Re: Geared locomotive brake shoes

Pretty sure I have both Heisler and Shay brake shoes down in my basement tomb of industrial archeology. Maybe I can take a picture of each this weekend. Most Heisler parts have the letters HL followed by a part number. Years back it was discovered that the WHEccles Lumber #3 Heisler's sand box lever was rusted in place over the winter. A couple of my friends said whack it with a hammer. I said "I don't like whacking parts with an HL number with a hammer", but did it anyway. The result was that the end of the lever where a pin goes broke off with the first hammer thunk. It had already been crudely repaired by brazing a nut to the end to make a pin hole. Our website photos from some years ago caught me up on the running board with a torch brazing a new end on to repair my hammer blow. So for suspected Heisler parts found in the woods, look for the HL #'s.