Quote:
Originally Posted by Foghut
Ok Les, here's some questions for you. (I don't know the first thing about locos, as I only ever drive EMUs).
1) If a loco like a 66 is dead and all the air has leaked out of the main res and brake cylinders, does it have a spring operated safety brake, or will it run away if you haven't applied a handbrake ?
2) If you are in tandem with another 66 (so that presumably you're effectively hauling it dead), do you have to isolate the brakes on the other unit, or what do you do ?
TIA
Foggy
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Simple answer to point one is yes it will run away if the parking brake is not applied and/or scotched.
Point two is yes we isolate the brake unit, also known as the E70, from inside the clean air air compartment, What this does, in laymans terms is it stops the brake pipe control on the DIT loco but allows the brakes to apply when operated from the lead loco.
It gets a bit more complicated if the loco is a failure and gets assistance from the rear, We have to isolate the E70 and the AFT cock (assistance to failed trains) which allows us to move the train with the failed loco dead therefore unable to maintain 72.5psi in the brake pipe, used only to clear the line so that a working loco can be put on the front of the train.
Not forgetting that a brake test MUST be carried out after attaching a loco to the failed train.
Hope you can understand that basic explanation, its harder to explain than do.
Les