Is there some place you can read (preferebably in easy language) about these various brake stands,what the distinguishing features were, maybe with a little history as to what problems each one was meant to over come. I know the 26 introduced the pressure maintaining feature.

Also, how about the suffixes? I've heard ET was engine and tender", was the correct, how about all the other ones?

Superheater@rrmail.com

> Also, how about the suffixes? I've heard ET
> was engine and tender", was the
> correct, how about all the other ones?

ET as in 6ET stands for Engine and Tender.

EL as in 14EL stands for Electric Locomotive.

BL as in 6BL stands for Branch Line.

The numbers and letters indicate differant air brake schedules. The number generally stands for the distributing valve used in the installation. Depending on single unit, type of service, etc. various other components are included. The standard set-ups were covered by the issued scheudles.

Other use of schedules are like the LN installed on passenger equipment c.1910. The valves used on this equipment were L-1, L-2 and L-3 triples depending on the size (weight) of the car.

AMU used on large "doodlebugs" stands for Automatic brakes Motor car Universal valve. AMU also used on electric commute cars and interurbans built using Universal valves U-4 or U-5. These U-valves were a predicessor to the U-12 for mainline passenger equipment. AML stood for Automatic Motor L-triple valve. Silimarly, if the first letter is a "S" that means single or straight as used on a single unit car without couplers and/or automatic brakes.

The #6 and the #14 distributing valves are very similar.

Brian Norden

bnorden49@earthlink.net

> Is there some place you can read
> (preferebably in easy language) about these
> various brake stands,what the distinguishing
> features were, maybe with a little history
> as to what problems each one was meant to
> over come. I know the 26 introduced the
> pressure maintaining feature.

> Also, how about the suffixes? I've heard ET
> was engine and tender", was the
> correct, how about all the other ones?

IIRC, the pressure maintaining feature was first offered on 24RL brake system. I can't say for sure what year it was first used, but C&O #614 had 24RL air brake (since replaced with 26) as well as some of the N&W steam power being built with 24RL.

drotarinoh@webtv.net

> IIRC, the pressure maintaining feature was
> first offered on 24RL brake system. I can't
> say for sure what year it was first used,
> but C&O #614 had 24RL air brake (since
> replaced with 26) as well as some of the
> N&W steam power being built with 24RL.

Pressure maintaining on the 24RL came about 1956, and could be retrofitted to older 24 brake stands. I doubt any 24-equipped steam power got that feature, though. Our 1957 Virginian electric (GE "E-33") was built with 24 pressure maintaining, as it was a freight locomotive. The 1960 New Haven FL9 (a passenger unit) has 24RL without the pressure maintaining feature.

hpincus@mindspring.com

Someone told me that the major functional difference between 24- and 26-schedule systems was the maintenance/overhaul cycle [2 years for 24-systems, 3 years for 26-systems]. True?

What other differences [aside from manufacture] might there be?

hi_plain@yahoo.com

> Someone told me that the major functional
> difference between 24- and 26-schedule
> systems was the maintenance/overhaul cycle
> [2 years for 24-systems, 3 years for
> 26-systems]. True?

> What other differences [aside from
> manufacture] might there be?

The biggest difference would be that a 26 brake is self-lapping, where a 24 requires the engineer to make the desired reduction, then place the handle in the lap position. With 26 and 30, the engineer simply moves the handle until the desired service reduction in equalizing res pressure is reached, and the brake stand does the rest...

Fiv4HghStk@aol.com

> The biggest difference would be that a 26
> brake is self-lapping, where a 24 requires
> the engineer to make the desired reduction,
> then place the handle in the lap position.
> With 26 and 30, the engineer simply moves
> the handle until the desired service
> reduction in equalizing res pressure is
> reached, and the brake stand does the
> rest...

In addition to being all "piston" with no sliding parts to mate some 26's have "frt" & "pass" mode.
In "frt" (freight) mode you can reduce the brake line pressure in increments but you can't incrementally increase it, you must go back to full release. In "pass" (passenger) mode you can decrease the brake line and increase the brake line just like an old streetcar.


lamontdc@adelphia.net

This relates to direct release and graduated release in freight and passenger cars, respectively.

