A bit OT, but I wonder what percentage of the donations for this new-build steam locomotive is coming from the UK. A not-insignificant percentage I would guess.

Ross it was good chatting with you. It is always good to catch up.

As for a few of the questions, the stress relief will be done at 1140 degrees F for 48 hours. The 40 year Amtrak tender rebuild will run around $350,000. That includes the streamlining and paint of the tender.

If we would of built the tender, it would of cost roughly $3 million.

A video of our tour was posted to YT today. You can watch it at https://youtu.be/O581gW9wjEk?si=OQN8EfI2JXxSXQ3o

We will post the full presentation from the dinner on our YouTube page in a week or so.

Jason

Thanks Jason for correcting my temperature error.

To answer a question in one of the above posts yes, before first use the booster steam engine must be run in the idle mode with open cylinder cocks to get rid of the water in the cylinders just like the main engine. I was taught to give it a good 3-4 minutes running to make sure all the condensate is out of the delivery pipe and the engine.

As I said you don't use it often but very nice knowing it's there in a pinch.

Ross Rowland

It was specifically mentioned that Timken Bearings is a sponsor, had found the cross reference to their modern catalog, and were going to donate the hardware.

I truly believe the T1 Trust folks have a real handle on what it will take to finish the project. They also seem aware that inflation makes a case to get hardware ordered as soon as possible.

Brian Helfrich

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews ... r-painted/
"Volunteers and staff completed the painting and lettering of No. 1361’s Class 130P75 tender...one component in the tender restoration has proven to be elusive. He asked that anyone, including News Wire readers, contact him who may be able to help locate a back-up headlight for the tender deck."

I do remember that the bronze liners in the rod eyes were going to be resized slightly so modern OTS-dimensioned bearing could be used. I believe Timken noted that the modern bearings have better metallurgy, machining, and treatment. Those thin-section bearings were a principal design concern.

Hello,

Certainly the roller bearing purchase will be a substantial investment. It’s worth to mention, as I recall, the side rode bearings, if Timken tapered style, need to have pin type cages for the rollers? This is a subtle feature that is rarely mentioned but based on the account in Phil Girdlestone’s book of the South African Railways class 25 4-8-4’s, is critically important. In the account , I believe British Timken did not use pin cage RBs in the side rods and caused major issues with reliability and possibly side or main rod cracking? This caused the SAR to turn wholesale to SKF for use of spherical roller bearings for the side rods in all their Class 25’s but few cases.

It appears some bearing changes are being considered on the T-1. Perhaps this is discussed in the presentation. It’s understandable switching to spherical would be a major design departure and the account in Phil’s book, the American application of traditional taper roller style with pinned rollers seemed to provide adequate service. (Ross could likely confirm this in the pinned RBs and their reliability on the 614’s side rods.)

What little data and information I have found on pin cage taper roller bearings does make this feature very interesting and peculiar. You would think the roller cages would need to be machined with extreme precision to not allow the roller to skew out of alignment. Each roller needing a ground pin axle all retained cages with very accurate pin spacing. (Lubrication for the pins has to be a challenge and very important.) so the rollers are retained by pin axles not traditional cages with bridges between the rollers.

Based on main axle movements allowed in the pedestals, the axle could have angular tilt on uneven track as well as lateral motion for negotiating curves. Spherical bearings seem a more logical choice but why argue with what worked in the US? I guess they add a little clearance in the bronze or brass liner in the side rod eye and let them slap a bit. As I recall Kelly A stated, ‘ it’s better to hear them than heat them.’

Of course the main locomotive axle bearings are assumed to be traditional taper roller bearing designs, since the whole assembly is contained in a traditional split axle box.

This project is moving along quite well! As I have repeated raved over roller bearing side rods in this forum in the past, it will be interesting to see the side rods manufactured for the Trust. I’ll say again,

Timken roller rods have intoxicating beautiful machine work! Keep ‘em polished!

