Roller Bearings

[eastside]

Roller Bearings
About 6 years ago, in Trains (Nov ’97), there was an article about how roller bearings began to be used in locomotives. Not surprisingly, their adoption was slow and sporadic – many railroads seemed to look at them more as options than necessities.

One thing the article didn’t address was the use of roller bearings in freight and passenger cars. I would have thought the effect, in terms of locomotive efficiency, would have been even more revolutionary. I guess they would have to have been mandated because of the disparate ownership of the cars. When did happen for freight and passenger cars in the US? How much did they effectively increase the power of a locomotive? Did they pretty much get rid of hotboxes?

Thanks!

[oltmannd]

Roller bearing on the freight car fleet were part of the subtle revolution in railroading over the past 50 years that has allowed longer trains with many fewer employees. Here are some of the benefits:

1. Low starting friction - allows for "slackless" connectors between cars ala articulated intermodal cars.

2. Maintenance free - no periodic lubrication needed. Bearing lube lasts longer than it takes for wheels to wear to condemnable limits.

3. Low incidence of failure - Very, very few hotboxes. (though the failures, when they occur, occur rather quickly. A friction journal could smoke for 20 miles before a burnoff. A roller bearing could go in just a couple of miles.)

WIthout roller bearings, diesel locomotives, welded rail (and to a lesser extent, radio/electronic devices) railroading would have just faded away over the past 50 years. Instead, there's been a quiet revolution that's kept the industry viable and relevent.