Practical Considerations
The automatic vacuum brake as described represented a considerable technical advance in train braking. In practice steam locomotives had two ejectors, a small ejector for running purposes (to exhaust air that had leaked into the train pipe) and a large ejector to release brake applications. Later Great Western Railway practice was to use a vacuum pump instead of the small ejector.
The driver's brake valve was usually combined with the steam brake control on the locomotive.
Release valves are provided on the brake cylinders; when operated, usually by manually pulling a cord near the cylinder, air is admitted to the upper part of the brake cylinder on that vehicle. This is necessary to release the brake on a vehicle that has been uncoupled from a train and now requires to be moved without having a brake connection to another locomotive, for example if it is to be shunted.
In the UK the pre-nationalisation railway companies standardised around systems operating on a vacuum of 21 inches of mercury (533.4 Torr), with the exception of the Great Western Railway, which used 25 inches of mercury (635 Torr). An absolute vacuum is about 30 inches of mercury (760 Torr), depending on atmospheric conditions.
This difference in standards could cause problems on long distance cross-country services when a GWR locomotive was replaced with another company's engine, as the new engine's large ejector would sometimes not be able to fully release the brakes on the train. In this case the release valves on each vehicle in the train would have to be released by hand. This time consuming process was frequently seen at large GWR stations such as Bristol Temple Meads.
The provision of a train pipe running throughout the train enabled the automatic vacuum brake to be operated in emergency from any position in the train. Every guard's compartment had a brake valve, and the passenger communication apparatus (usually called "the communication cord" in lay terminology) also admitted air into the train pipe at the end of coaches so equipped.
When a locomotive is first coupled to a train, or if a vehicle is detached or added, a brake continuity test is carried out, to ensure that the brake pipes are connected throughout the entire length of the train.
Read more about this topic: Vacuum Brake
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