Social Impact
When air brakes were introduced, people such as railroad tycoon Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt did not like them because they were from a young inventor.
“Do you pretend to tell me that you could stop trains with wind? I’ll give you to understand, young man; that I am too busy to have any time taken up in talking to a damned fool.” - Commodore Vanderbilt, American Railroads
People had been accustomed to manually applying brakes. Brakemen thought they might lose their jobs, so they decided that they would carry on with their dangerous job.
“Perfect coordination of mind and muscle [was] an absolute necessity.” Henry Clay French, Railroads: The Great American Adventure.
The brakemen thought that the automated brake (air brake) would take over their position, but the brakemen were still needed to connect the air hoses and inspect the under body of the train before it left the railroad yard. Similar to a lot of new developments in safety, after people saw the success of air brakes, they approved them.
“Do you pretend to tell me that you could stop trains with wind? I’ll give you to understand, young man; that I am too busy to have any time taken up in talking to a damned fool.” - Commodore Vanderbilt, American Railroads
People had been accustomed to manually applying brakes. Brakemen thought they might lose their jobs, so they decided that they would carry on with their dangerous job.
“Perfect coordination of mind and muscle [was] an absolute necessity.” Henry Clay French, Railroads: The Great American Adventure.
The brakemen thought that the automated brake (air brake) would take over their position, but the brakemen were still needed to connect the air hoses and inspect the under body of the train before it left the railroad yard. Similar to a lot of new developments in safety, after people saw the success of air brakes, they approved them.