[PRCo] Re: Drum__Brakes_--_All-Electrics,__etc........

[Ken & Tracie]

Form Herb:

Were the air cars so poorly maintained or so deteriorated mechanically that 
you made it a point to change out for a 1700 whenever you had the "over the 
hill" run?

For anybody who recalls the 1727 runaway accident:

What caused the brakes to fail on 1727 when it ran away and derailed? That 
made the paper way out here in Las Vegas.

No broken air lines on that car... ;-)

K.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Herb Brannon" <hrbran at sbcglobal.net>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 27, 2007 7:28 AM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Drum__Brakes_--_All-Electrics,__etc........


> When mechanical 'things' (in this case a 1945 PCC streetcar, still 
> operating in 1975-76) get to a certain age, like humans, they start to 
> fall apart. Yes, it was the "Spirit of '76" car, and it had a bad air 
> leak. It would not have mattered if it would have had every type of air 
> applied brake known to mankind, it still would not have stopped without 
> any air pressure to apply the brakes. That brake system (air 
> applied/spring release), in my opinion, was one of the more stupid systems 
> devised. Couldn't at least one of the scores of engineers working on the 
> PCC project thought far enough to realize that a spring applied/air 
> released system would have been safer ???? They thought enought to put a 
> 'hand brake' on the car, why not a "fail safe" braking system?
> Boris Cefer <westinghouse at iol.cz> wrote:  Are you sure, Herb? 1776 was 
> formerly an interurban car with B-3 trucks and
> spring-applied drum brakes with air actuators (pressure-releasing).
>
> B
>
>
>
> Rise Up -- Go Cavs
>  Herb Brannon
>
>
>
>