Disclaimer: I don't know nothing, I can't answer any intelligent or stupid questions about this.

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Minnesota Transportation Museum, January 2019 Semaphore.

The big news in passenger cars is that (CRIP) 2604 will be receiving a new wheelset to replace one which has multiple issues including wheel wear and bearing problems. This has turned out to be a significant undertaking, as locating and purchasing a replacement wheelset with the correct bearing characteristics is difficult and expensive, due to this type of bearing being long-ago obsolete.

Our shop volunteers have come up with a simple, yet innovative design for a new bearing adapter box which will allow use of modern, standard wheelsets with rotating end cap roller bearings to be installed in place of the obsolete wheelset in stock which will fill the need, saving significant cost.

This is a big deal for MTM as we face a looming need to replace a number of worn wheels on various cars with old/obsolete bearing types. If successful, the new bearing adapter box design can be adjusted as needed to fit several different applications. Another neat aspect of this project is the use of modern manufacturing technologies to speed up the process.

The box was designed in AutoCAD, with the ability to quickly make adjustments and revisions as field measurements were made and input was received from collaboration with the technical experts.

Once the design was finalized, the CAD files were emailed directly to Discount Steel, who laser cut the various parts out of steel and provided us with a "kit", ready for final machining and assembly, which is presently ongoing.

Special thanks to Ryan Heath (Engineer and Project Manager), Garth Hammel (Machinist), as well as Eric Hopp and Jon Van Niewaal for their valuable technical expertise. Without their efforts and innovation, this project would not be possible.

I don't wish to sound like a jerk, but as a museum, isn't it your mission to maintain the obsolete technology?

Here is the car, an old "Al Capone" Chicago commuter coach MTM bought specifically for excursions, looks like roller bearings with covers (Hyatt?). The process described could be useful for anyone needing to move a car on the national system, but as Kelly notes it will wreck part of the original fabric:

Oh, in that case I retract my previous question. Roller bearing equipment isn't worth saving anyway...

Actually if I remember correctly, the wheel set and bearings being replaced are not original to the car, as I dis-remember they are from ex-GN Express Reefers.

When we got the cars, at least one of them had 4 kinds of bearings, plain, Timken, SKF, & Hyatt.

This was 35+ years ago so my memory is a little unsure.

-Hudson

I'm rather curious, would the cad/cam files be made available, or failing that a video of the process and materials be available?

The concept behind fabricating a new bearing box is to upgrade 1920's equipment that is the backbone of MTM's excursion fleet to modern, Timken cartridge bearings. As a Museum that operates an excursion railroad (Osceola & St Croix Valley Railway) on the general system (CN Dresser Subdivision), the equipment in the operating fleet sometimes requires maintenance that alters its characteristics. This work must be balanced with the mandate to preserve the historic fabric of the equipment.

MTM also has equipment that is not part of the operating fleet and will not join the operating fleet. This includes unique equipment such as Dan Patch 100 or the MNS Gopher business car. This equipment is not altered for operating needs. It is maintained and preserved as other museums maintain and preserve their equipment. It is also not operated, as that operation wears parts and requires maintenance to repair or replace those parts, just as the operation of 2604 requires replacing the wheelset.

MTM operates with this dichotomy because we are both a "museum" and a "tourist railroad". We have separate sites that serve different functions. There is a tension between strict historic preservation and strict operations. We balance that by staying mindful of modifications to operating equipment and having equipment in the collection that stays outside of the Osceola fleet.

Together, the "museum" and the "tourist railroad" can serve to provide a fuller experience to our visitors. One can come to the Jackson Street Roundhouse and see historic railroad equipment in a historic railroad building and understand the nature of the unaltered equipment. One can likewise visit the Osceola & St Croix Valley Railway and take a ride and experience the sights, sounds, and smells of riding historic equipment. Taken together, we can offer the strict history as well as the experience.

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Specifically regarding the 2604 project, the bearings will be saved. The existing boxes appear to have missing parts which has led to excessive lateral travel which has led to unusual and premature wheel wear. This has required replacement of the axle.

Other than swapping a wheelset, which was required no matter the solution proposed, no other modifications will be made to the car. The trucks, brake rigging, couplers, and seat frames are all authentic Rock Island.

If, in the future, MTM wishes to make the missing parts for the bearing and fix the lateral slop, the bearings can be reused under the car.

As Hudson noted, these cars are a hodge-podge, likely assembled by the cash-strapped Rock Island out of whatever parts they could find to keep commuters moving. This particular car has three styles of bearings including 5x9 Timken roller bearings in a jack-in-the-box configuration. The other operational Capone car at MTM has three styles of bearings and different trucks from 2604. The third, stationary Capone car has two styles of trucks (with different pedestal jaw opening widths) and three styles of bearings.

If the design is successful, we would like to make the concept available to others. The boxes will be operational in 2019, so we will know the results in the coming year or so. We are documenting changes and the process as we go, so that may also be available to others.

If you have any questions regarding this project, please feel free to contact me at ryan@trainride.org.

Ryan Heath
Minnesota Transportation Museum