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What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by MorningsideHeightsM100 on Wed Oct 13 09:31:30 2021

With the talk about the swap of SMEE equipment from Jamaica to CIY for the R160s, I began to wonder, again, what exactly does SMEE mean (and what does the abbreviation stand for?)

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by r33/r36 mainline on Wed Oct 13 09:54:03 2021, in response to What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by MorningsideHeightsM100 on Wed Oct 13 09:31:30 2021.

I forgot what the abbreviation stands for but it's the braking system the R10 though R68A use.




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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by r33/r36 mainline on Wed Oct 13 09:57:28 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by r33/r36 mainline on Wed Oct 13 09:54:03 2021.

Here's an subchat thread from 2006 discussing SMEE brakes in depth..

http://www.subchat.com/readflat.asp?Id=243761&p=1#244493


Another subchatter can link it, IDK how to.

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(1587545)

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by William A. Padron on Wed Oct 13 10:08:21 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by r33/r36 mainline on Wed Oct 13 09:57:28 2021.

The thread, with the simple acronym...

SMEE

-William A. Padron
["WABCO A-1 3YC"]


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(1587546)

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Lou from Brooklyn on Wed Oct 13 11:41:57 2021, in response to What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by MorningsideHeightsM100 on Wed Oct 13 09:31:30 2021.

S - Straight Air
M - Motor Car
E - Emergency
E - Electropneumatic

S - Straight Air or trainline which braking effort is proportional to the difference between trianline and reference pressure

M - Motor Car car has motors, compressor, reservoir, brake valve and is not a trailer car

E - Emergency or failsafe unlike streetcar a way to vent the brake pipe to atmosphere for an emergency stop. At BERA we have SME without the emergency on some of the streetcars.

E - Electropneumatic or electric trainline circuits, unlike above with streetcars at 600ft train you need an electric circuit or you wouldn't have uneven or even unresponsive braking. NYC Subway cars I think they call it the R wire?



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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Olog-hai on Wed Oct 13 12:55:57 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by r33/r36 mainline on Wed Oct 13 09:57:28 2021.

This is how.

<a href="http://www.subchat.com/readflat.asp?Id=243761&p=1#244493">http://www.subchat.com/readflat.asp?Id=243761&p=1#244493</a>

http://www.subchat.com/readflat.asp?Id=243761&p=1#244493


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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Olog-hai on Wed Oct 13 12:58:20 2021, in response to What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by MorningsideHeightsM100 on Wed Oct 13 09:31:30 2021.

The real answer is he's Captain Hook's boatswain.



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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Ble-nimx on Wed Oct 13 13:12:11 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by Lou from Brooklyn on Wed Oct 13 11:41:57 2021.

School car from my 1980s handbook denoted the ME42 as Self Lapping Manual electric emergency. Motor cars were not part of clamature. The lack of electric brakes allowed the valve to manually charge the straight air pipes trainline. Somewhere along the way either TA engineering changed the abbreviations or the personel did like making up unofficial nicknames like silverbullets or flatbottoms

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Lou from Brooklyn on Wed Oct 13 14:31:15 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by Ble-nimx on Wed Oct 13 13:12:11 2021.

Just know what I picked up at the museum with the LowV R9, 17 and our W3 Montreal Tramways Crane car which is an SME (leave off the last E).

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(1587565)

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Kevin from Midwood on Wed Oct 13 15:02:45 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by Olog-hai on Wed Oct 13 12:58:20 2021.

Everything old is new again.

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by randyo on Wed Oct 13 16:29:07 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by William A. Padron on Wed Oct 13 10:08:21 2021.

SMEE stands for (S)traight air (M)otor (E)emergency (E)electric. I understand that there is also a little known subtype called STEE which is for a trailer car and is identical except for the lack of brake valves but very few transit systems actually have trailer cars these days. The last E in any brake system acronym is for the electric feature. The is an system called SME which has the straight air and emergency valve for a motor car and was used mostly on streetcars that were intended for multiple unit operation. The former NH Mack rail buses which were repurposed as Sperry rail detector cars have the SME system.

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by randyo on Wed Oct 13 16:34:44 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by Lou from Brooklyn on Wed Oct 13 11:41:57 2021.

SMEE equipment has both an A and an R wire. The A wire provides trainline application and the R wire provides trainline release. On older equipment the R wire and R magnet controlled by it are misnamed since the R magnets are for retaining air in the brake cylinders till deenergized by placing the brake valve in the release position. On SMEE equipment, the R wire and R magnet are energized to effect trainline release of the brakes.

