Ryan , The engineers that got in trouble with the automatic were the individuals that thought it was o.k.to "shortcycle" ,i.e. quick sets and releases .That is acceptable with an all-AB system , but according to my schooling ,if there is one K-triple in the train ,the engineer must long-cycle ,as if the train was all K-triple . According to an air book I read long ago in my misspent youth , the engineer had to make a minimum of 8-10 pound reduction to get the triple valves to respond . After releasing the engineer was supposed to wait a minimum of 45 seconds for the triple valves to recharge before making another set .I found it impossible to wait that long but I noted the triple valves seem to recharge properly if given at least 25 to 30 seconds . So I liked a strong 10-12 pound set ,and maybe add 3-5 more on top of that if needed ,but avoided using more than that .You only have 28 pounds of reduction to work with before you reach the dreaded "equalization" where the triples refuse to work . In the early years the D&SNG hired two mainline railroaders as engineers and unfortunately it took them a while and several "Nantucket sleigh rides" to figure out that it was impossible to shortcycle K-triples .Unfortunately they taught some other engineers shortcyling .I rode with one such engineer who lost control of a train TWICE going down Hermosa Hill ,and almost head-oned with the evening train ! But is straight air better ?? Straight air does not respond as fast as automatic .It took time to get the brakes to respond to an application ,especially if you had zero in the pipe . So on another trip down Hermosa Hill the engineer did not get on the air soon enough and we went though a sharp curve at Milepost 463 at nearly 30 MPH !! I thought that #473 would fly into the ditch .It was the same "Hall of Shame" engineer that lost it on the same hill with the automatic . The use of air brakes is the yardstick that measures the true skill of an engineer , no matter what the system is .