In short, when you release the brakes on a freight car, they release completely; on a passenger car (if brakes are set up for graduated release) a partial increase in trainline pressure will produce a partial release on the cars.



Electric City Trolley Museum Association

> This relates to direct release and graduated
> release in freight and passenger cars,
> respectively.

Yes,you are absolutely correct ... BUT if you are running passenger cars in freight mode you cannot take advantage of the graduated release ...took us a while to catch on to that. So far the modified 26 system (no supression etc.) on ge13031 has been trouble free.


lamontdc@adelphia.net

> Pressure maintaining on the 24RL came about
> 1956, and could be retrofitted to older 24
> brake stands. I doubt any 24-equipped steam
> power got that feature, though. Our 1957
> Virginian electric (GE "E-33") was
> built with 24 pressure maintaining, as it
> was a freight locomotive. The 1960 New Haven
> FL9 (a passenger unit) has 24RL without the
> pressure maintaining feature.

I dunno Howard, some N&W stuff I have sez the last batches of steam Roanoke built used 24RL from the start because it had pressure maintaining. Interesting.........


drotarinoh@webtv.net

The PRR's GG-1 electrics were built with 24RL equipment, too.

If my memory serves me correctly, the pressure-maintaining feature on 24RL equipment was an add-on. Seems to me there was a blanking plate on the base of the stand that was replaced by a portion that provided that feature. I've operated locomotives fitted with 24RL and found it a fine system, though on some, the placement of the separate independent valve made running in reverse a pain in the tookus.

K$s1361@hotmail.com

I think I've encountered "S" as a suffix (6S and
8S) on small GE locos. I guess it means switcher
instead of Engine-Tender.

TyburnRR@cs.com

> Yes,you are absolutely correct ... BUT if
> you are running passenger cars in freight
> mode you cannot take advantage of the
> graduated release ...took us a while to
> catch on to that. So far the modified 26
> system (no supression etc.) on ge13031 has
> been trouble free.

The other big diference that no one has mentioned yet is that 26 equipement is a WHOLE lot cheaper to COTS, in addition to lasting a year longer!

Steve

SZuidervee@aol.com

> ET as in 6ET stands for Engine and Tender.

> EL as in 14EL stands for Electric
> Locomotive.

> BL as in 6BL stands for Branch Line.

> The numbers and letters indicate differant
> air brake schedules. The number generally
> stands for the distributing valve used in
> the installation. Depending on single unit,
> type of service, etc. various other
> components are included. The standard
> set-ups were covered by the issued
> scheudles.

> Other use of schedules are like the LN
> installed on passenger equipment c.1910. The
> valves used on this equipment were L-1, L-2
> and L-3 triples depending on the size
> (weight) of the car.

> AMU used on large "doodlebugs"
> stands for Automatic brakes Motor car
> Universal valve. AMU also used on electric
> commute cars and interurbans built using
> Universal valves U-4 or U-5. These U-valves
> were a predicessor to the U-12 for mainline
> passenger equipment. AML stood for Automatic
> Motor L-triple valve. Silimarly, if the
> first letter is a "S" that means
> single or straight as used on a single unit
> car without couplers and/or automatic
> brakes.

> The #6 and the #14 distributing valves are
> very similar.

> Brian Norden
When did 6BL come out? Were any steam locomotives originally equipped with it?
One of my old West. manuals mentions 5ET, but doesn't make it clear to me what the difference might be. Also, the early brake sys. that our #3 has is West. A1 with a G6 brake valve, so there is no dist. valve. I wonder what the #6 means in this instance. I believe the earlier version of the G6 was the F6 and the main difference was the feed valve. The earlier had something called an excess pressure valve in place of the B6/C6 feed valve.


http://www.svry.com
jamesbane@hotmail.com

> G6 brake valve. I
> wonder what the #6 means in this instance.
> B6/C6 feed valve.
I think that a letter suffix is usually
used on a complete schedule or set of brake
equipment (6S), while a letter prefix is used
on a particular component, like sander, feed,
independent, or automatic valve (S6). But I
think there are 6KR distributing valves!
In some cases, I think its possible for a
complete set with a higher number to have a
component with a lower number, possibly
because not every part was "new and improved".
Thanks for everyone's help.

104577.651@compuserve.com