Well, just my opinion, but I would not use the bottom edge of that buffer plate as a jacking point.
Regardless of the strength (or lack of) it is not going to be very stable. If that buffer plate starts to bend on one side the whole thing could become over-centered on the jack and come sideways, probably be a bad thing if the wheel is out or part way out when that happens.
Is this an outside frame locomotive ? Is the piece just above your thumb (with the red trim stripe) the frame of the loco ? Or just a running board/cab floor support ?
I would try to get an I beam across under the rear coupler support and try to pick up the frame there with some hardwood blocking.
Or remove the brake rigging hangers and get a jack right under the coupler pocket, but you would need to be away from your pit for that.
Try to avoid tall narrow jacks, the chances of things going wrong get higher. The best jacks will have a base that is several times wider than the height for stability. You can always build up solid wood blocking (with a wide footprint) under a shorter jack. Lift a little, then insert wood blocks, lower the load onto the blocks and reset your jack with blocking underneath it for another lift.
Always a good idea to have blocking ready to fill in the gap between the floor and the item you are lifting for a large lift, the distance to a stop if something goes wrong is less.
Good luck,
Cheers, Kevin.
|