Emergency stopping brakes

[suzanneparis]

Parachutes out of the back like the space shuttle??

 

[najaB]

Parachutes out of the back like the space shuttle??

Can't tell if you're being serious or not, but no.

 

[suzanneparis]

It was a joke. But I rather like the idea.

 

[Strat-tastic]

Trap doors in the coaches so that passengers can dig their heels in, Flinstones style.

 

[375610]

Parachutes out of the back like the space shuttle??

Not completely ridiculous...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4621217.stm

 

[najaB]

Not completely ridiculous...

Though worth noting that the 'ears' didn't make it into the production trains.

 

[randyrippley]

why not just use drag anchors on stretchy cables that hook into the sleepers? Far more efficient than parachutes?
More seriously surely there must be a way of using something akin to the Fell rail brake that just clamps onto the normal rail heads so giving extra surface contact? I realise points would need some thinking about

 

[najaB]

why not just use drag anchors on stretchy cables that hook into the sleepers? Far more efficient than parachutes?
More seriously surely there must be a way of using something akin to the Fell rail brake that just clamps onto the normal rail heads so giving extra surface contact?

There is. Magnetic track brakes. As discussed about ten posts ago, with pictures and everything.

 

[randyrippley]

There is. Magnetic track brakes. As discussed about ten posts ago, with pictures and everything.

I realise that, but I was thinking more on the lines of pure friction - or even rheostatic with drag wheels clamping onto the rail head. Simpler technology than electromagnets

 

[AndrewE]

I realise that, but I was thinking more on the lines of pure friction - or even rheostatic with drag wheels clamping onto the rail head. Simpler technology than electromagnets

"drag wheels clamping onto the rail head" does not sound any simpler than the electro-magnet that just sticks to the rails and, as pointed out earlier, the power of rheostatic braking diminishes with the speed (and still depends on wheel-rail adhesion, unlike the electromagnetic option.)

 

[najaB]

I realise that, but I was thinking more on the lines of pure friction - or even rheostatic with drag wheels clamping onto the rail head. Simpler technology than electromagnets

What 'simpler technology' is going to allow your drag wheels to provide significant braking effect when needed, but not interfere with normal operation?

And rheostatic braking has more moving parts than magnetic track brakes.

 

[Domh245]

What 'simpler technology' is going to allow your drag wheels to provide significant braking effect when needed, but not interfere with normal operation?

Any system like that will also likely lead to damage to either the permanent way or the train itself, which in both cases is not great.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Any system like that will also likely lead to damage to either the permanent way or the train itself, which in both cases is not great.

A bit like the "Schwellenpflug" in World War 2 then...