For all of You Train Lovers

[Photon440]

Stuck to the side or end of just about every single rail car out there, this little device is called a 'retainer'. And that's what it does, it retains air.

The handle is normally down, as shown, which allows air to escape. This is where the air come out when the brakes are released and air is let out of the brake pistons. The purpose of the valve is to prevent release, which means the brakes stay on. This feature is used on long downhill grades where constant braking may be needed, such as a mine siding. Using the brakes means depleting the compressed air in the reservoirs, and adding air from the locomotive to refill the reservoirs also signals the brakes to release.By turning the valve, the crew can keep the brakes on while at the same time fully charge the train with more air. It does mean that one of the crew has to walk the length and turn each of those valves. There are three settings with notched detents; full release, full retain and slow release.

As shown, it's a black plastic valve. Back when I started, these were all a fairly heavy brass casting, not only costing a lot more but being a tempting target for metal thieves.

 

[Photon440]

You've probably seen a little black stencil somewhere on every car (that wasn't painted over with graffiti).

The 'ABD, ABD' refers to the type of brake valves (called 'Portions') on the car. The top letters are for the main service portions, while the second row shows what kind of emergency portion is used. Newer cars usually have more modern valve designs with names such as ABDWX to indicate their purpose. For example, a short car such as this gondola picture would need a different brake control application compared to a much longer or heavier car with different brakes. Simple cars have a large brake piston with a series of rods and levers to send the application force to all eight brake shoes, while more complex designs may have one or two pistons on each individual truck. Different amounts of application air mean different valves, and the car designers chose which will fit the intended service.

As you see, this is an old car, built in 1958. It's only used for company service, in this case for hauling away old railroad ties.

 

[Builderguy]

Where I grew up, but a little later! Photo of Ironwood, MI and the Iron Mines 1880-1899

 

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and we thought train spotting was a new thing

 

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[DeltaV]

 

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[Richard Cranium]

 

[Richard Cranium]

 

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