s valve in locomotive
– Slow propagation of signal
through train caused severe slack
action in emergency applications
– Limited train length
• Solution was the quick action
control valve (2)
– This valve supplemented the
pressure reduction at each car’s
valve, thereby speeding the
process
– Further improved by increasing
the brake pipe diameter (1)
Quick Service Application K Triple

• Basic problem in train braking is if
the brakes set up in the front of the
train before the signal can
propagate to the end
• The back of the train will run into
the front
• As trains got longer, slow
propagation became a problem
again, now for service
applications
• Using approach analogous to the
quick action for emergency
applications, the
K Triple used a system of
supplementing the release by each
cars valve
Placement of angle cocks on railcars
Control Valve Schematic
Train
Train Reservoir
Charging Line
Line
Slide Valve
Brake
Cylinder
Exhaust
Exhaust
Train
Train Reservoir
Application Line
Line
Slide Valve
Brake
Exhaust Cylinder
Exhaust
Calculation of equalization or full service cylinder
pressure for different brake pipe pressures
Use the following values: Pbp Pbc Reduction in brake Ratio
pipe pressure for
Vaux = 2,440 cubic inches Full Service Pbc :Reduction
Application
Vbc pipe = 70 cubic inches (= Pbp- Pbc)
Vbc = 640 cubic inches
and the formula and 70 49.9 20.1 2.48
constants on the previous
slide to calculate the 75 53.7 21.3 2.52
equalization pressure for
80 57.5 22.5 2.55
85 61.3 23.7 2.59
Calculate the reduction in
the brake pipe pressure 90 65.1 24.9 2.62
required to achieve a full
service application 95 68.9 26.1 2.64
Calculate the Ratio of the 100 72.7 27.3 2.67

full service brake cylinder 105 76.6 28.4 2.69
pressure to the reduction
in brake pipe pressure 110 80.4 29.6 2.71
Calculation of theoretical braking ratio at different

brake pipe pressures
Use the previous values for
brake cylinder pressure to
Pbp Brake shoe Braking ratio Braking ratio
calculate the braking force: force (lbs.) (loaded) (empty)
70 18,990 7% 30%
P = full service application for
75 20,442 8% 32%
L=8 80 21,893 8% 35%
A = 56 sq in. 85 23,345 9% 37%

N=1 90 24,796 9% 39%
E = 0.85
95 26,248 10% 42%
w = weight (lbs.)
100 27,699 11% 44%
105 29,151 11% 46%
Calculate braking ratio for a
loaded and an empty car 110 30,602 12% 49%
assuming they weight
263,000 lbs and 63,000 lbs.,
respectively
© 2020 Chris Barkan All Rights Reserved CEE 408 - Railcars - 4: Air Brakes
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Introduction to

© 2020 Chris Barkan All Rights Reserved

Outline and Learning Objectives

Fundamental difference between railroad

• Brake shoes apply force to rotating wheels, the resulting friction

Early train braking was manually controlled and operated

• Trains were stopped using hand-operated brakes on each car

Development of train brakes applied directly from locomotive

Independent Locomotive Light operation (locomotive w/o cars)

• Four different types of brake system in use

Schematics of locomotive and car

Locomotive and train brakes

Freight cars use tread brakes

Locomotive Air Brake

• Air Compressor powered by engine

Air Brake Components - Railcars

• Brake foundation - series of levers, rods and brake shoes that

Simplified diagram of brake system

Drawings show the

Basic air brake system schematic

Brakes in Release Position

• Note position of slide valve in Control valve

• Using Initial Brake Pipe Pressure of 90 psi

• Note different position of slide valve in triple valve

Full Service (26 LB*) Reduction

• Note position of slide valve in triple valve

• Emergency cylinder pressure is 6/7 of the initial train line pressure

Photo & videos from San Diego Railroad museum: http://www.sdrm.org/faqs/brakes/control/26stand.html

• Watch white needle (Train Line) on gauge go from 110 to 90

• Watch Train Line gauge return to 110 psi

Increasing train size and weight led to need

Further Improvements to Control Valves

• ABD and ABDW

Capable of propagating brake signal up to 900 ft. per second

Equalization Principle of Air Braking

• The volumes of the reservoirs, brake cylinder (BC) and piping

Modern Combined Auxiliary & Emergency

• Determine volume and

Formulae for calculating brake cylinder pressure in full

where: Pbc = brake cylinder pressure (psi)

Vemg = emergency reservoir volume (cu. in.)

Calculate the Ratio of the 100

© 2020 Chris Barkan All Rights Reserved

Formula for braking ratio

where: P = brake cylinder pressure (psi)

• Lever ratio design is part of the way brake ratio is modified to

Example calculation of lever and braking ratios

P = full service application 70

Braking effectiveness is also affected by

Common brake cylinders and lever ratios

Effect of Loaded and Empty Car Weight on

56,000 lbs. 286,000 lbs.

64,500 lbs. 286,000 lbs.

Empty/Load (E/L) Devices

Empty/Load brake arrangement

The Wreck of the Federal Express - January 1953

Limitations of Current Braking System

Westinghouse Steam-Powered Air Brake

• George Westinghouse invented a new power braking system

The Triple Valve

• The key to the success of the

Quick Service Application K Triple

Control Valve Schematic

Calculate the Ratio of the 100 72.7 27.3 2.67

CEE 408-15 Railcars 4 - Air Brakes Parts 1&2-2020

CEE 408-15 Railcars 4 - Air Brakes Parts 1&2-2020