Steam & Excursion > AFT 1 by Tom Arnold

Photo by the late Tom Arnold. Tom was a prolific photographer in the 70's and 80's, and he graciously allowed me to copy many of his photos. Here's AFT 1 in Baltimore in 1975. Note the slumbercoach in the second photo. 

B&OBill



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/24 07:33 by bandob.

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If I'm not mistaken, this was a test run of the locomotive and the 2nd photo shows the train passing by Carroll Tower in south Baltimore just a few miles from Camden Station.
John in White Marsh, Maryland

Great pics of the 30 day miracle!
I went through the American Freedom Train in Anaheim for my 12Th birthday 
It made a lasting impression on me.
There is a book available by Warren Motts from his time on the AFT
https://mottsmilitarymuseuminc.com/gift-shop
Kevin

Yes, those are photos of our test run from Baltimore to Hagerstown to see if the engine was capable of entering service 2 days later and pulling the AFT throughout the greater NE. Yes, it was truly a 30 day miracle that the late Bill Benson and his crew of 49 paid professionals plus an Army of about 200 volunteers pulled off transforiming an engine that had sat in a junk yard for years into a runner in 29 nights and 30 days. 

   Great memories. Thanks, Ross Rowland 

   P. S. The book mentioned above is VERY well done and worth having by anyone interested in the AFT project. It contains hundreds of never befor published photos that do a great job telling the story of the trains 21 month journey through all 48 states. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/24 12:58 by co614.

The former Reading T-1 class loco, #2101.
Very Nice

Years earlier, Bill Benson, owner of 2102 --- at that time, wanted a evaluation
of the 2 stored locos, at Streigle's used loco yard, in Baltimore, Md. and asked me to 
make an evaluation of their condition.  He arranged for Streigle's
to allow my access to the engines and to conduct a summary estimation 
of their suitability, in 1971.
 
My report for Benson summarized my estimation of the two T-1 class
locos, numbers 2100 & 2101, as eminently operable, and that #2101
had been given Class 5 overhaul at Reading Loco Erecting shops in
1957 or '58, and never placed  'in service' ----- in RR lingo, it was known
as a 'zero mileage' engine.

So, it made sense for AFT to use the 2101, to haul the American Freedom Train
through the narrow RR clearances of Eastern USA, where a larger loco would be 
prohibited from operating.  Booster-equipped,  T-1s are a very strong locomotives,
and very suited to the task of pulling the AFT.

The restoration crew did a marvelous job in getting 2101 restored to operation.
Loco #1 ( 2101) now is in the B&O Museum, Baltimore, MD.

Sister 2100, is undergoing a 1472-day boiler inspection and re-certification at 
Cleveland, Ohio.  Soon to be restored to operation, the work is progressing 
at a very fast pace, with a large component of volunteers doing a lot of the
work alongside experienced professionals.  It's good to see young folks so 
intimately involved in the whole restoration process...they're learning 
so much, as the boiler and parts are inspected, repaired and re-applied 
to 2100!

 I financially contribute to the 2100's restoration costs; but, it takes 
many hundreds of donors in order to complete the rigorous demands of restoration.
Please join me in financially supporting the 2100 effort, by sending a generous,
tax deductible contribution to the organization.  Funds are sorely needed as
reassembly nears completion ---- and costs rise significantly, approaching 
steam-up days.

Engine 2124 is in the Steamtown Collection at Scranton, Pa,
on public display.

​W.

( I wonder where those 2 youngsters are, now?
   About 49 years ago..Could they be brothers?.
    THAT'S WHY YOU PAINT THE DRIVER TIRES WHITE!)



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/24 19:01 by wcamp1472.

The Slumbercoach was former B&O 7700. It was used as quarters for the restoration crew during the rebuild.
SR

BoilingMan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Slumbercoach was former B&O 7700. It was used
> as quarters for the restoration crew during the rebuild.
> SR

That Slumbercoach ended up being sold to Amtrak quite late - circa 1981 or so - when Ross ended up on the Amtrak Board, and they became aware that he had not one, but TWO of those valuable cars just sitting around in New Jersey.  They never ran on Amtrak as steam heat/DC cars, but were immediately placed in line at Beech Grove shops for conversion to all-electric Heritage Fleet Slumbercoaches.

