I (or someone else) may have asked this question before but I don't remember: When did handbrake wheels begin moving from the roof top to the vertical ends of a boxcar? And when were the former eliminated from service? Thanks.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Many cars were still being built with vertical brake staffs in the 1920's, although some end mountings had been introduced much earlier, such as the "tunnel brake" on the PRR's XL boxcars.
Power brakes of various designs generally came into use around the 'teens and twenties. Most of these had a brake wheel that spun on a horizontal axis. They were called power brake because the internal gears gave better leverage for the strength of a human being. Some designs, such as the early versions of Klasing's gear, involved a crank lever. Another early version of Klasing's gear is replicated on the P2K Mather stock car and boxcar. It had a bevel gear arrangement with a topside brake wheel attached to a power brake housing.
Tom, and Tom, I found this discussion on a Trains thread. Scroll down to "edblysard's " post.
http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/111/t/16412.aspx
I wanted too know that too.
Mike
My You Tube
For my general knowledge, vertical brake staffs began to become unusual on house cars in the 1920's. High brake wheels went away in the 1970's along with running boards on the roofs.
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-Kevin
Living the dream.