From: wb8foz@panix.com   
      
   John Albert  writes:   
      
      
   >Absolutely astounding that the instructions would state to leave the   
   >train air brakes on a standing and unattended train IN RELEASE.   
      
   >If the air is available, why not leave the air brakes applied? Modern   
   >brake equipment has a pressure-maintaining feature that will maintain   
   >the brake pipe (and the application) where it's set, for extended   
   >periods of time.   
      
   >As someone who ran trains for 32 years, this makes no sense to me.   
      
      
   A) Are you referring (re: Modern...) to the locomotive brakes,   
   or the consist's? Per this thread (& others here, perhaps), I'm   
   still confused as to how signle-pipe Westinghouse Air Brakes can   
   ever be used as parking brakes.   
      
   B) Re: ...air is available: Safety systems should be fail-safe,   
   not fail-fatality. Even without a fire, it appears a compressor   
   failure or merely running out of #1 Diesel fuel would cause the   
   [locomotive] brakes to, as in this case, fail. Ergo, there's   
   little but false security in setting them.   
      
      
      
      
      
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