Which T1 does the Blue Mountain and Reading operate?

Victor Baird

Posted from Android

Ex-Reading  4-8-4, T-1 class, #2102.

The  Survivors:
2100 At Cleveland, Ohio, nearing rebuild completion.
2101 at  B&O Museum, Baltimore, Md., as AFT #1, display only.
2102 at BM&R, operational., Reading, Pa.
2124 at Steamtown, Scranton, Pa., display only ( only survivor, ALL roller bearing axles).

​W.

( Also, #1251, 0-6-0T, Reading Loco Shop switcher, now at Pa. State RR Museum, Strasburg, Pa.).
 



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/24 19:44 by wcamp1472.

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Which T1 does the Blue Mountain and Reading
> operate?
>
> Victor Baird
>
> Posted from Android

2102

Posted from iPhone

Doug Wetherhold
Macungie, PA

wcamp1472 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ex-Reading  4-8-4, T-1 class, #2102.
>
> The  Survivors:
> 2100 At Cleveland, Ohio, nearing rebuild
> completion.
> 2101 at  B&O Museum, Baltimore, Md., as AFT #1,
> display only.
> 2102 at BM&R, operational., Reading, Pa.
> 2124 at Steamtown, Scranton, Pa., display only (
> only survivor, ALL roller bearing axles).
>
> ​W.
>
> ( Also, #1251, 0-6-0T, Reading Loco Shop switcher,
> now at Pa. State RR Museum, Strasburg, Pa.).
>  
I have to ask you Wes, since the 2124 is an all roller bearing engine, why is it that no one has approached Steamtown over the years about rebuilding it, as this had to be a better engine overall than the first 20 that were not all roller bearing?
Thanks.
John in White Marsh, Maryland

I'd bet that the subject has come up, but that the Powers That Be vetoed
the initiative.  

The Hennesy lubricators on the first T-1 locos do a fine job ---
--- as long as the driver set does NOT get derailed, and the lubricator 
does not get crushed between the axle and the lower frame binder-bar.

Hennesys that cause trouble are those where folks have cobbled-together 
an improvised repair ---- rarely successful.  Back in the day, the repair was
to get a new lubricator off the stockroom shelf, and scrap the damaged lubricators.

Also, Hennesys has lube-pads made of pourous material to promote oil 
convection and distribution.... but, the lube pad could be damaged if 
overheated during events like break-in runs, etc.

So, as long as they're well maintained, Hennesys are reliable --- and were 
an acceptable substitute for roller bearings.  It was the War Production Board
that restricted roller bearing use on other-than war time purposes.
Apparently in the case of the smaller axles on the T-1s, rollers were allowed 
to be specified.

T-1s built after WW2 were all equipped with roller bearing axles.

Interestingly, the wartime, new NKP Berks were allowed to be built using  
rollers on their driver axles, and on the 2-wheel lead truck.
Plain bearings on trailer truck and tender trucks.
Go Figure!    

​W.

 

> Interestingly, the wartime, new NKP Berks were
> allowed to be built using  
> rollers on their driver axles, and on the 2-wheel
> lead truck.
> Plain bearings on trailer truck and tender
> trucks.
> Go Figure!    
>
> ​W.

Cost saving manuver on the simpler bearings (tender and trailing truck).  The rollers on the lead truck do a better job of taking the lateral punishment, as apposed to plain bearings.  It would be an interesting read to go through any correspondence notes convincing the use use of rollers on the drivers, instead of plain bearings.  Especially when you consider the Pere Marquette's bershires were built in the same facility and received plain bearings, instead of rollers.

The difference with plain and rollers on the driver axles is how 
the lateral thrusts ( side-to-side) are handled.

With plain bearings the load on the axle is well handled by the oil film
and the cylindrical surfaces on the load bearing elements.

