Re: South Park Mason Bogies - Eames Brakes Question

midneguy Wrote:
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> What puzzles me is by most everything I've seen,
> the brake cylinder was located off center toward
> the Engineer side of the engines - but the
> attachment point to the lever at the rear of the
> truck is on the fireman side. So, somewhere the
> rod must have crossed from the Engineer side of
> the engine to the Fireman side... but how
> exactly? Was it through a one piece rod simply
> bent to cross over and go around the truck pivot?
> This would seem to be a rather odd and clumsy way
> to transmit the braking force from the cylinder to
> the rear of the truck... So again I have to
> wonder if any intermediate levers were involved...

I think the Eames vacuum brake cylinder/diaphragm on Mason bogie engines may actually have been centered on the rear truck, rather than in the usual off-center position under the cab on the engineer's side. Compare with this photo from my collection of a standard gauge Mason bogie engine on the Long Island RR (LIRR No. 59, Mason C/N 702, built in 1883) fitted with Eames vacuum brakes. I've circled the brake diaphragm in red. It appears to be directly behind the firebox.





-Philip Marshall



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2018 11:20PM by philip.marshall.