THE COBRA SHOE IN LOCOMOTIVE SERVICE

The braking forces when COBRA shoes are applied to a locomotive must be less then when metal shoes are used, since the COBRA shoe has a higher coefficient of friction. The spread between the coefficients of friction of COBRA and metal shoes increases as the speed increases; therefore, the nominal operating speed must be taken into account when COBRA shoes are applied. For this reason, the amount of braking force varies with type of service and with the brake system. One amount of force is used for the independent brake system which is normally used in low speed switching service. A different amount of force is used for the automatic brake system which is sused at the higher speeds encountered in road service. With this in mind, the tabulation lists the general recommended braking ratios for application of CoBRA shoes to locomotives.

• Corporate Authors:

  Railroad Friction Products Corporation

  Wilmerding, PA  United States 
• Publication Date: 1972-6

Media Info

• Features: Figures;
• Pagination: 21 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Brake shoes; Brakes; Braking; Composite materials; Locomotives
• Old TRIS Terms: Braking systems; Locomotive braking
• Subject Areas: Railroads; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00047819
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Railroad Friction Products Corporation
• Report/Paper Numbers: RFP-112
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 6 1976 12:00AM