Does anyone on the list have a recommendation for a vendor that can overhaul a 32V Westinghouse SE-2 brake actuator?

I just polled a couple PCC experts here at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum, and they're all flummoxed. "Who the heck is still operating an air PCC?" they asked. "I have no idea where anyone would get the parts," said one of the sourcing experts. "I'd have to take one apart just to get an idea what we're dealing with!"

They're leaving me with the impression that you could be up the proverbial "creek without a paddle."

Hi Gord, hope you are doing well. I believe SF MUNI used Swager Coil, in Cleveland, to rebuild their track brakes. It is a long copper strip with a strip of mica to separate the turns. I was watching Knorr Brake in Maryland make track brakes a couple years ago and they had replaced the mica with a ceramic tape. The edges were coated with an epoxy. I believe it is a low tech assembly procedure, but never hurts to know what you are doing. Big issue is to get them water tight.

David Johnston

Here is the MUNI parts list. SE-2 actuator parts are listed in several places.

http://mission.sfgov.org/oca_bid_attachments/fa30702.pdf

Wesley

Posts like the two just above this one make this a special place, eh?

Absolutely!!!!
In our 23 ton switcher project. I copy the comments and paste them into a running word document.
The layest was a reference to Multi Service Supply for a brake actuator
Many thanks to all!!

Thanks, Dave. All is well, working on some projects for Toronto. Looking for a rebuilder for all-electric, drum brake actuators. Muni seems to have used Betts Trucks Spring but I'm not clear if they just supplied parts or actually rebuild. The track brake info helps, we have a couple of bad ones on our PCC rail grinder, W-30 at Halton.

Thanks, Wesley.
I am going to get in touch with Betts to see if they do them.

Gord, Betts was a custom manufacture of both coil and flat springs. In recent years they were in San Lerando, but originally I think they were in Oakland. They made railroad springs and made all the replacements for the Key System. Maybe three years ago they closed their San Lerando plant and moved the operation to Fresno. It is my understanding that they now only make replacement truck springs, highway trucks. They are out of the custom spring business. I doubt that they have anything to do with PCC actuators any more. It is too bad as they had top notch spring engineers and a complete engineering lab. I got many large springs from them, both wire and flat. I do not think WRM has located a replacement supplier for large springs yet. You might want to give Brookville a call and see where they had that work done.

Thanks, Dave.
We have a really good spring supplier in Ancaster (AC Spring) which is close to Hamilton, Ontario. Found another good one in Memphis while I was there, Christian Spring. AC has done everything from air brake springs through trolley base and journal box springs. They will do small custom orders but I haven't tried them on larger truck springs, yet. Brookville sounds like a good bet as they would have to supply drum brake actuators and track brakes for their PCC projects. The old Westinghouse Electric plant went to Adtranz and is now part of Bombardier. The last I heard, they could still supply certain PCC components. Lots of detective work, yet.

I have spent a lot of time in the Westinghouse/Bombardier plant(s) in West Mifflin, PA. There is no manufacturing there, it is only assembly. They have a large engineering/purchasing/quality control presence there, which they use to purchase components. They are brought into West Mifflin for assembly. There is little warehousing. Everything is made to order. They do put out PCC parts for SFMUNI, but everything has to be reengineered to get any unacceptable materials out of them and accommodate modern manufacturing methods and materials. I think much of this was first done for Pittsburgh PCC cars for a large rebuild program that never happened.