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Post by jamesbrodie67281 on Mar 6, 2013 1:53:06 GMT -8
Kind Sirs, Info wanted please from this  curious Limey. I liked my freight trains wagons to have roofwalks but have inherested ten or twelve more modern wagons with no roof walks and ofcourse lowered brake wheels. if I were to try and mix these vehicles on my layout  end of one period and start of the next, what time period would I need to be in? I liked the older period as when I was on the footplate all our train workings would come under the loose coupled-only engine and caboose brake and applied wagon brakes before going down some of the gradients ie 1 in 35 and 1 in 42 sort of thing. The fireman applied wagon side brakes at the engine end and the guard at the brakevan end of the train fully braked trains were no use to us as our engines only had a steam brake and hand brake on the tender............happy trails...jim brodie |
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Post by fr8kar on Mar 6, 2013 17:54:26 GMT -8
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Post by jamesbrodie67281 on Mar 7, 2013 1:53:39 GMT -8
RCH..many thanks for the info, I can now safely mix my stock but just have to be aware of railways that came into being later. When I find my fallen Flags booklet I can choose which cars will need re-painting to a back over time. Thanks again..Jim.
In England when we started to run trains from our depot with the first few wagons with auto brake coupled to the engine then unbraked wagons to the rear and also this meant the brakevan (caboose)showed altered rear facing tail and side lamps. Did some of the American trains run part fitted and with unfitted inbetween them and the caboose?...curious.
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Post by riogrande on Mar 12, 2013 6:10:52 GMT -8
James,
As far as I know, and I only know enough to be dangerous, all freight cars in US trains are connected via air hoses which operate the brakes though air pressurized lines. So from the front to the back end, all freight car brakes are oprational and controlled from the lead engine via air pressure. If a brake air line comes apart, the train is stopped and the hose reconnected. I don't believe any rail cars are operate without brakes. But if you think about it, as a rule US freight trains are much longer than those in England or mainland Europe so it's very important to have all brakes working. Trains can easily be over 100 cars long although shorter trains are common enough.
I model mountain railroads so due to grades, trains are generally shorter. I have a video called Rio Grande Odyssey which shows freight operations in the 60's and 70's. As a rule D&RGW operated short fast frequent freight trains to compete against the Union Pacific to the north where they had a much flatter profile and shorter distances to cover between the mid-west US and the west coast. This is where the D&RGW demonstrated it's "Action Road" logo. I'd guess freight trains were between 25 and 50 cars and had around 4 diesels on the front end. In the 1980's, trains got longer - especially after SP influence took over. But I digress!
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Post by calzephyr on Mar 13, 2013 6:30:50 GMT -8
James, As far as I know, and I only know enough to be dangerous, all freight cars in US trains are connected via air hoses which operate the brakes though air pressurized lines. So from the front to the back end, all freight car brakes are oprational and controlled from the lead engine via air pressure. If a brake air line comes apart, the train is stopped and the hose reconnected. I don't believe any rail cars are operate without brakes. But if you think about it, as a rule US freight trains are much longer than those in England or mainland Europe so it's very important to have all brakes working. Trains can easily be over 100 cars long although shorter trains are common enough. I model mountain railroads so due to grades, trains are generally shorter. I have a video called Rio Grande Odyssey which shows freight operations in the 60's and 70's. As a rule D&RGW operated short fast frequent freight trains to compete against the Union Pacific to the north where they had a much flatter profile and shorter distances to cover between the mid-west US and the west coast. This is where the D&RGW demonstrated it's "Action Road" logo. I'd guess freight trains were between 25 and 50 cars and had around 4 diesels on the front end. In the 1980's, trains got longer - especially after SP influence took over. But I digress! The only trains that operate without brakes are runaway trains! I model the steam era transition so roof walks and high brake wheels are normal. The latest operational practice is using DPU's in long trains. This allows brake pressure to be pumped faster and maintained much better if units are placed mid and rear of long trains. One of the problems in cold weather is maintaining proper air pressure to the rear of a long train of 100 plus cars. larry |
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