The Turning Point
Air brakes were a turning point because passengers and railroad employees had been dying and getting maimed. There were so many deaths that were happening. People thought the adrenaline of tip-toeing with death was part of life. When the idea of air brakes came to mind, people shunned them because they were used to the danger of the hand brake. Some people thought they were a hoax. There were some initial tests of the air brakes, like a passenger train in New England.
“It is said of that invention that it has saved more lives in centuries of warfare have destroyed.” The New York Times editorial. The New York Times.
"During my terms as public service, also, there have been four appliances, either introduced into use or now struggling for American recognition, my sense of value of which in connection with the railroad system, to both the travelling and general public, I could not easily overstate. These appliances are the Miller Platform and Buffer, the Westinghouse Brake, and the Interlocking and Electrical Signal Systems." Charles Francis Adams. Notes on Railroad Accidents.
“An immense train was hurled down the steep grade into Burlington at 40 miles per hour,” the air brakes were applied, and “the train came to a standstill within 500 feet…” Unknown, Railroads: The Great American Adventure.
Another turning point of air brakes is that in the long run air brakes were more economical than the previous method because parts did not have to be replaced as soon. Trains did not need to be rerouted because of wreck cleanups. Usually, the employees who worked in the shop worked on the wreck crew. When a wreck happened, they had to stop the task that they were working on like repairing a locomotive that was needed out on the road.
“As to the use of hand brakes on the fast freight, it may be said that the company equipping its freight trains with air brakes as fast as its financial condition will permit. But is should also be said that until its trains are so equipped they should not be moved so recklessly as this one was, while running within four or five minutes of heavily loaded and delayed passenger trains.” Unknown. The New York Times.
“It is said of that invention that it has saved more lives in centuries of warfare have destroyed.” The New York Times editorial. The New York Times.
"During my terms as public service, also, there have been four appliances, either introduced into use or now struggling for American recognition, my sense of value of which in connection with the railroad system, to both the travelling and general public, I could not easily overstate. These appliances are the Miller Platform and Buffer, the Westinghouse Brake, and the Interlocking and Electrical Signal Systems." Charles Francis Adams. Notes on Railroad Accidents.
“An immense train was hurled down the steep grade into Burlington at 40 miles per hour,” the air brakes were applied, and “the train came to a standstill within 500 feet…” Unknown, Railroads: The Great American Adventure.
Another turning point of air brakes is that in the long run air brakes were more economical than the previous method because parts did not have to be replaced as soon. Trains did not need to be rerouted because of wreck cleanups. Usually, the employees who worked in the shop worked on the wreck crew. When a wreck happened, they had to stop the task that they were working on like repairing a locomotive that was needed out on the road.
“As to the use of hand brakes on the fast freight, it may be said that the company equipping its freight trains with air brakes as fast as its financial condition will permit. But is should also be said that until its trains are so equipped they should not be moved so recklessly as this one was, while running within four or five minutes of heavily loaded and delayed passenger trains.” Unknown. The New York Times.