A counterweight brake (german: Wurfhebelbremse) is an early form of
hand brake
In road vehicles, the parking brake, also known as a handbrake or emergency brake (e-brake), is a mechanism used to keep the vehicle securely motionless when parked. Parking brakes often consist of a cable connected to two wheel brakes, which i ...
on
railway tenders and
tank locomotive
A tank locomotive or tank engine is a steam locomotive that carries its water in one or more on-board water tanks, instead of a more traditional tender. Most tank engines also have bunkers (or fuel tanks) to hold fuel; in a tender-tank locom ...
s.
By throwing a counterweight lever, play in the
brake block
A brake shoe is the part of a braking system which carries the brake lining in the drum brakes used on automobiles, or the brake block in train brakes and bicycle brakes. A device that is put on a track to slow down railroad cars is also called b ...
s is quickly taken up and braking action is initiated. Further movement of the lever increases the transmission so that the blocks are pressed against the wheel tyres with greater and greater force.
On locomotive tenders the counterweight brake generally acts on all the
axles, whilst on tank engines the braking action is only applied to the
driving
Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and bicycles. Permission to drive on public highways is granted based on a set of conditions being met and drivers are required to f ...
and
coupled wheels.
See also
*
Emergency brake (train)
On trains, the expression emergency brake has several meanings:
* The ''maximum'' brake force available to the engine driver from the conventional braking system, usually operated by taking the brake handle to its furthest position, through a gat ...
* - to follow
Literature
* ''Lexikon Eisenbahn'', Transpress Verlag für Verkehrswesen, Berlin, 1978
Railway brakes
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