Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
APPENDIX C
Compiling this list of railroad terms was one of the more interest-
ing exercises involved in writing this topic. I'm sure that sounds
strange, but researching gave me a much better understanding
of basic railroad operations. Furthermore, since the book first
appeared, a number of people said they read straight through this
list—from
air brake
to
yellow eye—
and found it to be as interest-
ing as any other chapter. (I thought that over and decided to take
it as a compliment.)
Railroad Terms
air brake:
The standard braking system used on both passenger and
freight cars. Compressed air is used to hold the brake shoe away
from the cars' wheels. When air pressure is reduced, the brakes
are applied. This concept has an important impact on safety:
should anything go wrong with the system, the brakes are auto-
matically applied. Every car on the train, including the locomo-
tive, has its own brakes. The braking system for the whole train is
controlled by the engineer in the locomotive. Sometimes—when
a train is backing into a station, for example—the brakes can be
applied by the conductor operating a special valve in the vesti-
bule of the last car.
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