As determined from the ARM/ATRRM Convention last fall, the next group of castings to be produced for the Brill 79E project will be spring seats and cups. Material: WCB Cast Steel. This would be items 14, 17, and 18 as shown in the oblique truck drawing shown here:

http://www.rplsfaq.com/TRUCKSTUFF/Brill ... 20view.jpg

NTHT will apply for a grant to assist with the cost of the patterns, which at this time is $8510. Depending on the amount grant, we will then prorate the pattern cost between those placing orders. The pattern cost share is estimated to be in the $700 to $1000 range, but it solely dependent on how many groups place orders and whether we receive the grant.

The cost estimate for the actual parts is $1206.68 for #14 set of 4
The cost estimate for the actual parts is $162.40 for #18 set of 2
The cost estimate for the actual parts is $84.36 for #17 set of 2

OR, $1453.44 for a complete set of castings to equip one truck.

These prices do not include shipping, certified material or testing. The shipping is FOB Longmont, Colorado.

At this time if you are interested, please let me know and how many sets you might be interested in. You will not be obligated to pay anything at this time. I will continuing to work with the foundry to refine the estimate. I will also prepare the grant application.

Thanks.

Andy Nold, CMO
NTHT, Inc.
tnold@northtexastransport.org

Thanks for sharing. The type of work being done by so many of the organizations across the spectrum of preservation is just amazing.

Andy,

How many more parts do you have left in this project? It is impressive to see the work you've put into this.

I've seen the journal box castings and was very impressed.

The patternmaker and the foundry, Western Foundries in Longmont Colorado, deserve the most credit for the quality of the journal box. Fred Bennett shared the original blueprint, I did the CAD drawings, Charlotte Trolley and Fort Smith Trolley Museum provided access to an original journal box for measurement verification. Dick Guthrie and Gene Caywood from OPT provided the inspiration to reproduce a 79E truck. ARM members pulled together to raise the fees and make a bulk purchase order. It has been truly a group effort.

The goal here is to build a complete truck. I intend to reproduce every last piece. Each organization is responsible for their own motors. We are running out of castings to produce and they are getting smaller. The big ones are done. The next big thing, I think, would be axle sets and it looks like Lyons Industries did a great job for Fort Smith on Cars 21 and 25. Also, all the coil and leaf springs will make a nice package before long.

Andy,

Thanks for the information. It is an impressive effort.

How do you plan to fabricate the sideframes? Water jet?

This has been a neat project to see through the years.

The sideframes are done. We looked at reproducing them in cast white iron as the originals (I think that's what it was), but the kiln time makes that prohibitively expensive and just unneccessary with modern materials, so we went with cast steel.



I haven't updated much lately, but the project website is: http://www.rplsfaq.com/birney.html

Andy,

The project is wonderful. This will enable a number of restorations for what was one of the most significant street cars built.

Has anyone discussed trying to recreate the safety brake valve with door controls built it? What about seats or window hardware or other common parts?

Randy

You said Ft. Smith 21 & 25 but did you really mean Fort COLLINS?

It was indeed Fort Collins. We worked with Paul Ganter and Jim Lyons. They did a fantastic job on the wheel sets for both cars. They did both axles for our streetcar # 21 including the press work for a fraction of what Canfield Industries here in Fort Collins quoted for just one axle without the presswork. Lyons Industries workmanship is second to none. They were exactly on for all of the critical dimensions I gave them. The journal surfaces were a perfect match for our rebabbited journal brasses and our brasses required no fitting at all. Everything ran cool from the get go.
Roger Mitchell
CMO/Director
Fort Collins Municipal Railway

We at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum have also gotten good work from Lyons. The two complete cars, Pittsburgh Railways 4145 and Cincinnati 2227, that came from the Brookins collection both have had their trucks rebuilt and changed back to 5'2.5" gauge by Lyons. So far, they are working perfectly. Both cars should be in service for the 2013 season.

Question? Are the 79E trucks the more common variety that use 33" drive wheels, or the later version, used mostly in Philadelphia, that use 28" drive wheels. The side frame propotions are noticeably different.

Our wheels on #25 are 26 inch.

Yes, of course I meant Fort Collins. I actually had to look up the car numbers and realized I had made the mistake but forget to fix it when I added the car numbers. But, Fort Smith has also been a partner in the project from day one.

Our plan is for the typical 26" diameter wheel. Anything else that would raise the step and floor height on a Birney is probably a bad idea.

No problem, Andy. I am just a crotchetty nitpicker.............lol

Sorry for the stupid sounding question. Got my Brill truck numbers mixed up. My question would apply to a 39E truck, not a 79E. 26" wheels are, of course, right for a 79E, although I have seen references to wheels as small as 24".