THE BRAKING OF RAILWAY VEHICLES

The factors affecting the stopping distance of freight trains are: increased length of trains; increased speed; and increased ratio of gross weight to tare. To secure 40 lb per sq. in. brake cylinder pressure on the rear car of 35-, 50-, and 70-car trains required 6.5, 10.5, and 20 sec, respectively. Increasing the maximum speed of freight trains from 30 to 40 mph almost doubled the stopping distance. To reduce the effect of increasing the ratio of gross weight to tare two methods are suggested: 1) application of an emergency feature whereby air is dumped from the brake pipe to the atmosphere at each equipment causing rapid buildup of brake cylinder pressure, or 2) empty and load brakes procedure, by which the braking power of the loaded vehicle is increased substantially over that of the empty vehicle. The tests were conducted in Australia. Discussion of high-braking forces for high-speed passenger trains focuses on both U.S. and European efforts. Data are presented on the Zephyr showing the relationsip of different braking ratios on stopping distances.

  • Corporate Authors:

    Temple Press Limited

    161-166 Fleet Street
    Longon EC4,   England 
  • Authors:
    • WHITE, J
  • Publication Date: 1946-12-27

Media Info

  • Features: Figures;
  • Pagination: p. 114-716
  • Serial:

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00037299
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Jul 8 1994 12:00AM