THE TWO FOOTERS                    

Issue 43                                                                                                                         September/October 2009

The majority of Brookville locomotives for years used the same basic drive train: motors from a variety of makers coupled to a truck transmission with chain drive to the axles. The component tying these together, akin to a differential/rear end on a car, is what Brookville refers to as a “final drive”. I don’t know what types “A” and “B” were, but type “C” was used in units up to six tons from 1931 The Brookville “TYPE C” Final Drive through at least the mid-1960’s.

The type “C” appears to have been based on the rear axle differential of the Ford 1 1/2 ton “AA” truck introduced in the late 1920s. This used a large 12” ring gear, originally a 33-tooth ring gear and 5-tooth pinion for a 6.60x ratio, in order to get sufficient power from the 70-hp V-8 of that period. While powerful, it resulted in a low speed truck, so Ford soon added a “high speed” gear option of a 36-tooth ring gear and 7-tooth pinion to get up to a 5.14x ratio. All the Brookville type “C” drives I’ve seen have had the 5.14 ratio gears, a little curious since locomotives need just as much or more pulling power than a truck.

The design of the type “C” is basically a mirror image of two-ring gears facing each other. The single pinion gear spins both ring gears at all times: since one is being pulled down by the teeth on the pinion, but the other spun upward, the ring gears are spinning in different directions: one the direction of forward and the other reverse. They can spin this way since both ride on roller bearings on the ‘axle’ main drive shaft. The shaft has a splined center, on which a splined “Shifting clutch” can slide to one side or the other, engaging four large teeth on the gear hub. The shifting clutch, in turn, is moved side to side by a shifting fork and yoke that are moved by the forward/reverse johnson bar. (The click you hear when the johnson bar finally slides all the way to forward or reverse is the sound of the four large teeth engaging.) The entire assembly is encased in one center casting and two bell housings.

The design was relatively problem free, continuing in use for over thirty years. However, like most things it was not foolproof. Several years ago the Beaver Lawrence Railway Historical Society obtained a (can I mention it was standard gauge?) Brookville railcar built on a model BFA chassis. In this more or less custom design for the U.S. Army, the regular mounting place of the final drive on the rear frame was impossible, so it was mounted on a low steel beam at the bottom of the frame. To do so, the outside bell housings had to be turned 90 degrees from usual. However, the brass wear plates meant to keep the ring gears tight with the pinion were mounted on the bell housings and thus were not next to the pinion. Over the years, this allowed the ring gears to pull away from the pinion, wobble slightly, and eventually wear out the pinion on this unit.

Fortunately, the needed parts are still available from different sources. The most difficult to obtain are the 5.14x gears, as they are also prized by antique truck owners that want to be able to drive their trucks at closer to 50mph than 35mph with the 6.60x gearing. On the other hand, the 6.60x gears are relatively common. The 6.60x gears appear to be compatible with the Brookville type “C” drive and could be used if you can’t find the 5.14x gears and are willing to accept a 17% reduction in top speed. These gears also appear similar to those used in Ford tractors, and new 6.60x gears are available from antique part specialists like Mac’s Auto Parts and Dennis Carpenter. Remember that since you need two ring gears you need two sets of truck rear end gears. I was fortunate to find a new-old-stock single ring gear to complete my set. Since the final drives were in production at Brookville long after the end of Ford “AA” and “BB” truck production in the late 1940’s, the gears were also available from a non-Ford vendor in the 1950s and 1960s; however, no one has been able to identify the maker’s mark on these newer gears.

The roller bearings, races, and oil seals are all available through Timken. All six roller bearings are Timken 565. The races on the outside bell housings (two needed) are Timken 563, and the races on the gear hubs (four required) are Timken 3920. The oil seals are Timken/National 415001.

It’s not fun to take apart, and probably not easy to put back together, but it can be done if need be. If you or a friend have a Brookville, keep a copy of the attached drawing in a safe place... even the factory doesn’t have one anymore.

Please find attached a photograph showing all the world's working Fairlies at that time Taliesin was not completed at the time and the other was out of use.2 trains pass at Minffordd on the 2ft gauge Ffestiniog Railway in North Wales. Both locomotives are of the Double Fairlie type.

The Welsh Highland Railway in 2009 (and 2010)

As I wrote in February this year, 2009 began with great expectations. We were looking forward to running services all the way (25 miles) from Caernarfon south to Porthmadog, where we would connect with the Ffestiniog Railway to form a continuous 40-mile Two Foot railway through the beautiful mountains of Snowdonia. Many of the expectations have been fulfilled, but not all.

In March the rebuilding of the WHR was completed and the physical connection with the Ffestiniog was made. Many of us journeyed to the Golden Bolts ceremony at Porthmadog and had a wonderful self-congratulatory day. Lots of nostalgia after the long struggle but also a tinge of regret that the pioneering days were over, the grant money was spent and we now had to make the railway pay its way unaided! With the rails running right through the streets of Porthmadog and onward through the hills, the railway was at last able to send rolling stock north without spending thousands of GBP on road transporters. However, each stock movement was and is a major undertaking, requiring police assistance through the streets of Porthmadog and an engineering possession of the grade crossing over standard gauge Network Rail at Cae Pawb.

