What kind of bearings were on a steam locomotive’s pilot wheels? The reason I am asking is that I got to witness the ATSF 940 being moved in Bartlesville, OK last week and it was a site I will never forget.
Their goal is to cosmetically restore it. They got the headlight to work and steps that lead up to the cab so that visitors may go inside and look at the various guages and things.
I heard that their ultimate goals is to make it operational sometime in the future, but buried half way up in flood water and mud three years ago might prove challenging.
A friend of mine works for a place that refurbished the bell and whistle and I got to tour the place and help them. It was a great experience that I can tell my future kids and grandkids.
I don’t know anything about the wheel bearings, but I hope they have plans to keep the loco protected. There are unfortunately too many unscrupulous people who will do whatever it takes to steal things liek the whistle and bell and builder’s plates and any other removable appliance. RCT&HS had volunteers sleep out with their FP7’s at a recent railfan trip, because last time the locos were used in that location, someone stole the horns. You probably wonder the same thing I do - diesel horns are NOT lightweight pieces, but someone managed to climb up on the units and unbolt the horns and get the to the ground and away.
The pilot wheels would probably have the same type of bearings as the main axles – roller bearing if the mains had roller bearings; friction (babbit) if the main bearings were babbit.
I wholeheartedly agree with Randy – vandals, souvenir hunters, and people in search of metal to sell to a scrap dealer for quick drug money can turn the locomotive into junk real quick if it is not protected. It’s happened several times to several steam engines.
There was even an instance earlier this year of people stealing rail from CSX. Not scrap rail, but from an in-service track!
Most likely friction = brass semi-circles, lubricated by cotton waste in an oil ‘cellar’.
Roller bearings were not widely used until the Timken ‘4 Aces’ No. 1111 demonstrator 4-8-4 was built and shown around. That was around 1930 if I recall correctly, and even after that roller bearings were largely confined to being used on the wheels carrying a lot of weight on modern, high-speed ‘Super-Power’ type steam locomotives.
Since 940 is a 2-10-2 built in 1903 with 57" diameter drivers and only 200 lbs. boiler pressure, she meets none of those criteria, nor does the pilot truck. I would be really surprised if she ever had roller bearings or any other type of advanced bearing installed, even in her later years.
Thank you so much for the replies. Paul, I kind of figured it would be friction bearing.
Cacole and Randy, I agree about the vandals. The organization is going to put a canopy over it in the near future. To me, they need to find a way to modify the heads of the bolts so no one can “easily” remove the whistle and bell. It funny that no one bothered those before. The loco was placed in a park that is notorious for drug use and other illicit activity that occurs at night.
Where the loco sits now, there is a police station located maybe 200 feet away.
In this litigious society that we live in, it would be shameful for someone to attempt to steal a whistle or bell and hurt themselves in the process. I can just imagine someone trying to sue because they were so stupid.
The thing that really irks me now about this loco is that people can go in the cab and look at the guages. It would definitely be a shame is someone stole those just for the scrap metal.
I hope in the near future they will add some more security to the premises.