Does anyone have drawings of a full set of journal packing & inspecting tools? If not could you post a photo with a ruler in the shot for scaling.

I have a drawing of the packing tool (vee tipped handled flat bar), found in a Locomotive Cyclopedia, 15th edition IIRC. What other tools are needed other than the hook (rod with a 90 degree bent tip), IIRC it was mainly for pulling old pads/waste and feeling the axle surface?

I am in the process of readying an 1892 coach for movement to the museum, luckily the old journals were well oiled before she was placed on a panel track in 1969, as all the bearing surfaces with the exception of one were clean and wet with oil. upon inspecting the old packed waste, I found it to be too `dirty' to leave (`40 years of road sand, dust and iron oxide crunchies. So it has been removed, disposed of and the bearing surface protected with engine assembly lube.

Does anyone know a good supplier for Journal waste? Seems like the 2 companies that I could find, that make Journal pads, are having problems with their machines (yielding indeterminable lead times). 3rd one has too long of a lead time for this project, as I would rather have them packed before moving the coach.

What is the usual size of a waste bundle before packed into the journal box? The pulled bundles looked to be roughly 6x3x3, should they be tied at 6x4x4 to allow for compression room or should they be thicker?

How tight do you compress the packing?

Also is non-detergent SAE 30 oil good enough or what is the correct grade oil for Journal bearings?

Thanks,

Rich Cizik
MoW Foreman
Blacksmith Shop Co-Head
P&R 910 Crew Coordinator
Ct Eastern RR Museum
Willimantic, Ct 06226
http://www.cteastrrmuseum.org

For a short duration use you might try ordering mop heads - I'm not aware of a source for the heavy yarn waste any longer. You certainly will want to get good journal pads in the future.

I'm told adding some STP to plain motor oil helps break in older journals. Never had the occasion to try........

I'm thinking the ancient and sacred rite of journal packing with hanks of waste might be a really useful skill set to demonstrate and record at hands-on demonstrations at ARM and TRAIN - just to preserve the skills.

dave

Interlube's Journal Guard AYG is some good stuff.

http://www.interlubecorporation.com/railroad.asp

I prefer the packing iron with the slight bend and the V tip than the hook. That slight bend makes it easier to reach the far back corners of the box. The little nub also is easier to open the box.

Dave,

With the mop head, am I correct in assuming that the mop is folded in half and laid with the strands parallel to the rail like the cotton waste?

Thanks,

Rich Cizik

Here is the blueprint for a set of Wabash journal packing tools.

Steve Zuiderveen

Army instructions as to how to roll your own packing. Now all you need is a bucket of well soaked long fibre waste.

Steve

Since it came up. What have most people found when checking their old packings or when they packed their own bearings?

Was the packing made up of wool waste mats or yarn bundles?

Rich Cizik

Yes, you want to assure the mop yarns wick oil up from the bottom onto the journal surface. Roughly parallel to the rail would work well. Folding them in half depends - no point having half the yarns not reaching from the oil up to the journal.

Again, short term temporary until the journals can be polished and the proper packing material installed.

dave

<click> save as:
saveto: desktop
<click> save

Thanks, Steve
Fred

You can buy a bale of Cotton Waste from your local rag supplier. It is still made and the smallest you can get it in is a 50lb bale. We use it in steam traction engines for the oil cellers. If you cant find any let me know my supplier can get it and we can ship you a bale

John Deck
Great Plains Transportation Museum
Wichita, Kansas

Journals should be oiled with the AAR M-963 Journal Oil. It is available from many sources including Chevron, Texaco, Union 76, ConacoPhillips, Shell, Valvoline, Citgo, Interlube, etc. The AAR M-963 specification includes tests that demonstrate that the oil will not plug up the capillary action of the wool. Engine oils, gear oils, etc. have additives that may interfere with the wicking of the oil in the waste.

Wool waste for packing journals is available from Miller Waste Mills, 850 East Front Street, Winona, MN. 507-454-6906.

Mr. Johnston and Mr. Deck:

How long are the waste strands from your supplier(s)? The last batch we received is okay for cleanup and general locomotive sujing, but the strands are only six inches long, which is inadequate for a proper "bird's nest." We have found twelve inches to be a minimum strand length for making rolls that keep their loose ends in the journal sump.

I also prefer a yarn diameter that is @ 0.125 inch, though this is a matter of preference. The thicker strands seem to stay put.

Agred - threads like you would use in your sewing machine are almost useless in this application - you need knitting yarn size waste for this job.

dave

The wool waste which Dave Johnston mentions comes in continuous hanks which are at least 200 feet long. In fact we have to divide one roughly in half to get the quantity needed to pack an armature bearing on a traction motor. We do this by untying the hank and counting off the number of turns needed, and then re-tie into separate hanks.

The waste strands are about .125 inch diameter.

Incidentally, AAR M-963 journal oil costs about $10 per gallon in 55-gallon drums.