A excellent article by Stan Rhine that was recently published in the Rio Grande Historical Society Publication “Prospector” (3rd Quarter 2016) has some interesting insight regarding air brakes and use on the D&RG at this time in history.
The article covers the findings of the D&RG's General Air Brake instructor and the reluctance of both the railroad and particularly, the operating crews on the 3rd Division to change over to the use of automatic brakes from "straight air" as required by the 1893 Safety Appliance Act, with the installation deadline as amended to 1903. The October 1903 derailment addressed in this thread is discussed and was a primary event to get this change accelerated.
For those interested, this is a great read, and if not a member of the RGM&HS, I recommend becoming one, or at a minimum, finding this issue of the prospector for this article alone.
From my point of view, it gives an interesting insight into how much things really haven’t changed regarding railroads, railroad employees and regulatory agencies when introducing new technology and the regulations that mandate them.
Mike Ramsey