[PRCo] Re: Air Brakes - CERA Trolley Sparks 85

[Fred Schneider]

Not in any great detail.

On Dec 8, 2007, at 1:07 PM, Boris Cefer wrote:

> Does any bulletin put light on the development of shaft brakes for  
> PCC cars?
>
> B
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Fred Schneider" <fwschneider at comcast.net>
> To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
> Sent: Friday, December 07, 2007 10:04 PM
> Subject: [PRCo] Air Brakes - CERA Trolley Sparks 85
>
>
> This is an open letter to Mark Maguire and to anyone else who cares
> to read it.
>
> To Mark because he once asked me to try to teach him about streetcar
> control.
>
> Central Electric Railfans Association (CERA) published a bulletin in
> 1949 authored by David G. Blaine, who worked for Westinghouse Air
> Brake and is probably long since pushing up daisies, on the subject
> of streetcar air brakes.   I just now found a xerox copy that I had
> filed in my desk drawer at home.  Ed Lybarger cleaned that drawer out
> and it was in a box here.   I think I also have an original copy of
> the book at home that the princess is holding hostage as part of the
> divorce.   They may still be there five years from now in the same
> boxes rotting in the garage.
>
> At any rate, if someone wants to find an original in a used book
> collection, you are looking for CERA Trolley Sparks, Bulletin 85,
> June-July-August 1949.
>
> This particular booklet, 17 pages in length (some pages must be
> missing in the xerox) deals only with straight air systems.       My
> copy has two piping drawings.  One shows a type SME (Straight Air -
> Motor Car - Electric) for a motor trailer set.   The second drawing
> is for safety car control but only a single-end car.
>
> He mentions several later improvements, including relay valves, self
> lapping brake valves and variable load valves but does not include
> piping diagrams or drawings.   The relay valve is a separate valve
> mounted on or close to the brake cylinder which controls the actual
> air application.   It is actuated by a small diameter pipe from the
> motorman's valve.   Because only a small amount of air moving through
> a very small diameter pipe from the platform valve is needed to make
> it work, it permits much more rapid applications and release.   As an
> aside from Fred, the Melbourne, Australia, cars which Gomaco has
> scrapped in order to produce the pseudo Birneys for Little Rock,
> Memphis and Tampa had relay valves.   Therefore those new so called
> "Birney cars" in the U. S. have relay valves and the brakes are very
> fast acting compared to cars made between 1916 and 1930.   (Mark:
> Now that you have run PST 78, you need to go over to Tampa and
> observe just how fast the brakes on those cars apply and release.)
>
> Dave Blaine also mentions the West Penn track brake technology and
> PCC air brake and dynamic brake technology.
>
> I think that there was a subsequent CERA booklet covering AMUE
> designs (Automatic, Multiple Unit, Electric)
>
> Blain also provides an appendage of Westinghouse apparatus ...
> compressor stock number and how to decode them (i.e. what AC, A, AA,
> B, BB, C, D, DH, UH meant and what the numbers afterward meant.
> DH-16 for example was a bungalow compressor putting out 16 cubic feet
> of air per minute.   He also decodes the mysteries of all the brake
> valves.
>
> What he does not do, very sadly, is comment on the competitor's
> products.   If you see a CP-27 compressor, it was made by General
> Electric.   He does not mention that General Electric was even in the
> business.   David worked for Westinghouse Air Brake.
>
> I WILL LEAVE THIS LAY ON THE DINING ROOM TABLE FOR A FEW DAYS.   IF
> ANYONE WANTS A COPY, I'LL TAKE IT TO OFFICE DEPOT AND RUN IT ACROSS
> THEIR MACHINE.   WHOEVER WANTS IT PAYS WHATEVER IT COSTS ME.   SEND
> MAILING ADDRESS.   AND REMEMBER, YOU'LL BE GETTING A COPY OF A
> XEROX.   WILL NOT BE AS SHARP AS A FIRST GENERATION COPY.
>
> Next time I go to PTM, it goes to the library and you've lost the
> opportunity.
>
> Fred Schneider
> EMail or 717 560-2091
>