eli5 Why do trains with steel wheels have traction on steel rails, but if your brakes on your car are used up and become steel on steel they dont work anymore?
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Car brakes are designed in a way that they can still move while braking (to an extent, they can still lock) and so that they wear in a specific way.
What wears are the brake pads and discs. The calipers that hold the pads are designed for mechanical strength. That means different steel composition and treatment than the pads and discs. The pads and discs also are different types of steel.
When the brakes are used up, they do not work because the materials that make contact are no longer materials designed for braking.
Steel is the name of a family of alloy. There are many different types of steel made for different purposes.
Train rails and wheels are designed for a different purpose and use different types of steel than the ones used in brakes.
ETA: The part about trains not having much traction has been covered by others. The wear parts on brakes are designed for the opposite.
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