D&S and WSLCo.dual air systems

The two systems were almost identical .In fact ,the car foreman was wery interested in details about the WSLCo. system , and I lent my copy of Mal Farrell's great book on the subject ,as it had some photos of upside-down log cars .By law the D&S system has the automatic air operable . In fact ,the engineer can use the automatic air on top of the straight air in emergencies ,though this was avoided . The one important aspect of the dual system was the retainers had to be cut out of the system by means of a cock , so if an engineer wanted to use automatic air only ,all the retainers has to be cut back in . Having worked both automatic and straight air systems ,I can see advantages in both . The straight air was easier to master(the stand sits in front of the 6-et valve).The system used far less air than the automatic system . You could regale the fireman with tales of railroad glory with out the interruption of the deafening hiss of the automatic air exhaust. If working correctly ,the ride for the passengers was smooth . Ultimately ,though ,I felt it was an inferior system . Straight air charges the cars from front to back ,opposite automatic air . It also blew far more moisture in the system ,causing flat wheels and a host of air brake problems(the D&S remedied this problem somewhat by installing a dirt collector on the tenders) . Finally I felt it was unsafe ,as it was hard to detect a failure in the straight air from the cab ,and an engineer had to act quickly if in such an event .Automatic air is a fail-safe system ,and ultimately that is why it is the best system .