Anyone care to recommend a mechanically durable foam that wicks to saturation and will retain car oil against the axle journals in a 6x12 box. Unity Railway Supply can supply 6x11 pads but not 12" long pads. These might work but we would rather have plenty of lube right to the fillet and to the thrust end of the axle. I have heard that others successfully use a dense open cell foam that doesn't weaken and disintegrate in oil, retaining enough mechanical integrity to accommodate axle motion while being forced upward by some kind of spring cage.
A description, picture or sketch of the spring cage arrangement would be very helpful as well.

This is for the the plain boxes being installed in the Orange Empire Railway Museum's SP1006 (EMD, SW1, c.1939) restoration to 'as built' Truck reassembly in in progress.

Since pads are no longer available you might want to consider just packing the box with hank wool. That is probably the "as built" condition. The only disadvantage to hank wool is the box will have less free oil in it and will need to be oiled every 100 miles instead of going 2000 miles between oiling. The hank wool will last longer than pads. You may have to rewind the hanks into ropes. There are a number of documents that illustrate the proper way to pack with hanks. It will have to be presoaked and will drained prior to packing.

Another option might be Armstrong Oilers. They would be more expensive up front but might be worth it in the long run.

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We have found several forum threads looking for these pads so my wife and I started a small business to support this need. We are called Pacific Journal Pad LLC, and we offer any size you like, to ensure the best fit and durability. Pads that press too firmly against the axle can glaze and go threadbare, wearing out prematurely. They are also a pain to install. A good fit ensures it will last the recommended service interval and maintain good oil wicking.

We have found that most rolling stock for standard gauge are similar and we stock the most common size for 9" long brass, while narrow gauge can be all over the map. Steam locomotives also vary tremendously so we will ask dimensions for those pads to ensure best fit.

Our thread on the forum is here: http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=45125&p=317462&hilit=journal+pads#p317462

Best regards,
Craig Cootsona
Owner: Pacific Journal Pad LLC