A system for detecting the operational status of a brake system on a railcar of a train consist, the system comprising: a sensor located on the railcar and configured to generate an output indicative of a magnitude of a braking force applied by the braking system; and a computing device communicatively coupled to the sensor and comprising a computer-readable storage medium comprising one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to: receive from the sensor an indication of the magnitude of a braking force applied by the braking system in response to an instruction to increase or decrease the braking force; compare the response to possible responses of the braking system to the instruction to increase or decrease the braking force; and based on the comparison, generate at least one of a message and an alert indicating the status of the brake system, the system further comprising: a pressure sensing device communicatively coupled to the computing device and configured to measure air pressure within a brake pipe of the railcar, wherein the pressure sensing device comprises an analog pressure sensor and digital pressure switch, where the pressure sensor is configured to begin sampling the air pressure when the digital pressure switch senses an increase or decrease in the air pressure above or below a predetermined threshold. a sensor located on the railcar and configured to generate an output indicative of a magnitude of a braking force applied by the braking system; and a computing device communicatively coupled to the sensor and comprising a computer-readable storage medium comprising one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the computing device to: receive from the sensor an indication of the magnitude of a braking force applied by the braking system in response to an instruction to increase or decrease the braking force; compare the response to possible responses of the braking system to the instruction to increase or decrease the braking force; and based on the comparison, generate at least one of a message and an alert indicating the status of the brake system, receive from the sensor an indication of the magnitude of a braking force applied by the braking system in response to an instruction to increase or decrease the braking force; compare the response to possible responses of the braking system to the instruction to increase or decrease the braking force; and based on the comparison, generate at least one of a message and an alert indicating the status of the brake system, the system further comprising: a pressure sensing device communicatively coupled to the computing device and configured to measure air pressure within a brake pipe of the railcar, wherein the pressure sensing device comprises an analog pressure sensor and digital pressure switch, where the pressure sensor is configured to begin sampling the air pressure when the digital pressure switch senses an increase or decrease in the air pressure above or below a predetermined threshold. a pressure sensing device communicatively coupled to the computing device and configured to measure air pressure within a brake pipe of the railcar, wherein the pressure sensing device comprises an analog pressure sensor and digital pressure switch, where the pressure sensor is configured to begin sampling the air pressure when the digital pressure switch senses an increase or decrease in the air pressure above or below a predetermined threshold.