The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-02-07
STOPPING A TRAIN
Many Things Combine to Make II
an Uncertain Operation.
THE NUMBER OF CARS COUNT

Ing Power and tho Temperature Of
tho Rails-Freight Trains More IN
certain Than Passenger Trains.
SIN what distance can 4 train be
brought to stop? Well that de-
pends,' said the grizzled engineer.
with a hand like a hmm and an eye
that could see red, white and green a
mile away down a silvery track THAT
depends, son, and the more think Of
1t the more realize how it depends
on circumstances.
I'm the first place, it depends on the
number Of cars you have on your
train. The fewer cars you have the
quicker you can stop. Ell? Well that's
where you're dead wrong The engi-
neer rested his gnarled fist across his
knee as if it We're fifteen pound
monkey wrench. Yes. sir" he re-
peated. "if you've got that idea you're
wrong. just like folks are likely to be
on railroad matters which they don't
know anything about Now the fact
is that certain type of engine can be
4
freight cars hooked on to it. That's
so because there are brakes on each of
the cars and they all grind into the
wheels when you sling on the emer-
gency. Why wouldn't ii stop quicker
If you had dozen cars on instead or
six? Well. sonny. for the simple rea-
son that the weight Of the tr'-..1. or.
rather the momentum. oyercomes the
braking strength of your air, and so
you're carried along. If you had less
than six cars it would be just 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 to make the
train most effective when it comes to
stopping quickly. This is very prac-
teal question too An engineer will
say to 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.
II once heard an engineer say that
an engine with baggage car and two
passenger coaches travelling at the rate
i of thirty-iive miles an hour would re-
: ouire about GOO feet to stop and tray
3 cling at twenty-five miles an hour
!, would require 400 feet to halt. Now,
$ he was Just guessing. or else he had a
particular train and particular condi-
/ tons in mind and most likely partic.
e ular times in mind The fact is you
d can't tell within what distance traiT
can be stopped.
d "Why. tukc the same type Of engine
n and the same type Of coaches and ruI
e them over the same track and appl.
C the brakes in precisely the same man
) ner and the two trains will not stoI
8 in the same distance of track Indeed
l. take the same train over the very
5, same track at different times. run he1
= at exactly the same speed and appl,
Il the brakes in the very same mannel
n. and you can't stop in the same DIS
! lance. Engineers would like to stop a
q each station at precisely the same spo
g that they did the day before. DO the.
o ever do it? No. son. they don't. be
, cause it can't be done.
n 1.-THE stopping of a train depends OF
conditions. Just as said before. En-
gineers who have travelled over par
!, ticular roatl for years can't do it. Some
:, times the conditions vary TO such al
= extent that the train is run past tn
:, station Everybody has seen that done
: And then the engineer says things IN
- der his breath and backs up his trail
J, to let the passengers on and TO tax
on baggage. Sonny. engineers neve
:. know within yards where their train
- will stop.
- Freight trains are more uncertain
= than passengers. This is so because
= doesn't matter as much. An applica
ton of ten pounds Of air may produc
~ no braking at all, due to the wear o
the system and. on the other hand, fl
u teen pounds might put on more brak
IS than the engineer wanted. He ma
II. throw on a small quantity of air, an
lie without expecting it the emergenc
a. brakes get into action rs result
n When the brakes are already on tn
" engineer may release them little an
e. by so doing release them entirely. S
that the train leaps forward. So, yo
ly see. you can't always tell what tn
he brakes are going to do
er You wouldn't suppose that the ten
e. perature of the rails would make an
al difference about brakes. would you
an It's fact 4 rule of thumb is that
as train will brake twice rs quickly
al. the winter as in the summer. III
an. wheels stick TO the rails more whe
NV they are cold. The scientific folk tie
he you that the cohesion is greater. An
is another thing. the oil on the rail whe
II is warm is more slippery. All II
- steel rods. pipes, etc. on a warm ia
ar are expanded, and so they have
move through greater distances TO b
:. come effective. When they are co
-. tracted by the cold the brakes grip Il
:, wheels that much quicker and tight
- with the same amount Of air that "
applied on warm day
~ You see sonny. every road In Il
u country keeps tabs on the temperate