Subject: Bearings and Lubrication (5/27/1993)
[11/5/86] Lubrication - Mr. Laird advised that some car owners are lubricating their own journals. This, of course, is certainly acceptable (lubrication is an owner responsibility), but only if the proper lubricant is used. Apparently, Amtrak has had a problem with one private car where the wrong grade of lubricant was used.
Roller bearing grease and brake cylinder lubricant are available from Weller Enterprises, 114 Division Street, Brookville, Indiana 47012. Mr. Weller advises that both are available in six gallon (48 pound) buckets and that each product sells for $1.20 per pound. These are AAR approved lubricants.
They are also available from your local Texaco distributor, and perhaps other distributors of industrial lubricants. You should check the AAR field manual for other brands which are acceptable and available in your area. You should also have a knowledgeable person, such as railroad car man, show you where, and how much lubricant to use.
[6/20/88] Roller Bearing Lubrication - Most of the roller bearings under private cars are lubricated with grease. The principal exception is the Hyatt oil bearing. The oil bearings may be lubricated with regular AAR journal oil, type M963. For the grease lubricated bearings, Amtrak has a special grease which it prefers. If this grease is not available, then you may use AAR type M942 grease which is likewise approved, and readily available at your local railroad.
However, some of the Hyatt bearings were converted to grease from the original oil boxes. You may not use M942 grease in Hyatt boxes, because of the bronze thrust blocks in these bearings. Instead, you must use AAR type M917 grease in Hyatt bearings, and this grease is not readily available in the field, because the railroads have little use for it today. It may be ordered, however, from your Texaco, Exxon or other supplier, and you would be well advised to carry this special grease with you in convenient tubes.
[3/11/91] Brass Bearings - I understand that there is a new AAR rule which will shortly prohibit the interchange of brass bearing cars between the various railroads. This does not mean that such bearings will completely disappear, when the cars are kept on a single carrier, but the opportunity for free interchange is going.
[12/27/91] AP Freight Bearings for Passenger Cars - Last July, Bernie Gallagher called me to advise that the Dover Harbor has 5-1/2 x 10 passenger type roller bearings, and they wished to turn the axles down so that they could put AP NFL freight bearings on these axles. However, he reported that while this is possible, Amtrak had advised that the bearing load would be downgraded to the equivalent of a 5 x 9 axle, and therefore, because of the weight of the car, the speed rating would be dropped from 110 miles an hour to 90 miles per hour. I therefore wrote to Amtrak asking them to reconsider the application of the AAR rules to the problem. My argument was:
To recap, the problem is the applicable load and speed restriction for a car equipped with a 5 1/2 x 10 passenger axle, when the journal has been turned down to a diameter of 5.191 to allow the fitting of an AP roller bearing. Because the diameter has been reduced from 5 1/2 inches, you are treating the axle as the equivalent of a 5 x 9 axle, and therefore limiting the weight and speed from a "D" axle to a "C" axle, as shown in AAR Standard S-042, found on page A-III-66 of the Manual of Standards and Practices. I disagree with this analysis for the following reasons. The stated size of the axle (5 1/2 x 10) is not an actual dimension. Instead, it is a nominal size, as is demonstrated by the charts found in the AAR Field Manual.
In fact the journal diameter may vary in size from 5 1/2 inches down to 5 inches before the condemning limit is reached, and further the journal diameter may be reclaimed commercially down to a diameter of 5 1/8. You will note that Passenger Car Rule 11.Ala provides a limit of wear on a 5 1/2 x 10 journal down to 5". And, the same rule provides for a reclamation diameter of 5 1/8, at Rule 11.C1. Undoubtedly, this is in accordance with applicable safety factors. You will further find the same tolerances in Freight Car Rule 42, for the same size journals. It therefore follows that a 5 1/2 x 10 axle may be turned down in the journal area to a minimum diameter of 5", and still be considered a 5 1/2 x 10 axle. Since it is still a "D" axle, the speed and weight restrictions are not impaired when the axle is turned down to 5.191", for the application of an AP bearing.
In response, Amtrak consulted with Timken and I was advised that while my reasoning was incorrect, nonetheless the 5-1/2 x 10 AP bearing would be considered equal to a standard passenger box roller bearing insofar as load carrying capacity and speed was concerned, and we have now received a confirming letter from Amtrak stating that AP bearings will be rated the same as a standard passenger bearing insofar as loading, carrying capacity and car speeds are concerned. We have also written to Amtrak about the amount of grease to be put into the bearings of the private cars which average about 10,000 miles per year. Timken has suggested that the amount of grease could be substantially decreased and the frequency of greasing could be substantially increased. Amtrak has advised that it will petition the AAR committee in light of the Timken comments. In the meantime, you should continue to keep your lube dates in conformity with current rules.
[5/27/93] Lubrication of Grease Bearings - Car owners are generally familiar with the fact that there are oil lubricated and grease lubricated bearings. The Hyatt bearing is about the only oil lubricated bearing still found in service. It must be checked, filled with oil, and restenciled every thirty days.
Grease lubricated bearings, on the other hand, could go 90 days. The most recent is the NFL rotating end cap bearing (no field lubrication). This particular type of bearing is sealed and need not be re-lubricated, under ordinary circumstances. Preceding the NFL bearing was a rotating end cap bearing which looks identical to the NFL bearing, but which includes a button head grease fitting. The problem with these bearings was that the AAR rules required them to be greased every 6 months with 4 oz. of grease which often led to blowing the seal off of the rear of the bearing. If the end cover does not rotate, then it was lubricated every 90 days with 1 lb. of grease, which oozed out the rear all over the wheel. Roy Thorpe checked with Timken to see if it was really necessary to put grease in these rotating end cap bearings so often, and they replied that the frequency of greasing on private cars could be stretched out quite a bit, and the amount of grease could be reduced.
This has all been submitted to Elton Miller, and he has now advised that private car grease lubricated roller bearings with rotating end caps (other than NFL types) must be greased every 100,000 miles or every two years, whichever occurs first, using 8 ounces of grease. Grease lubricated bearings with fixed housings and end covers that do not rotate, must be lubricated every 50,000 miles or each year, whichever occurs first, likewise using 8 ounces of grease. Oil lubricated bearings must continue to be lubricated every 30 days. The foregoing reduced frequency of lubrication is quite an improvement, and will prevent blowing out seals, and having wheels covered with grease, for no particular purpose.
The proper grease is AAR spec. M-942, available from Exxon, Shell, and Southwest Grease. The proper grease for Hyatt bearings that have been converted from oil is AAR spec. M-917 grade A. Since nearly all Amtrak bearings are NFL, you may find it impossible to find journal oil, grease or proper grease-guns on the Amtrak system.
I must caution you that while these dates are acceptable to Amtrak, they may not be acceptable to the carrier railroads. We had attempted to get the AAR to change their rules, in view of the remarks of Timken, and the AAR has simply taken no action. We will continue to work to get them to change their rules, although, as most of you realize, they have not issued any passenger car rules, or even updates, in many years.
Paul L. DeVerter II
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