When a train has come to rest, the brakes must be sucked off by the ejector. Until this has been done the train cannot be moved, so that it is impossible for it to leave the station unprepared to make a sudden stop if necessary. THE WESTINGHOUSE AIR-BRAKE. This system is somewhat more complicated than the vacuum, though equally reliable and powerful. Owing to the complexity of certain parts, such as the steam air-pump and the triple-valve, it is impossible to explain the system in detail; we therefore have recourse to simple diagrammatic sketches, which will help to make clear the general principles employed. The air-brake, as first evolved by Mr. George Westinghouse, was a very simple affair--an air-pump and reservoir on the engine; a long pipe running along the train; and a cylinder under every vehicle to work the brakes. To stop the train, the high-pressure air collected in the reservoir was turned into the train pipe to force out the pistons in the coach cylinders, connected to it by short branch pipes. One defect of this "straight" system was that the brakes at the rear of a long train did not come into action until a considerable time after the driver turned on the air; and since, when danger is imminent, a very few seconds are of great importance, this slowness of operation was a serious fault. Also, it was found that the brakes on coaches near the engine went on long before those more distant, so that during a quick stop there was a danger of the forward coaches being bumped by those behind. It goes without saying that any coaches which might break loose were uncontrollable. Mr. Westinghouse therefore patented his _automatic_ brake, now so largely used all over the world. The brake ensures practically instantaneous and simultaneous action on all the vehicles of _a train of any length_. [Illustration: FIG. 88.--Diagrammatic sketch of the details of the Westinghouse air-brake. Brake "off."] The principle of the brake will be gathered from Figs. 88 and 89. P is a steam-driven air-pump on the engine, which compresses air into a reservoir, A, situated below the engine or tender, and maintains a pressure of from 80 to 90 lbs. per square inch. A three-way cock, C, puts the train pipe into communication with A or the open air at the wish of the driver. Under each coach is a triple-valve, T, an auxiliary reservoir, B, and a brake cylinder, D. The triple-valve is the most noteworthy feature of the whole system. The reader must remember that the valve shown in the section is _only diagrammatic_.