Plastic Airbrake Handles

I'm sure you have all seen those cool little yellow reversers, with the unusual ribbed grip handles, but today I found a matching yellow independant brake handle. First one I have ever seen. Anyone out there know if I should be watching for the matching automatic? Anyone got one? Regards

I'm glad this topics has come up. I work for NICTD and we do servicing for that South shore freight loco's. One of the engines has the engine brake handle replaced with this really cheap all plastic handle. Every time I get this engine I feel like I'm going to break it.

When I started at the railroad I found an old school metal reverser buried in the locker I inherited from some old timer. It's wonderful. I have to keep it hidden though. I'm sure it will "disappear" if I ever set it down for a moment.

I refer to it as "my precioussss".

That's a hoot!

GOLDEN-ARM wrote:I'm sure you have all seen those cool little yellow reversers, with the unusual ribbed grip handles, but today I found a matching yellow independant brake handle. First one I have ever seen. Anyone out there know if I should be watching for the matching automatic? Anyone got one? Regards

I have saw a yellow auto handle a couple times. I cant remember on what kinda unit, maybe on an old EMD Demo. When i see another one ill grab it for you.

Hey, UPRR, if ya see another one, how about "procuring" it for me, for research purposes only......

DANG IT, thought you wanted a yellow independant handle. Found you two yesterday buddy on a pack of SD40's i ran. I passed up on two auto's in the last year or so thinking you needed the driver brake handle. The hunt continues i guess....

Plastic handles were in use during my Conrail days which ended a little
less than 10 years ago. I finally broke down and put a set in my grip so
if an emergency occurred on the road, I would have them if I ever needed
them.
I also remember the days when we had a large number of different
reverse handles and if I had a mixed consist, i always tried to have a
reverse handle for each unit in the consist, if I ever had to set off the lead
unit for some reason, I still wanted a way to operate the train.
I remember a set of foreign power once came in on my train in Buffalo
and I was not happy about it, the round "lollypop" seats would take a toll
on you on a 300 mile trip. The unit did have brand new metal handles
and I decided they would pay the price (to me) for having that most
uncomfortable engine on the head end, it went bach to the home railroad
with an old rusty set of junk handles and the new handles are now here in
Florida along with some more stuff. I like looking at that stuff once in a
while as it brings back some memories.
I think the worst example of plastic was a switch key that Metro-North
seemed to use for a spell, I never got one of them nor wanted one of
them, plastic switch keys never seemed to fit to me. I am not much of a
collector of this type of stuff anyway, more interested in paper especially
timetables both public and employee.
Noel Weaver

I got both of those, UPRR, as well as the ribbed reverser, and the "normal" AAR type reverser, also in yellow. Still haven't seen the automatic, in any color other than red, or black. I had a good story, about a TVLA trip, that included a very loud argument, with the RFE at Selkirk, regarding my refusal to leave my personal tools on an engine, that had none when I got on, at North Bergen. None to be found in the yard office at NB, and a sweet set of polished and chromed tools in my car, had to be pressed into service. The RFE claimed they belonged to the railroad, and I had to leave them. ( he was unsucessful in liberating them, from a VERY irrate engineer) I called ahead, several times, notifying the DS as well as the inbound YM at the hump, telling them they needed tools. (they figured the train came in, so tools were there) That was the last time I used my own tools to run a train, and more than once, we sat for hours, waiting for someone to deliver the missing pieces. Many times we would go to a train, and find 3 or 4 locos, and no reverser. (86A,B or C used their own, as all good Hostlers should, and didn't bother to make sure "we" were taken care of.)