Trimming two inches from one of the brake beams. All the beams, but one, were made two inches long, until a dilemma could be resolved. The first of the six beams was made to match an original beam: 66 inches long, with the hole for the brake rod one inch off-center, which seemed weird, to me. Distances from end to center of brake rod hole were 32 and 34 inches. To keep construction flowing, it was decided to make the remaining five beams too long, at 68 inches; in the future we could simply trim two inches from one end, or one inch off both ends if the hole was to be centered. All the beams on the Climax on the Durbin and Greenbrier were measured and found to be drilled with the brake rod hole one inch off center, so the dilemma was resolved.

Photo by Ed Miller