Re: Help wanted in Preserving the Knowledge to Preserve!

Hi Bill
Thank you for your interest in taking on a project of this magnitude. I have personally looked for just such a journal. When I first started in Railroad preservation I was fortunate to be able to subscribe to a publication just for Railroad historians and hands on preservationists, “Locomotive & Railroad Preservation”. I know there are many on this forum who may have subscribed and possibly even authored articles found in this publication. The authors were no doubt people with first hand experience and were able to describe how to do the things that were common in restoration and locomotive/rolling stock maintenance and included drawings and photos, unfortunately this magazine is no longer published.
We are now at the point in our restoration project that we’re ready to put the journal boxes, brasses (fortunately Stathi Papas poured babbitt in the brasses and machined them for us) and the wedges we have collected together and then mount the assembly on the axels, pedestals and the leaf springs. We know what the end result should look like and understand the mechanics involved, we think we have figured out how to put it all together. Next brake beams, brake shoes and the levers and rods which will need to be made. We have measured the rods and clevis ends and we have actually fabricated an 8” x 8” brake cylinder/reservoir based on dimensions we took from the unit on C&S caboose 1006 in Silver Plume, CO.
Where am I going with this? I have never done any of this before nor have I even seen it done. I had heard about babbitt and even found a video on YouTube of a guy pouring babbitt in engine bearings for an antique truck he was restoring.
I have a collection of over 300 books relating to railroad technology, some are quite old and are fascinating, I have yet to locate a step-by-step how to set up brakes in any of them.
I have been fortunate to meet a number of people at museums and steam railroads who have very generously provided information about “how-to”. As pointed out, some of the restoration process is to evaluate and repair or remake a part using wood or metal working skills. It’s the “how-to” install a coupler, adjust the brakes and a lot of other important jobs that can be completed successfully with a little instruction from knowledgeable, experienced people.
Good luck on this project Bill, I for one will be looking forward to seeing the results.