It took about a year, but the brass foundry has just completed the three sets of motor bearings we need to finish replacing the ones on the 309's #1 truck. They've already been delivered to the machine shop that will be doing the necessary machining, the same place that did the first one. The first one was installed earlier this year and tested; it runs fine, not measurably hotter than the old ones.
We would hope the replacement process will go much faster this time. If we can get the 309 over the pit for a day this fall, it should be possible to replace these three bearings at the same time.
There are other operating cars at IRM that could use new motor bearings, so the ability to make new ones is a good skill to have. We have a lot of old bearings in storage, but they're usually more worn out than the ones in service.
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