Valve assembly for electrically controlled pneumatic brakes

This invention relates generally to air brakes in railway cars and, more particularly, to Electrically Controlled Pneumatic Brakes (ECPBs) used with railcars. A method for providing brake control for a rail car having a brake cylinder, a reservoir, and an exhaust vent includes steps of fluidly interconnecting four electrically controlled valves between a train brake pipe, the brake cylinder, the reservoir, and the exhaust vent, and controlling air flow between the brake pipe, car brake cylinder, car reservoir, and exhaust vent using the valves. The above described method allows mixing of conventional ABDW rail cars with ECP-equipped cars in an ECP-equipped train.