Cheers.

Randy Musselman

Hello,

To follow up on my previous comment, here is a short video on a crew installing the main rod on the South African 3450 Red Devil in 2018. Note the spherical bearing on the big end of the rod. As a bonus they were installing the traditional Timken 2-piece clam shell crosshead. You don’t see this assembly taking place very often on video! Also note the 25’s (and the Red Devil Class 26) had counter balances which hung below the cross head to presumably minimize the piston rod end twist from top shoe inertia at high speed.

https://youtu.be/qVS2LC2F-EY?si=BdwumbFj0CYEVLR0

Cheers.

Randy

It was my understanding that the bronze in the 'eye' of a Timken thin-section rod set up for lateral was machined spherical, with a comparatively large effective radius, and this acted analogous to a SKF 'barrel' type in accommodating lateral.

Chapelon noted (with some Christian-Scientist-with-appendicitis-type concern!) that the running clearance on the thin tapered bearings in the Timken roads was no more than about two thou -- which couldn't possibly work in a proper reciprocating locomotive with functional equalized suspension compensating for cross level and cross lateral. His conclusing was that the rods had to be elastically buckling to function...

It was also my understanding that the 'pin' cages were supposed to act similar to needle (Multirol) bearings when in contact with the individual roller faces. This would be effective whether the bearing in question was oil or M-942-compliant grease lubricated.

There was much American practice that established, or seemed to establish, the relative utility of SKF rollers for driver axles. That might be relatable to whether the 'driving boxes' were provided as cannon boxes (which I believe came to be standard for tapered roller bearing use in Britain) or as individual boxes with controlled lateral (as in, coincidentally, the patent for lateral motion that was part of the 'data dump' for the T1 a couple of days ago).

Frame completed:
"Pennsylvania Railroad T1 Steam Locomotive Trust
8h
HISTORIC MILESTONE ACHIEVED
After two years of intense engineering…
After six months of precise, heavy fabrication…
The frame of PRR T1 No. 5550 is FINISHED.
In our newest video, take a behind-the-scenes look at this massive achievement with Project Manager Davey Lawless of Dover Tank & Plate—the team that made it happen. Hear the story of how 71,000 pounds of American steel came together to form the foundation of what will be the first brand-new mainline steam locomotive built in the U.S. since 1950.
This isn’t just a piece of metal.
It’s momentum. It’s history in the making.
It’s the first full-sized T1 frame assembled in over 70 years—and it's ready for what comes next.
From digital CAD files to roaring torchwork…
From raw plate to 64 feet of perfectly aligned craftsmanship…
This frame is the beating heart of our dream, and it’s finally here.
Watch the full story now.
Hear it from the people who built it.
And join us as we roll forward—one monumental weld at a time.
#PRRT1 #T1Trust #SteamReturns #ForgingAhead #RailroadHistory #AmericanEngineering #DoverTankAndPlate #SteamLocomotive #RailPreservation #HistoricMilestone"

https://www.facebook.com/t1locomotive/v ... 076575554/

I strongly recommend the video, it is well worth your time. Congratulations to Jason Johnson and the entire T-1 Trust team for achieving another significant mile stone on the journey to build the first new steam locomotive since 1950.

Can't wait to see her strutting her stuff as she brings back to the USA the steam locomotive speed trophy held by the Brits since the 1930's. My semi-educated guess is that she should be able to easily top the current 127.5 record with at least runs in the 140-145 area.

Onward & Upward. Ross Rowland

P.S. As with all steam projects progress is made at the speed of dollars. Please consider joining the T-1 Trust and donating as you're able. Thanks.

Youtube link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzm8MJv8tvc

Another YouTube link, this one has an informative 1-hour interview by Jason Johnson of the T1 Trust on February 11, 2025.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W5ghtrN5nE&t=2716s
Thanks to the West Jersey NRHS for hosting this recording.