is heated brake shoes evaporate to generate gas that separate them from the drum. Such effects are easy to imagine, but physically impossible, due to the large volume of gas that would be required for such an effect. A gas bearing would need gas replenishment as fast as the disc or drum moves, since it has no gas on its surface as it approaches the pad or shoe. Also, disc brakes use much the same materials and operate well with little fade, even when the discs are glowing hot. If brake materials outgassed at drum temperatures, they would also outgas at disc temperatures and would fade substantially. Since discs have little fade, they also demonstrate outgassing is not a source of fade. Some disc brakes are drilled or slotted, but smooth discs show no more fade. Long dual-tire skid marks on highways, made by trucks with drum brakes, are visible examples of non-linearity between brake response and pedal pressure. Large trucks still use drum brakes because they are economical and fit easily where an equivalent disc brake does not. More recently disc brakes for trucks have been promoted listing features such as no fade, possible because they have no self-assist (self-servo). Railroads Railroads have been using disk brakes on passenger cars for more than 60 years, but coupled with a Rolokron anti-lock system to avoid the creation of flat spots (or “square wheels”) when wheels lock and skid on the rail surface (audible as steady bang-bang-bang noise as a train goes by—not to be confused with the bang-bang...bang-bang...bang-bang sound made by wheels rolling over a rail joint). Usually, brake disks are installed in the center of the axle, but in some applications (such as Bombardier Bi Level commuter cars), only one disk is used, mounted on the axle end outside the truck frame. High speed trains (such as the TGV) may use four disks per axle. Freight cars (and some passenger cars like multiple-unit cars whose traction motors do not yield room on axles to allow the placement of disk brakes) are equipped with clasp brakes which directly grab the rolling surface of the wheels (much like the old horse buggy brakes of yesteryear). Such brakes are an external-shoe drum brake; but unlike band brakes and many internal-shoe drum brakes, there is no self-assist/self-servo effect, and so they are far less susceptible to locking than self-assist brakes. Due to high