"Bottling the Air"

[NW Mailing List]

Gene

Technically I would seriously doubt that.

What was done on what you saw, and someone who actually was a  
brakeman/conductor like Jeff could confirm. In Bluefield yard, and  
other places, the cars were set out on tracks, and a certain number  
of cars had hand brakes tied down. That would depend on the size of  
the cut as to how many brakes were tied down. Once hand brakes were  
tied down, the switch engine would cut off, the air on the cut was  
dumped, causing an emergency application, but hand brakes had already  
been applied. Over time, the air system would leak off, depending on  
how long they had sat.

Once the yard shifter came in and coupled on to the cut, and applied  
its independent brake (for the locomotive) to hold it all in place.  
The brake systems on the cars had probably sat long enough that most  
if not all the air had bleed off the system, but the brakemen would  
walk along the cut to the triple valve on each car, and bleed off the  
remaining air, to release all air brakes. The brakemen did not couple  
the air line, therefore the hand brakes were all that would hold the  
cut. The hand brakes would still be on, once the air had been bleed,  
the brakemen would go along and release the hand brakes, the switch  
engine would pull back out, with the cut, into the clear, then shove  
the cut towards where they were to be put, if they were sorting cars,  
one man would pull the cut lever between the cars, and a brakeman  
would ride the cut, if needed for controlling the speed with the hand  
brake, while the cars rolled down into its track and couple with the  
other cars in that track, the brakeman would tie down the hand  
brakes, and the go back and do it again with another cut, etc.

Generally handing rolling cars, not coupled to a locomotive, was  
rarely done with air in the system. As Harry reported, air pumping  
can take some time to fill the entire train line. You used to see  
with the diesels, running at high RPMs while standing, the engineer,  
is running the diesel up to run the compressor faster, and pump air  
through the train quicker. A number of factors can determine how long  
it takes to pump a train, including, of course, train length, cold  
weather, how many leaks are in the system and how much initial  
terminal time that crew wants to report on their time sheet! I've  
heard of occasions where it would take several hours of pumping time  
to release all the brakes in a coal train.

In my younger days, when I was riding my bicycle down to the track,  
I'd sit and watch, and see eastbound coal trains get stopped by the  
signal at VN before going into South Yard, once the signal cleared,  
it might take them 30-45 minutes to pump air before they moved, and  
that was in good weather. They were great days, and I wish I had the  
interest and time to do that today, but alas, I have neither today.

Ken Miller

On Oct 25, 2010, at 9:12 AM, NW Mailing List wrote:


> Ken;

>

> Bluefield had a natural grade in both the East and West yard with  

> the high point being in the area of the Round House. I remember as  

> a young fellow in the East End of Bluefield, watching the "yard  

> shifters" sorting the cars. There would be a number of cars  

> released to freely roll to an appointed switch to make up trains.  

> The Yard brakeman with his brake stick would control the speed  

> until making couple with the other cars. I remember watching the  

> men try to time the coupling just right and jump up in the air so  

> as to miss the coming jolt of the sudden stop. I assume that free  

> roll had to be done by "bottling the air", which was a common  

> practice even in the late 50's. Also I remember watching "road  

> shifters" push cars up to a speed and then stopping the locomotive  

> allowing the cars to run freely though a switch, either coming to a  

> stop on their own, or making couple with other cars.

>

> Gene Arnold

>

>

> "Bottling the air" which I think, is now prohibited by most rule

> books, means to close the angle cock (air line) on both ends of the

> car or cut of cars before separating them from the train. That way,

> air stays in the system, and does not dump the air to emergency on

> that car or cut of cars. It is, among other things, made to speed up

> operations, as with air already in the train line of those cars, it

> means that the locomotive air compressor, does not have to run as long

> to pump air back into the system, which can be a considerable amount

> of time, meaning the crew can get underway sooner.

>

> If the air is dumped from the car or cars, it sets those brake systems

> into emergency, and to release those brakes, the air system has to be

> pumped up again from the locomotive. By bottling the air, it means

> that only hand brakes, or chocks may be holding the cut of cars in

> place, which can lead to a drift off, or runaway, or difficulty

> coupling if the brakes are not holding well.

>

> Ken Miller

>

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