On the painting of fins for certain LSM fins, I'd agree that it is a protective coating; does anyone know if there could even be different metals used in those LSM hardware (like copper, etc.) that could rust or not be weatherized?
Hixee said:
I'm taking an educated guess now, but I think the friction brakes at the end of the brake run (both the MCBR and the final brakes) serve as more of a "last resort" brake.
I've always understood it to be a rider comfort measure for doing a combination of "dumb" magnetic brakes and friction brakes. Magnetic brakes carry a higher capital cost, but provide a far smoother braking sensation. And since they have no moving parts and are quite literally large magnetics that are not electrified (that is, they do their work without any external power source), they prove to be more fail-safe than friction brakes which could fail due to component failure, environment (lots of rain), etc. By putting the magnetic brakes first, they do the brunt of braking work, with friction brakes and friction wheels (e.g. tires) taking over for lower speeds.
It's also important to bear in mind; magnetic brakes can not bring the train to a complete stop - only physical contact with the train can do that by way of a tire or friction brake. So friction brakes serve the primary purpose of blocking, and allowing the train to come to a quick, complete stop. Friction brakes also let you do easy blocking on an incline, which can be a space saving measure for brake runs and also allow for quicker dispatch of the train once it's released from the brakes (that is, gravity pulling it down!). Valravn's brake run is a good example of a mixture of magnetic and friction brakes, which give way to friction brakes and drive wheels once the brake run flattens out (drive wheels also serve the purpose of transfer track in this case).