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Mitch45 on Wed Oct 13 17:23:02 2021, in response to What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by MorningsideHeightsM100 on Wed Oct 13 09:31:30 2021.

The name of Captain Hook’s parrot in Peter Pan.

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Bill from Maspeth on Wed Oct 13 18:14:26 2021, in response to What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by MorningsideHeightsM100 on Wed Oct 13 09:31:30 2021.

I was told in School car:

Self Lapping

Mechanical

Electrical

Equipment

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Olog-hai on Wed Oct 13 20:37:41 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by Mitch45 on Wed Oct 13 17:23:02 2021.

Wrong. The parrot's name is Short Tom.

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Train Dude on Wed Oct 13 21:42:55 2021, in response to What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by MorningsideHeightsM100 on Wed Oct 13 09:31:30 2021.

SMEE = Self Lapping, Mechanical, Electric, Emergency

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Spider-Pig on Wed Oct 13 22:03:46 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by Olog-hai on Wed Oct 13 20:37:41 2021.

PWN3D!

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by randyo on Thu Oct 14 16:23:33 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by Bill from Maspeth on Wed Oct 13 18:14:26 2021.

Not everyone in school car is as smart as you might expect. I recall an RTO supervisor who mentioned that the instructor in a class was displaying a standard RR coupler which is called an MCB and mistakenly referring to it as a Van Dorn which as a type of link and pin coupler as used on el car.

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by randyo on Thu Oct 14 16:25:32 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by Train Dude on Wed Oct 13 21:42:55 2021.

NOT mechanical but MOTOR designating it as equipment for a motor car.

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Nasadowsk on Sat Oct 16 16:44:18 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by randyo on Wed Oct 13 16:34:44 2021.

Ok - gicen the naming of all the wires - is this how “p-wire” got its name?

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by randyo on Sun Oct 17 02:09:11 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by Nasadowsk on Sat Oct 16 16:44:18 2021.

According to a car equipment tech at a trade show meeting the "P" stood for "power" which was what manipulated the brake cylinder pressure on the cars electronically.

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by TransitChuckG on Sun Oct 17 04:56:17 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by randyo on Sun Oct 17 02:09:11 2021.

According to a car equipment tech at a trade show meeting the "P" stood for "power" which was what manipulated the brake cylinder pressure on the cars electronically.
Aha, thanks!

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Train Dude on Sun Oct 17 09:31:25 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by Bill from Maspeth on Wed Oct 13 18:14:26 2021.

There were many such definitions but the last "E" was for EMERGENCY

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Train Dude on Sun Oct 17 09:33:26 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by randyo on Thu Oct 14 16:25:32 2021.

I've heard it with the "M" being MOTOR as well. I guess it depended on who taught the class in training.

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by randyo on Mon Oct 18 03:11:32 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by Train Dude on Sun Oct 17 09:31:25 2021.

I have several instruction manuals from WABCO and the last E was for "ELECTRIC" not emergency. As I mentioned there is (or was) a brake system called SME which had the emergency valve but lacked the electric. A similar situation existed between the AMUE brake system with the ME-23 brake valve and the AMU brake system as used on the Chicago 4000 series rapid transit cars, NYCRR prewar MUs and North Shore interurbans with M-23 brake valves. The last "E" was always for the electric since not all brake systems had that feature so it was an add on.

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by randyo on Mon Oct 18 03:13:06 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by Train Dude on Sun Oct 17 09:33:26 2021.

As I alluded to in another post, all you need to do is check the official manuals that were published by WABCO over the years for the accurate definition.

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Steve B-8AVEXP on Mon Oct 18 18:19:21 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by randyo on Mon Oct 18 03:11:32 2021.

So was that electric brake plug (Kev had another term for it) part of that E moniker?

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by randyo on Tue Oct 19 02:31:38 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by Steve B-8AVEXP on Mon Oct 18 18:19:21 2021.

Not necessarily part of it but associated with it. Although the WABCO manual for the Lo-Vs mentions a brake plug, the IRT never used a brake plug but used an electric brake key which is similar in appearance to a cutting key.

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by Steve B-8AVEXP on Tue Oct 19 18:44:37 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by randyo on Tue Oct 19 02:31:38 2021.

Kev said that with an electric brake plug, the R-1/9s almost behaved like SMEEs. Or was it more like synchronizing the braking throughout the entire consist?

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Re: What exactly IS SMEE?

Posted by randyo on Tue Oct 19 20:21:29 2021, in response to Re: What exactly IS SMEE?, posted by Steve B-8AVEXP on Tue Oct 19 18:44:37 2021.

That was exactly the purpose of the electric feature. It was to have the brakes apply simultaneously on all the cars in the train.

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