I am looking for a source of one each left and right brakeshoe for a Vulcan 1917 30" driver diameter 0-4-0T. The shoes needed are cast iron, hang on the bracket on top and have a pin going through the lower part of the shoe to hold them on. This locomotive is at a theme park and needed to have shoes replaced a few months ago, they run it every day anyhow and are desperate. If anybody out there has a similar Vulcan and can spare a set of shoes, or has a pattern at a foundry and can cast a set, please let me know ASAP.

dave

I really hope you find some somewhere. When faced with needing very specialized shoes for a McGuire Cummins streetcar, we resorted to making our own set of patterns, following a first step of making full sized wood mockup shoes to assure fit. Then ended up sending them to FDC foundry in Chihuahua Mexico. They were very supportive in making a small number of shoes for our 'special' order. The cost of the shoes was reasonable, as we had done the expensive pattern work in house.

You will need to consider which alloy of cast iron you wish them to use (rangingng from softer to harder), if you want a steel backer insert, and how much grinding or machining you are willing to do yourself after the castings are complete.

Contact their USA rep, Mr Ron Coy of Airtek at: AIRTEKRON@aol.com

Bob Kutella

Thanks Bob, appreciate the contact info. This poor old girl is out there running now, with minimal braking power and taking the time to make patterns and cast shoes isn't in the cards. Hoping somebody like Gramling might have a spare or two (nudge nudge). I think the ultimate solution is to fabricate a new brake head which will adapt an off the shelf shoe to the brake beam, and forget about custom casting altogether, so if anybody has a display Vulcan and can loan the shoes for a month they will be returned only slightly more worn.

dave

Another place you might check out is Marlin Uhrich at Uhrich Locomotive in Strasburg, Colorado. Marlin cast the brake shoes for our streetcar here in Fort Collins from a pattern we made ourselves. Marlin has numerous patterns in stock also.

Hello Dave

On our 0-4-0 the heads were such that we could use a shoe from a modern engine. Which is what we did. On our 0-6-0 we remade the heads to take the same shoe that we use on the 0-4-0. The shoes that we took off were not very good. One or two may be usable. The only problem is finding them. We never thow anything away but finding it can be somewhat of a challenge. Right now they are somewhere under a foot or more of snow. Remaking the heads wasn't that much of a job. You might consider doing that which would take care of the problem in the future.

John