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The modern Timken locomotive journal bearing, aka GG, rolling element, will do a million miles. It is an opposed tapered roller bearing. The problem is the wheels will not do a million miles. And when the wheels are changed, the journal bearings are removed and you cannot remount the journal...

If I remember correctly, the "Blue Card" still has a check for "Hammer and Hydro"

From what I have read, a steam locomotive only went around 60K miles if working in mountains, a few more miles in the flats, 80K before rebuild. A heavy repair would take 6 to 7 weeks.

Note the European hook and buff on the front of the locomotive versus the US knuckle coupler.

The way I understand the story is that " Early American Mallets included both" that is compound and articulation. Ref: Brian Reed S.P. Cab-in Fronts, Loco Profile 28.

Maybe also a Mallet.

Note the wooden push bar extending on the right hand side of the turn table, on an angle. This was used to push the turntable around. It took several people to move the locomotive around. Now they could have had a mule and or horse and pulled the locomotive around using that timber. I was in...

I have to correct myself. I looked at the Google link with the list of industrial GE switcher locomotives and some follow on pictures. I mentioned the equalized truck. Well the India locomotives had primary suspension at the journal boxes no equalized suspension. I did see the Big River switcher...

Yes this appears to be a GE switcher. I remember 85, 110 and 144 ton models. There may have been a another lighter model. I only remember the dual engine design. The trucks were ballasted to maker up the different weights. They had iron brake shoes with clasp brakes and class C wheels with this...

Back in the 60's/70's the company/ GE/ had an American Crane on a flat car like that. I was used to tear down/ scrap locomotives. They had like 4 ft long cutting torches. From memory they did two a week. It was also used on derailments inside the plant, loco's and the anneal car. It was an...

I can add some detail to this unit. The handbrake on the left side of the picture adjust the coupler height. The truck frame is an original/ first production/ GE HIAD truck frame from the 80's. It has a large stiffner welded to the side frame / aka both sides/ on the open end of the truck. This...

A note on curving. If I remember correctly the railroads do rail spreading in the curves. Again from memory, 3mm per degree of curve. Most of the US railroads now use stick lubrication on the locomotive trucks. Years ago it was a grease in a pressurized tank with lines and nozzles to the...

Coming to a crossing near you.

Are those brake shoes a composite material and or a cast iron material?

Different subject, locomotive Blue cards. I just went to the FRA site for Blue cards, https://railroads.dot.gov/forms-guides-publications/forms/618049a-fillable-version-locomotive-insp-repair-record. The form page 1 and the page 2, instructions don't seem to align. Is that just me or is there a...

Nice stuff all GE's

Note: Miniature Blomberg Trucks Clasp brakes Nice.

The GE 65 ton switcher had equalized trucks with clasp brakes and iron shoes, I think it only ran on 36 volt. This series of switchers would go up to 144 ton. Along with the heavier platform they would ballast the inside the side frames of the truck fabrication for the additional weight. The 144...

I think the CN 2240 had the Draper Taper cab design, Dofasco trucks and 3/8 armor plate ,first time for this, for the nose cab.

Yes I noticed the disk brakes. If I remember correctly there are other designs with a single disk brake, but I don't remember the RR's. Another interesting fact about transit wheel sets. The design shown has a inboard wheel and out board journal bearing. There are other transit wheel designs...

We were still suppling friction axles for some customers into the early 80's. A lot of times these orders were for overseas customers and or a special built locomotives/ mining and or switchers. There was also Hyatt design straight roller journal bearing/ oil lubricated/ which I think was a...

I forgot to mention the lead GE was the very first GE locomotive with a camera installed

Kismet CA. 2006 before and after. From memory, I think there were 11 loco's total in the wreck. 6 GE's and 5 EMD's...

Here is my favorite railroad hat and I only wear it occasionally. I got it 15 yrs. ago from the plant manager. He said it was his last one to give out. There is a lot of history on the hat. I was in Montreal doing a wreck assessment on a burn unit. Enjoy.

I remember in the seventies we made numerous equalizers as shown on the U50 B trucks plus other equalizes for other equalized designed trucks. There was a C truck design for export locomotives that had the equalizer primary suspension. The equalizers held the primary suspension and the spring...

Here is another interesting fact about rail gauge. The railroads do rail spreading in the curves. That is to accommodate the tapered wheel design as the flange of the wheel contacts the outboard rail of the curve due to the tapered wheel design. This allows for differential movement of the solid...

Again if my memory is correct the Russian track gauge is 66". India also has this wide gauge in some areas. We built in the early eighties maybe 10, 144 ton switchers for India. They were dual 600 HP Cummings engines I think. Other locomotives gauges were meter gauge. We had several Indonesia...

I can't remember the details exactly but we built some new locomotives back maybe in the late eighties and or early nineties. They were for Mongolia??. If I can find the details I will add to the reply. The truck design was wide gauge with both wide and standard gauge brake rigging/ mounting...

A funny railroad ballad about bathrooms. I heard this song many times at the local Ushers club. Enjoy.