Today's first priority was the 309 Bearing Project, as we've mentioned before. I started by getting a spare axle cap casting out of storage, from one of our spare GE66 traction motors. It has some surface rust, but is otherwise in excellent shape, including a nice strong spring on the waste lid. Here you can see what it looks like from the inside, with the waste still in place. When saturated with oil, the waste does a nice job of smearing oil all over the axle.
But it would be nice to replace this with new waste bundles. I removed all of the old waste, and put it in a bag for storage. I needed a large screwdriver to pry out a lot of the waste, which had turned into a greasy, almost solid mass. But with the waste gone, you can see all the way into the bottom of the cellar, as it's called. (I hope your cellar doesn't look like this!) I then cleaned up the casting and set it aside.
The main reason for getting this axle cap out of storage is that one of the axle caps on the 309 was missing the pins for holding the bearings in place. Some replacement pins were made, as described earlier, but they should be press-fit into the casting and not loose. That might be very difficult to do with the old casting. As you may be able to see from the above pictures, the pins in this casting are nice and tight, and not bent or worn.
Also, having a spare casting on hand will help us check the fit of the outside of the new axle bearings to the axle caps and motor frame. Below, we see an old bearing mounted in the axle cap, held in place by the pins. The white plastic part was added to this bearing as part of the first version pattern.
So the bearing project is humming along. I also spent some time rechecking the diameters of the axles on the 309, and so on. I hope to take the revised patterns to the foundry in the next day or two.
Meanwhile, as usual, lots of other projects are going on.
Pete Galayda has done a lot of work on windows, doors, and various other parts of the Class B. It's hard to get a good picture inside Barn 4, though. You just gotta be there.
John Sheldon is making new windows for the 50th Avenue station. And he's also continuing to work on the 306.
And then Gerry Dettloff:
and John Faulhaber:
are working on the 213, the only preserved example of the North Shore's end-door MD cars. This rebuilt sliding door works like a charm!
And Rich Block has completely overhauled this compressor for the 1754:
And who else was out, each working on his usual projects? Rich Witt, Vincent, Henry, Lorne, Tim, Nick Day, Gregg, and probably others. As I say, you gotta be there.
On that motor the axle bearing caps would have been line bored at the same time the end bell seats were bored to get the proper center distance for the gearing. The axle caps would have been installed with a thin shim to ensure the brass clamped tight when installed. Because of this, it is unlikely that the bearing caps are interchangeable. To check this, bolt up the old cap and check the bore at 90 degrees to the split and then check the new cap at 90 degrees to the split and see if they are the same bore with in just a few thousands. If a new dowel pin is just a little loose, a Locktite product will fix the problem is you can get the oil off the casting. If the hole needs more help than that the dowel pin hole in the bearing cap can be bored oversize and a dowel pin with a step in it can be made to fit properly. This was a common fix for this application.
ReplyDeleteDavid Johnston
I think those early interurbans and locomotives with the arched windows are too cool for words. We do not have anything like that in the Western Railway Museum collection.
ReplyDeleteWe are fund raising to replace some missing art glass in the windows of the Sacramento Northern cars.
Ted Miles, IRM Member