Patent GB-910989-A (GB)
Title: Multiple section retarder apparatus for railway vehicles
IPC: B61K7/12
Filed: 1959-02-20
Abstract: 910,989. Railway retarder control systems. WESTINGHOUSE AIR BRAKE CO. Feb. 20, 1959 [Feb. 21, 1958], No. 5858/59. Class 105. In a railway classification hump yard in which cuts of one or more vehicles are automatically routed to selected storage track destinations, the speed at which they couple with vehicles already in the storage tracks being controlled to a value which will prevent damage to lading, a multiple section retarder apparatus is provided for controlling the speeds of cuts of one or more railway vehicles passed through it in which independently operable brake control means is provided for each of the sections and means is provided to control jointly the braking force of all sections of the track simultaneously occupied by a cut of wagons from the control means of the first of the sections of the track so occupied, and means to transfer the control to the next section as each section is vacated. In the drawings, Figs. 1a, 1b and 1c when arranged side by side form a schematic diagram of the embodiment in which provision is made after the hump to provide a weigh rail contactor WRC on approach track section AT followed by a primary retarder comprising two track sections MR1T and MR2T leading to two detector track sections 1-8T and 1-4T and storage tracks 1-8W and 1-4W. For simplicity only one approach track section 1-2AT is shown leading to a group retarder comprising two track sections 1-2GR1T and 1-2GR2T. The group retarder is followed by a switch 1-2W having a detector track section 1-2T which controls the routes to tracks T1 and T2. As the cut of vehicles passes section AT a weight signal is transmitted to the weight coding storage and transfer circuits 1. A computer 2 determines the desired group leaving speed V3 for each cut of wagons and this signal is supplied to storage unit 1-2GR1- ESU. The first section of the group retarder 1-2GR1T is provided with a pressure control unit 1-2GR1 which controls the braking force exerted by the first section of the group retarder in response to the action of combinations of intake control magnets 1HMM and 1LM or exhaust magnets 1X1M and 1X2M according to the loadings of the cuts of wagons. The pressure in the actuating cylinders of the retarder control 1-2GR1 is indicated by the response of Bourdon tubes 5, 6, 7 and 8 connected by a conduit 9 to an intake manifold (not shown) for the actuating cylinders. The second section of the group retarder 1-2GR2T is provided with a pressure control unit 1-2GR2 which is identical with the first pressure control unit except that the pressure control unit is provided with two Bourdon tubes 10 and 11. The speed of each cut is measured by radar velocity meters connected to suitable antennµ 17 and 19 through connections 18, 20. The leaving speed is computed by a computer 2 and is made available to speed control unit 13 associated with the first section of the group retarder from the electronic storage unit 1-2GR1-ESU. The computer leaving speed is made available to the secondary section of the group retarder from the storage unit 1-2GR2- ESU. These storage units provide output voltages between their output terminals c and d for application to the speed control units. The first and second sections of the group retarder have levers R1MC and R2MC respectively, each having a series of control contacts comprising contacts A which are closed for automatic operation of the apparatus, contacts H which are closed for manual control of a heavy or medium weight cut, contacts 2 which are closed for manual control of a light weight cut, and a set of contacts O which are closed when it is desired to open the retarder. Specifications 746,443, 811,821 and 903, 741 are referred to. Reference has been directed by the Comptroller to Specifications 746,443 and 811,821.