4 ms·

Wait, there's no pneumatic brake on US trains?

• mschuster91 3y ago
  That's not foolproof - if someone forgets to open the valves during train assembly on the yard, it may not be detected that a train has split.
  • iggldiggl 3y ago
    That's why you should be doing a brake continuity check before departing… (Of course that's not entirely foolproof, either, and there have been accidents caused e.g. by a lack of braking power because the brake pipe wasn't fully connected throughout the full train.)
    • KptMarchewa 3y ago
      Yeah, on Polish railways there's always brake check on the last carriage. > (Of course that's not entirely foolproof, either, and there have been accidents caused e.g. by a lack of braking power because the brake pipe wasn't fully connected throughout the full train.) Can you specify what you mean? If the pipe wasn't properly connected, it shouldn't start at all, because the system needs pressure to release the brakes.
      • mschuster91 3y ago
        > Can you specify what you mean? If the pipe wasn't properly connected, it shouldn't start at all, because the system needs pressure to release the brakes. These pneumatic systems leak. You're not allowed to park a train for longer than 24h in Germany if it is purely secured with air pressure for that reason - if it's a particularly bad composition, you seriously risk having no pressure anywhere in the system by that time, and thus no brakes being applied.
        • CapstanRoller 3y ago
          Aren't train brake systems safe by default? I thought air pressures released the brakes, not activated them.