I’m not sure celebrated Winnipegger Burton Cummings was thinking about distributed braking containers when he wrote that song, but maybe he was an air brake aficionado!
I came across this container when I was meeting a good friend at the Forks in downtown Winnipeg. I arrived a few minutes early, so I strolled over to the Assiniboine River bridge to photograph it from Main Street, then went down to the frozen river to photograph it from there as well.
By the time I walked around, the train was in motion, so I took a photo of the trailing locomotive, CN 8333, instead.
The distributed braking containers contain a diesel generator, an air compressor, and radios & electronics to allow it to be controlled from the lead locomotive like it was another locomotive like CN 8333. They and distributed braking boxcars (same idea, different format) are used to replenish air throughout the train in the winter. There are many places where braking air leaks, especially during extreme cold where rubber seals shrink, and the air must be continually refreshed. Adding more sources of air enhances braking power and allows the train to be “pumped up” quicker after a braking application.
The first braking container I saw was in late 2010, and the first braking boxcar I saw was in early 2011. These are proudly built / converted here in Winnipeg at the Transcona shops.
While we’re on the river…
Portions of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers are cleared off every year for skating, much like the Rideau Canal is in Ottawa. I skate very poorly indeed so I have only been on blades on this once, in early 2012.
You can walk along it too, and I really should do that again next year. I think it will be closed in the next couple of days, if it hasn’t already. We don’t want people to fall through the ice!
Looking the other way, toward the juncture of the Assiniboine and the Red – the actual “fork” – we see the ex Grand Trunk Pacific bridge over the Assiniboine that led to the yards downtown. The bridge’s counterweight is undergoing some maintenance – probably repainting, as the bridge has not opened for many years.
That comical fellow on the right is a warming hut, one of several along the path decorated by local artists.
It gets cold in Winnipeg, but there are things to do!
Thanks for the explanation about how things work.
More articles like this would be welcome, e.g. how distributed POWER
works so that the mid or tail end engines are synchronized with the front, so that the pushers don’t cause derailments by pushing too hard.
Or, how are cars sequenced on a mixed consist? Why are seemingly lighter cars followed by heavier ones? Would you not want the heaviest cars at the front, followed by declining weight back to the lightest ones at the end?
Love your work!