Lake Shore Live Steamers.com

Located at

Penitentiary Glen
8668 Kirtland-Chardon Rd
Kirtland, Ohio 44094

When I got to Hose Masters today lunch was already in progress as the guys were just starting to eat with Rick Nagy, Dick Clark, Dave Cryor, and Steve Zaken seated at the table. Dave, Dick, Steve Smoley, Paul Zorko and Rick look to see how the filler plates for the slots in the housing of the ballast sweeper will fit.

This is how the plate in its tentative position will fit to keep the stones from jamming between the brush assembly and a slot in the housing which locks up the unit. Last week when I wasn't here they had the front lip of the housing of the sweeper burned off by almost an inch to clear the rails so that the sweeper could get lower.

Frank works on reassembling the brake mechanism for the rider car in front of him. Ted Nyland confers with Frank as he works on the brake assembly for the other end of the car.

Bonnie Zaken cleaning up after the guys had their lunch. This is the idea that Dave Foster came up with to help keep the shoes from flipping around and rotating 180° when the linkage become slack from load. It's a fence rail clip cut off and welded to the brake shoe support beam.

With the hood off of the ballast sweeper you can see the internal workings. A view of the electric cylinder that raises and lowers the sweeper put in relation to the track.

Small motor that powers the actuator that lifts and lowers the hood. The belt reduction via pulleys that reduce the speed to the sweeper brush as this sweeper is non-powered and has to be pushed.

Outside the body of the frame a chain sprocket is used for a chain to another sprocket on the sweeper bar shaft. Frank's dad Sam Foti stopped by to see how we were doing and decided to help out with drilling the large-size hole through the quarter inch plate on the end of the sweeper as Frank and Rick steadies the unit.

Frank really leaning in on the drill as he drills another hole in the end of the sweeper frame. After Frank had reassembled the brake beam bars with the new clips, Dick, Wayne and Frank check the operation of the brakes by applying air and seeing how long the pressure held.

Here we see Frank laying under East Wind as he changes the oil in the crankcase, everyone thinks it's steam powered but we know that it's gas powered, just kidding. The sweeper hood has been put back into position and Wayne and Ted watch as Rick reassembles the chain on the far side of the hood.

You wouldn't think that the guy putting side rods back on the locomotive could get this dirty, it looks like he was running the engine, but at least he's happy knowing East Wind will give him years more of pleasure. The ballast sweeper with the brush assembly back on the front and connected to the drive is almost fully assembled again.

A view from the front of the sweeper showing the coupler and the lift frame for the sweeper with its actuator. I'm sure he wasn't running that engine but Frank sure looks like he was.