IMPROVEMENTS IN THE DESIGN OF AIR BRAKE CONTROL VALVES

The paper traces the development of the air brake control valve from its earliest ancestor, the original triple valve invented by George Westinghouse, up until the present day. Emphasis is placed on the way in which constructional techniques evolved, developments on both sides of the Atlantic being considered. The desire for improved performance, reduced costs and an extended maintenance period is shown to be the driving force towards change, which is inevitable once the required skills and techniques become available. The authors show how worthwhile improvements are still feasible and introduce a new design of control valve based on constructional techniques intended to realize these.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contributed by the Rail Transportation Division of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers for presentation at the ASME-IEEE Joint Railroad Conference, Pittsburgh, Pa., April 3-4, 1974
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Mechanical Engineers

  Two Park Avenue
  New York, NY  United States  10016-5990
• Authors:
  • Moore, I G
  • Wickham, D J
• Publication Date: 1973-12

Media Info

• Features: Figures;
• Pagination: 9 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air brakes; Brakes; Control devices; Freight cars; Machine valves; Technology
• Geographic Terms: United Kingdom
• Old TRIS Terms: Braking systems
• Subject Areas: Railroads; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00054015
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• Report/Paper Numbers: ASME #74-RT-3
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 3 1976 12:00AM