New Brake parts

I got both brake cylinder pistons freed up. One of the return springs was broken into many pieces. I called Westinghouse Air Brake. Sadly it took 3 or 4 calls and return calls to find someone at WABTEC to research our brake piston cup and spring. Finally I got to Michelle in Chicago who found the part numbers for our 8 inch cylinder. The bad news was that there was a minimum order of 12 pieces at 60 dollars a piece. I called Bill at Pittsburgh Air brake. He pretty much fixed us up with 2 new piston cups and a spring. I made 4 each, eleven inch flange gaskets from a 12 x 24 sheets of neoprene from McMaster Carr company.

Brake cylinders

Hank went up to the museum with me and we took the brake cylinders apart. I did not know how they worked or if they would come apart, but there were unions on the air line pipe fittings and a row of bolts at each end so we took them apart. Both brke piston rods were rusted and stuck. A lot of water and rust came out of the cylinders. One side we had to put a wood 4x4 on the piston and hammer it out. We were able to get the ends off the cylinder and the pistons and push rods out from around the brake rigging. The cylinders were cleaned up with 4.5 angle grinder with a wire wheel and greased. The return springs springs inside the cylinders were broken. The options are to get new springs and rubber parts or whole new generic replacement cylinders. The cost of the new cylinders ranged from 800 to 1000 dollars. We plan to fill some of the pits in the cylinders with epoxy and get new cups and springs. The cups are 85 dollars and the springs 35 dollars. All will be packed in air brake grease.