In time for the day of the Golden Bolts our latest NGG16 Garratt, number 87, rolled out of Boston Lodge works. 87 was presented by an exceedingly generous anonymous donor, who also added 100,000 GBP (150,000 USD?) to pay for its restoration. After the Golden Bolts, number 87 went north and is now in regular service on WHR trains. I can add here that another donor (not anonymous - Peter Waterman) has just this month given us yet another NGG16, number 109. He is also paying for its restoration at London and North Western Railway workshops at Crewe. The NGG16s – built for South African Railways and re-imported into the UK after SAR service - are ideally suited to the steep gradients and tight bends of the WHR. We now have five: 87, 109, 138, 140 and 143. At this moment only the first and last of that list are in service.

Another locomotive which was sent north from the Ffestiniog was the rebuilt Funkey diesel (with 350hp Cummins power plant) “Vale of Ffestiniog”. It joined fellow-Funkey “Castell Caernarfon” at Dinas. “Caernarfon” has just been completely overhauled and when a few teething troubles have been sorted out (the turbo-charger has gone back to the contractors for further attention) the two diesels will be running double-headed on service trains until “Caernarfon” finishes it running-in.

An elegant Pullman observation coach has also been turned out of Boston Lodge works and it seems to be enjoying great popularity despite the Pullman surcharge.

At Easter the services were extended south to Beddgelert and many customers arrived to sample the new extended ride. Then in May there was a further extension to Hafod y Llyn. This means that trains now travel through the WHR’s four tunnels and through the beautiful Pass of Aberglaslyn. Once again crowds turned up for the new experience. In fact, for the first time ever, the WHR has been obliged on several occasions to turn people away and refund fares. The answer is longer trains, which means a greater challenge for the Garratts on those 2.5% climbs.

We're making progress on our 24" gage M-19-9 using only parts from the donor cars. RO eng. belt drive and 14" wheels. Should have paint and be ready to run next month here in FL.

Jay

I included a picture of the 3 way switch we are building and is almost complete and ready to set. We were going to make it a 3 way stub switch but decided to use points, Just to make interesting. I saw a picture of one of these before, We will have to use two switch stands also as I seen in the picture, But to make it easy, we will put one switch stand one side of the track and one on the other. Although this was a lot of work milling points, bending and tweaking etc. It seemed that figuring out how they made it work was going to be the worst, but once you figure it out it and understand, it is amazingly simple (although my hats off to the first guy to design this). We built it on my trailer to be able to use the jib hoist to move things around. We built it two panels to make it easier to set. I have a lot of work to do to get ready to set it. We are putting this in just past the diamond we built last year for sidings for the cars. If it dries out enough, I would like to get it in yet this year.

Steve Flanders has some 30- and 40-pound switch parts and some miscellaneous stuff that he would like to clean up in his yard. No resaleable offer would be refused He does not want to scrap the stuff. Call him at 801- 589-4793.

For sale:  Qty: 4 (2 sets) trucks with brakes, 24" gauge; wheels, 10" diameter, 1-3/4" tread width.  $500.00 per truck ($1000.00 per set). Not sure who made the trucks, but the wheels say Crown Industries.

For sale:  

Qty: 8 - 36" gauge wheel sets, 20" dia. wheels, 3" tread width
Qty: 14 - 36" gauge wheel sets, 14" dia. wheels, 3" tread width
Qty: 6 - 30" gauge wheel sets, 12" dia. wheels, 3" tread width
 Total of 28 wheel sets, selling as a lot for $3000.00 
I want to offer the trucks and wheel sets to the Two-Footers first.  If I get no response a few days after the newsletter, I will probably list them on ebay at a higher price.

Email Richard Craig Alvadatwofooter@aol.com

A new two-foot gauge equipment manufacturer? Well, maybe not quite yet. After a number of years of puttering about with various projects, one is finally growing into maturity. Or maybe at least to the point where it does something more than lay around as dozens of papers on shelves and ideas between my two ears. As of this moment there is a completed 25' flat car design (24" gauge) with detailed plans available for purchase (estimated 15,000 lb capacity - though it's significantly underrated). The plans do not furnish instructions for brake rigging nor draft gear as these would vary based on type of braking system used on your individual railroad.  We also have a day coach design with detailed plans available, with various options as to seating, roof style ("flat" arch, duckbill clearstory, monitor clearstory) depending on application. This design could also be modified for trolley trailer service with minor changes (extra fee). Under development, in the works I have the plans for a 0-4-0 tender locomotive, though depending on things it may morph into a SR-style 0-4-4T Forney. Custom-designed railroad structures can also be created for nearly any application, though all structure designs must be approved by an engineer or municipality before being constructed, as building codes vary so greatly from area to area, and all structures designed are based on time-honored railroad concepts rather than more modern structures. For any questions feel free to email me at FullerEquip@yahoo.com Tim Fuller
Fuller Equipment Works,Lodi, Wisconsin.

The Two Footers
534 Armory Road
St. Marys, PA 15857

tpbauer@windstream.net
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