Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1910-11-02
STOPPING 4 train
Many Things Combine to Make II
an Uncertain Operation.
THE NUMBER OF CARS COUNT
Likewise the Momentum, and the Brak-
ing Power and the Temperature Of
the Rais-FreishS Trains More Un-
certain Than Passenger Trains.

the hails-FreiShS Trains More Un-
certain Than Passenger Trains.
I'm what distance can a train be
brought 10 stopy Wei. that de-
Ponds" said the grizzled engineer.
with n hand ike ham and an eye
that could sec rel. white and green a
mile away down silvcry track. That
depends. son. and The more think Of
II the more I reaiize how II depends
on circumstances.
In the first place. il depends on the
number Of cars you have on your
train. The fewer cars you have the
quicker you can stop. eh2 Well. that's
where you're dead wrong" The engi-
ueer rested his gnarled fist across his
knee as II il were a fifteen pound
monkey wrench. Yes. sir" he re-
peated, III you've got that idea you're
wrong. inst like folks are likely TO be
on railroad matters which they don't
know anything about Now. the fact
is that a certain type of engine can be
stopped quicker il IL has n half dozen
freight ears hooked on 10 IL. That's
the cars. and they all grind into the
wheels when you sling on the emer-
gency. Why wouldn't il stop quicker
II you had dozen cars on instead Of
six? Well. sonny. for the simple rea-
son that the weight OF the train. or,
rather. the momentum. overcomes the
braking strength of your air. and so
you're carried along. II YOU had less
than six cars il would bc lust the
other way-you wouldn't have enough
braking power TO overcome what
weight you have got. Yes. sir. with
every freight train and with every
passenger train there is certain
number OF cars necessary 10 make the
train most effective when it comes to
stopping quickly. This is Il very prac-
teal question TOO. An engineer viii
say 10 himself Well I've got more
cars on today; I'll have to put on
brakes sooner In order to stop just
right at the station
Il once heard an engineer say that
an engine with Il baggage car and two
passenger coaches travelling at the rate
Of thirty-tive miles an hour would re-
cling ut twenty-five miles an hour
would require 400 feet to halt. Now,
he was just guessing. or else be had a
particular train and particular condi-
tons in mind and most likely partic-
ular times IN mind. The fact IS you
can't tell within what distance a train
can be stopped.
why. take the same type OF engine
and the same type OF coaches and run
them over the same track and apply
the brakes in precisely the same man
ner and the two trains will not stop
in the same distance OF track. Indeed,
take the same train over the very
same track at different times. run her
M exactly the same speed and apply
the brakes 10 the very same manner
and you can't stop in the same dis
lance. Engineers would like 20 stop at
each station at precisely the same spot
that they did the day before. DO they
ever do Il: No. son. they don't. be-
cause IL cant be done
The stopping Of a train depends on
conditions. just as / said before. En-
Gineers who have travelled over n par
ticular road tor years can't do II. Some
times the conditions vary to such an
extent tina, the train is run past the
station. Every body has seen that done
And then tie engineer says things un,
der his breath and backs up his train
10 let the passengers on and 10 take
on baggage Sonny. engineers never
know within yards whore their trains
will stop.
Freight trains are more uncertain
than passengers. This is so because ii
/ doesn't matter as much An applica.
/ ton OF ten pounds OF air may produce
no braking nj all. due To the wear OF
/ the system. and. ON the other hand, fif
teen pounds might put on more brake
than the engineer wanted. He may
throw on small quantity Of air. and
without expecting IL the emergency
brakes get into action as n result
When the brakes are already on the
I engineer may release them a little and
by SO doing release them entirely, 81
that the train leaps forward. So, yoJ
see. you can't always tell what tn,
brakes are going to DO.
You wouldn't suppose that the tenn
perature of the rails would make any
/ difference about brakes would you
It's fact. \ rule of thumb IS that {
train will brake twice as quickly IL
the winter as in the summer Thu
wheels stick 10 the rails more wheI
they are cold. The scientific folk tel
you that the cohesion is greater. And
another thing. the oil on the rail wheI
1t is warm is more slippery. All tn,
steel rods. pipes. etc. on warm day
are expanded. and so they have t
move through greater distances to be
come effective. When they are con
tracted by the cold the brakes grip th,
wheels that much quicker and Tighter
with the same amount OF air that yoJ
applied on a warm day
You see. sonny. every road in thu
country keeps tabs on the temperatur,
three or four times day all alon,
its lines. Temperature Is quite al
important thing IN railroading. Al
this goes TO show that there is quite {
lot OF science in running trains. AND
l never saw man yet who had beer
IN the service so long that he couidn'
learn a heap Of things The fellow.
who think about their business ar,
always learning New York Tribune