As an offshoot of the current thread of profiling drivers whilst under the chooch I began to wonder what it is thought is required for undertaking the job of wheelwork. What machines do "those in the know" feel is necessary? And what kind of and how much experience is needed for an individual to be competent in doing this sort of wheel work.

Dave Sutter

To reprofile large loco drivers, strictly from a wheel standpoint, you might get away with a really large lathe and not much more. That assumes they can be removed form the locomotive and lifted into the lathe or otherwise delivered there.

Putting new tires on the hub requires a bit more equipment both to get the old ones off and to heat and shrink the new ones on, after they have had the insides machined to the proper size.

For more conventional wheel work you will want to be able to press the wheels on and off, hopefully without bending or distorting the axle, and ultimately you will need the ability to turn new axles.

If you want to get involved in truck work you will want to be able to check the tram and square, and make repairs as needed. And it goes without saying there is heavy lifting involved at almost any stage of this discussion.

Bob Kutella

Dave, a complete wheel shop would consist of a wheel lathe, quartering machine and a driving axle lathe. TVR is the only facility in the country with all three. While one can do it other ways either with an improvised quartering atachment or with proper quartering and axle turning atachments(as Steamtown has) high quality results are achieved much easier with the three different machines.
The one item I left out is that of a VBM or VTL large enough to bore tires. But, in todays world, with only one tire supplier that charges nothing additional to finish tires to the shrink fit dimension it makes no sense to invest in such a machine.
Granted there are many jigs and fixtures required to do it right...not to mention the know-how for simple things like using a cutting torch rig regulator with ones fire ring rather than what equates to nothing more than an industrial grill regulator. Heating the tires to slowly can (and has) caused the failure of wheel centers after they absorbed to much heat due to a slow heating of the tire. Just as an example.

Anywho, hope this answered the question.

What is a "driving axle lathe", that is, how is it different from a standard lathe?

As an unskilled observer, I call it a journal lathe. It is specifically designed to re-profile the journal areas of the axle (that portion which "butts up" against the wheel center where the weight of the locomotive sits via journal boxes.) I liken this to the "sides" of the axle whereas the "middle" of the axle is only used to hold the whole thing together! I believe the same lathe is used to clean the "center side" of the journals as well which is the area were some lateral contact occurs. Of course a "standard lathe" is used to skim the circumference of a wheel center or to cut the tires themselves (after installed on the center.) TVRM has a Niles AW90 model (is that right Mark?) which refers to its ability to accept up to 90" driving wheel diameters.

The third machine is a quartering machine which is used to profile and align the "rod pins" on drivers to allow correct "square" operation of driving rods.

Sure it sounds like I know what I'm talking about, but the truth is that I have been coached in the past with information to report in the TVRM newsletter Smoke & Cinders. I must rely on Mark Ray, George Walker, David Pugh, Al Phillips and others to tell me what I'm watching someone else do in the shop. I then incorporate some of the information into my "speech" during the repair shop tours. If I have become confused, do not blame my sources. Corrections are invited.

Let's not forget testing technology - such as ultrasound examination of crankpins and axles, magnafluxing truck parts, etc. Finding hidden flaws to avoid future critical failures should be part of every heavy running gear job.

dave

TVRM was fortunate enough to be in the right place, at the right time, and have the right money available to acquire, rebuild, and return to service a complete set of Niles Wheel Machines. They are -

Symbol AJQ90PU Journal Turning Lathe - This machine has two unique features. The first is a a double compound that allows each journal and hub face to be turned and/or burnished at the same time. The second is an adjustable counterweight system in the headstock that allows for easy balancing of the wheel set. The balancing is key to obtaining truely round journals.

Symbol QB90 Quartering Machine - This machine features two sets of indentical headstocks and tailstocks. The headstocks sit on 45 degree slides to allow adjustment for the throw of the crank pins. The quarter is set automatically by the degree of the slides but the throw is determined by precision ground gage blocks (accurate to 0.001").

Symbol AW90 Heavy Driving Wheel Lathe - This machine features two headstocks (one is designed to traverse in and out for wheelset installation) and two compounds with turret tool holders. It is designed to profile tires but wheel centers can also be trued with it. Four tools are used to turn tires. A roughing tool to cut off the work hardened surface. A flanging tool to cut the new flange. A form tool that contours the tread and flange. And an edgeing tool to put a radius on the outside edge of the tire.

The Symbol AA86 wheel lathe at Steamtown is equipped with both a journal turning attachment and a quartering attachment. I don't know if it is completely operational yet. I should also add that this machine is the one pictured in the 1947 Locomotive Cyclopedia. Only one of this type was ever built. I have actually seen the original 8 x 10 black and white photograh that was used for the Cyclopedia add. This was during a visit that Chris Ahrens and I made to the the Niles Archives (Simmons Machine Tool Company) in Albany, NY, a few years ago.

The wheel lathe at the Strasburg has been retrofitted with similar features and can perform all the necessary machining operations.

There is also a wheel lathe at the Mid-Continent Railway Museum that was delivered new with journal turning and quartering attachments. I do not know if Mid-Continent has plans to restore this machine.

There are certainly many ways to skin a cat. Many machine tools on hand today can do all of these machining operations. However, doing so usually requires much more set-up time ($$$) especially the balancing part. The Niles machines are production machines designed to do the job. Minimal set-up time and tooling already designed to perform the work typically mean less cost at the end. To use a worn out phrase, no need to reinvent the wheel!!!

.

.

Folks,

The Western Railway Museum has the beginnings of a wheel shop with some machinery of the machinery mentuoned.

But you need to mention a lifting crane and an overhead system to move the parts from one part of the shop to the next. That is one machine to another. This is not stuff you just pick and carry across the floor!

It may be a years off, but my guess is that the first job attempted at WRM will be to move wheels on an axel to regauge them or press damaged wheels off and replace them with better ones.