Kozo K27 Brakes
This is one of a pair of brake hanger
brackets that will mount on the lower frame rail between drivers 2 and
3 to support the brake shoes for driver 3. Another shorter pair will be
required for the driver 1 brake shoe set. The brake shoes for drivers 2
and 4 are supported off of the frame fillers that were completed in the
spring rigging step. October 12, 2018.

One of the brake hanger brackets that will sit in front of driver 1.
November 12, 2018.

The four brake hanger brackets have
been completed. November 25, 20118.

One of the brake cylinders has been
turned to the final dimensions. A few holes will be required and
tapping for the rear cover and mounting holes on the frame side.
December 1, 2018.

The pair of brake cylinders have been
fully machined with mounting holes. December 8, 2018.

Covers for the rear of the brake
cylinders have been machined and attached. A hole is necessary in one
of them for the push rod that will attach to the mechanical brake
lever. December 9, 2018.

The two push rods for the brake cylinders have been machined and
threaded. These will be inserted inside of the cylinders along with a
return spring. December 10, 2018.

This shaft will run below the rear
frame section and connect the brake cylinders up to the brake linkage.
A small lever has been silver soldered at the center of the shaft for
connecting the linkage. The levers that will be on each end of the
shaft have also been started. These will connect up with the push rods
in the previous photo. December 16, 2018.

The brake cylinder levers have been
machined to the final shape. December 21, 2018.

The two brake cylinder lever shaft
fulcrums have been machined and will receive a phosphor bronze bushing
in the next step. December 22, 2018.

The phosphor bronze bushings for the
pillow blocks are done and the ends for the cylinder push rods have
been completed. A couple of 7/16 x 5" compression springs were
purchased at a local hardware store and trimmed down to about 2 inches.
These are hidden inside the brake cylinders and keep the brakes in the
released position. This was the first test fit of the brake actuator
assembly on the frame to check for a proper fit and everything lines up
as expected. The levers still need to be pinned to shaft. December 27,
2018.

The eight driver brake shoes will be
cut from this aluminum blank. The tread and flange grove has been cut
on the inside and the pivot point for each shoe has been drilled.
December 31, 2018.

The basic shape of the eight brake
shoes after a little bit of milling. The next step is to use a slitting
saw to cut out the shoes from the ring. January 5, 2019.

The eight brake shoes have been
trimmed from the ring and are ready for further machining. The pivot
bracket will need a slot for the hanger arm and a couple of minor cuts
in the bracket. January 6, 2019.

The brake shoes have been slotted for
the hanger, the hanger bracket ends have been shortened to make them
distinct from the shoe ends and a notch has been cut for the
positioning spring. January 13, 2019.

The 8 brake hanger pins have been
machined which provide the pivot of the brake shoe hanger levers on the
hanger brackets that mount to the frame. The pins are 5/32" SS reduced
down to 1/8" on one end for the lever with a E-clip groove on each end.
The pins are extra long to allow the brake shoe to float from side to
side with movement of the drivers. February 18, 2019.

After a fairly long break all of the
brake system pins have been completed. A total of 48 pins for the
various levers in the brake system. April 27, 2019.

Four of the brake shoe levers have
been completed with four more to go. The next set of four have a
slightly different shape to them. April 28, 2019.

Three of the angled brake shoe hangers
have been completed with one more to go. May 6, 2019.

The next set of parts will be the
brake beams with three more to machine. These are close to 4" long x
0.5" x 0.18". May 18, 2019.

The four brake beams have been
completed. May 19, 2019.

An equalizer and three of the slap
links have been machined. May 26, 2019.

The six slap links have been cut out
and drilled. They will require a slot on each end to complete. May 27,
2019.

The six slap links have been slotted and fit to the brake beams. The
front beam does not require slap links. June 2, 2019.

A set of six pull rod joints have been
roughed out with a radius on the end and bored for a 1/8" pin. These
will need to be slotted to allow the brake beams to pass through them
and have a threaded hole in the end for the pull rod. June 9, 2019.

The brake pull rod joints have been
slotted, machined down on the pin end and threaded on the square end to
accept the 1/8" diameter pull rods. July 20, 2019.

A set of eight pull rod ends have been
cut out and the next step is to silver solder the 1/8" diameter rods to
the square end. July 21, 2019.
The pull rod ends have been soldered
to a 1/8" diameter rod and the rods have been threaded to attach to the
pull rod joints. July 28, 2019.

The main pull rod is 5/32"
diameter just over 11" and is soldered on one end with a threaded
connection at the other. August 3, 2019.

A set of brake equalizers that will be
used to connect all of the pull rods to the brake beams. August 4, 2019.

The assembled pull rod and brake beam
system before installing on the locomotive. August 4, 2019.

The completed brake system installed
on the locomotive with many pins and E-clips. August 4, 2019.