Document Evd5DgxXKgk86KBBVN8g0x4eL

456 Txcenty-second Congress--National Safety Council na*| handle converting rt into a brake dab should not be perwilled. Sadi a stick, frequently made of inferior material, is liable to break when stress is exerted against it, resulting in personal injury. Brake duhs shoold be selected from the very best of material. Z The imponaucc and necessity of securing ecery car left standing on a heavy grade, at way statinas and at isolated points, shutdd be stressed. 3. In controlling the speed of several cars that are being Indeed or switched mvr a hump in the yard, or on bravy grades, the operator should not depend on cmc hand brake to control a greater number of cars than may be fully retarded with that annum of braking power. If necessary the brakes should be applied on several on. The bracket platform cm the ends of high cars is favored instead of the deck Watwn as it is quicker to ascend to tins location and h permits the operator to bare a double hold at all times--once he is positioned on the bracket platform he b enabled to natch in both directions, which b a decided advantage over the deck type of brake. Operation of Air Brakes By MARK PURCELL General Air Brake Inspector, Northern Pacific Railway, St. Paul, Mina. The speaker said in part: Mr. George Wcstingbbasc invented the "Plain Auto matic** Air Brake in I87Z The automatic feature resulted from the obtaining of an indirect aiqdication of the brakes through the medium of a valve device called a triple valve, and an atxxsHary storage reservoir, which were added to the brake cylinder on each car. The fiitV automatic ar brake was a great improvemott in many resperts over the straight air brake, but chiefly from an emergency or safety point of view. Much of the ftcxihOhy (ability of the operator to increase or decrease the cylinder pres sure quickly and in snail amounts) for ordinary service brake operation had to be sacrificed. This brake served the purpose fairly well while trains were short speeds, weight and frequency of trains low, but as these factors clanged, its limitations became more and mere apparent, particularly with reference to emergency operatiaa. The propagating operation was too slow with long trains, wind) resulted in severe interchange of slack doe to brakes becoming heavily applied on the forward portion of the train before the application had time to take hold on the cars farther hack toward the rear. This limitation was overcome to a great extent by the invention of the "Quick .Action Triple Valve" in 1887 and -the equipment with which it was used came to be known as "Quid: Action Automatic Brake." The quick action triple valve was developed by adding to the plain triple valve parts which bmoght about a local tenting of brake pipe pressure m emergency applications, and thus cawed a rapid serial application throughout the length of the train so that the tunc for the ftdl application of all brakes on a 50-car train was reduced to about erne-sixth of what inherent with (dam triple valves, and shocks arc therefore lessened to a grot degree and the distance for stopping grotty reduced. Two of the features that exert a governing influence on braking are: First, the adhesion between the car wheels and the rails: this varies to considerable extent due to rati and wheel conditions, but changes little when the vehicle is moving as compared to when it b standing. Second, the adhesion, or friction between the brake shoes and the wheels. This latter b greater when standing than when running and varies widely with a change from low to high speed and rke versa. The per- Safciy Section ARA--Steam Railroad Section NSC 457 centsge of brake power used b based upon the empty weight oi tltc car, unless an empty and load type of brake is used. For a long time it has hern customary to we a somewhat higher percentage of brake power on passenger than on freight train cquijmwt. Due to passenger train speed generally being greater than that of freight trains, making grater braking power necessary if stops are to be made in similar distances, the amount of brainpower necessary to stop in the same dis tance increases as the square of the increase of .Cpccd: that is. if speed b doubled, it requires four times as much braking power. To take rare of the many conditions that affect the safety and economy of tram operation, from a brake control point of view, such as the progressive increase in weight of cars, longer trams, high speeds, greater weight and power of locomotives and greater frequency of trains, has necessitated several corresponding changes n brake equipment for passenger and freight cars and far locomotives. Getting On and Off Cars By J. B. SULLIVAN Road Master, C R. L I P. Railway. Butt Oak, HL The puid m part: Quoting from the records of train service accidents. 1 find the following: Year 1930, 5,451 accidents in which 441 persons were lolled and SjOlO injured; year 1931. 443 accidents in which 447 persons were killed and 4,096 injured; year 1932. 4,466 accidents in which 520 persons were killed and 3.946 were injured. Thoe records further show that but four train service accidents and four casualties were caused by defective equipment, atl of which goes to show that practically all those deaths and injuries were directly traceable to the old human element, better known as man failure. A great many of those injuries were caused by alighting from cars on unfavorable terrain, such as ice, switch stands, timbers and ties, redo, lumps of coal, holes in the ground, etc. Alighting from, or trying to board cars moving at excessive speed, b also conducive to injury and should not be attempted. The props- way to get off a moving car is. first, face the direction of movement; second, place the inside foot on lows tread of >31 step; third, grasp convenicrt tread of side ladder (depending on height of person) with inside of band. When sure of the ground an which yon are about to alight. Is go with hand hold, remove foot from sill step and with body slightly inclined backward and legs partly flexed, alight on outside foot, using the other foot to overcome momentum. To get on a moving car, grasp a convenient grab-iron or tread of side ladder firmly and swing the inside foot onto the lower tread of step. Practice, natural agflity. a sense of timing and jodge of distance, all go toward simplifying the movements until they become almost second nature. The standardizing of safety appliances, such as sill steps, grab-irons, side ladders and such, although considered adverse legislation at the time of its inception, proved to be a Messing in disguise and their uniformity has done more in my estimation to eliminate casualties than any other thing. But it b to the unsung hero of the railroads that I would dedicate this This b the man that b known in railroad parlance as the "end man** or "pin poller" on a switching crew. Invariably the youngest man on the crew In p>"t of set vice, he has more mounts, dismounts and remounts than all of the jockeys in America put together, with all of Unde Sam's cavalry men thrown in for good measure. On u