dryer equipment 60 may be connected to remove moisture and or other particulates that may be present in the compressed air to avoid condensation and or contamination on the surfaces of one or more locomotive equipment not shown situated downstream that receive the pressurized air in one known exemplary embodiment the dryer equipment may comprise adsorbent type air dryer that uses a regenerative desiccant that adsorbs moisture at least up to a certain level of adsorption capacity the moisture accumulated by the desiccant is then removed via a stream of dried air redirected through the desiccant to purge the moisture into the atmosphere in one known technique the air dryer equipment is responsive to a timer signal so that the regeneration process is performed at a fixed interval e g approximately every 2 minutes regardless of actual usage of compressed air by the equipment downstream this known technique forces the air compressor system to turn on and off based on the fixed timing for regeneration regardless of the actual consumption of compressed air by the locomotive equipment downstream the inventor of the present invention has innovatively recognized that a flowmeter 62 may be coupled to provide a signal indicative of the flow rate and or pressure of the compressed air passing therethrough to a controller 64 the flow rate may be mathematically.