The Shay utilizes cast iron brake shoes that come into direct contact with the wheel treads. The eight shoes are cast into a single ring which makes it easy to machine them all at once.

First, the cast iron ring containing all the brake shoes was turned down on the lathe. This included the inside of the ring which was turned to a 2.5° angle matching the taper of the wheel treads (as per IBLS standards).

Here, the ring has been centered on a 10-inch rotary table placed horizontally on the mill to drill the holes for the brake beam hangers. Note that there are two halves to the ring: 4 shoes for the right side and 4 shoes for the left side.
 

The rotary table with the ring still attached was raised into the vertical position to mill out slots for the brake beams. Note that I fixed a sacrificial aluminum disc under the brake ring so that the cutter will mill completely across the casting.
 

Drilling and tapping the brake beam mounting holes.
 

The completed brake ring casting before separating the shoes.
 

Four finished pairs of Shay brake shoes ready to be installed.
 

The brake rigging is comprised of various hanger blocks and levers installed on the trucks. Fabricating these took a bit of time because there are so many of them and each one required several machining operations.

Yes, this brake anchor looks crooked because it’s supposed to be! The funky angle is to allow clearance for a lever and rod assembly to come through the bolster in-between the springs.
 

A flock of brake hangers.
 

The brake beams are made up of two 1″x1/2″ C-channels welded together back-to-back. Ugly welds got ground away. I also used some metal epoxy to fill in the joints.
 

A few quick coats of paint and it was time to assemble the brake beams.
 

Brake hangers in place and ready for the brake beam.
 

Here are the brake beams attached to their hangers. All that is left is to make the push/pull rods and a few levers, along with the steam brake cylinder (which will be in a future post).