The lateral, side-to-side, thrusts , like when navigating curved trackage,
are distributed over the inner hubs of the driver centers.   It is a large diameter,
flat disc that bears against a flat, brass, semicircular mating surface, which 
is part of the crown brass and journal box.  The brass face of the journal box's mating 
surface is called the hub liner.

By necessity it only covers the top 180-dergees of the driver hub.  There are many 
schemes to keep that area lubricated, all of them have drawbacks and limitations.
Suffice it to say that the hubs and liners always presented maintenance challenges.
Hubs and hub liners are designed to be intermittently loaded, not in continuous 
contact.

Timken's tapered roller bearings do a superior job of transferring lateral thrusts 
from the axle to the journal box.  The challenge is that the rollers and cones/cups 
are tapered --- thus, one set of rollers can only handle the rolling cones are restrictive 
in only an axial load that forces the cones tighter together.  An axial load that forces the
rollers in the other direction, move away from the tapered races...

So, the Timkens are used back-to-back. in pairs, whether in automotive axles,
or locomotive applications.  So, in locomotive use, there are two-piece steel castings 
that span the distance between the drivers, hub-to-hub. And a pair of facing rollers,
at each end of the axle.

So, in drivers, you are free from having to maintain worn driver hubs.
Drivers on roller bearings are the highest desired driver besrings .

Rollers on the pilot truck axles are vitally important, too.
The pilot truck guides, and leads tne rigid loco frames through curves 
and complex track configurations.  So, sets of Timkens are vital when
used on pilot truck axles.  Always a good idea.

​W.
 
Not proofed, yet....
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/24 17:33 by wcamp1472.

The Pete Marquette locos might have specified plain bearings, 
when ordering the locos, as a cost issue.
 I'm sure Timkens were probably double the cost of comparable
plain bearings.

However, many RRs appreciated the "zero-maimtenace"  arrangement
of Timkens, over the the more expensive, high labor-costs of plain bearing
maintenance, continuously needed ....grease blocks,etc...

​W.


 

I can tell you that after years of struggling with the Hennessey's under the 2101 ( 1975-77) and constantly "fixing" them to the extreme pleasure of working with the 100% Timken equipped 614 it is difficult to express in words the difference. Let's put it this way...............I would do EVERYTHING possible to never again have to operate a mainline plain bearing engine. 


     Ross Rowland 

In my humble opinion, the perfection of the Timken tapered 
roller bearings, and arrangement for reliable wheel bearings 
is the most significant invention of the 20th century..

World-wide, every wheeled vehicle built after about 1935, has been built 
using Timkens tapered roller bearings.  Billions of bearing-sets,
are and have been inside everything from aircraft landing gears,
to escalators, elevators, air conditioners, autos, trucks, tanks,
Army, Navy and Air Force.... if it rolls on wheels, there's going to be 
the Timken, tapered roller bearings,  

They may be off-patent, by now.
But, even competitor's bearings owe their origins to Timken's superior 
originals.

When, in 1968, Ross's High Iron Company rolled NKP 759 into the 
hollow roundhouse at Conneaut, Ohio, Timken sent a field engineer 
to inspect 759's axle rollers.  

He said that he wanted to inspect the bearings before we moved 
the engine and put it back in service!  He was astounded when I told 
him we had just towed the engine 600 miles, from Vermont !

After recovering from that news, he had us remove the end cap from a 
pilot-truck axle, as well as several bottom plugs, under the main axles----

In each of the grease samples that we examined, the 1958 applied grease,
was still pristine and 'new',  nice, new white grease ---- as if stored in a sealed 
shipping container.

The Timken engineer instructed us to apply about 16 ounces of new grease, 
into all the plug holes, seal up the plugs, add seal-wires at each plug.  
"Once sealed, DO NOT EVER REMOVE THE FILL PLUGS, AGAIN!"...
was the instructions from Timken's field rep. We exchanged business cards...
And he left.  759's plugs are still in place.

Obviously, the engineer knew that over-zealous "tinker-ers" would be a greater 
threat to the bearings, than a lifetime of excursions.  The danger is always 
that possible dirt and grit contamination would endanger the bearings so,
he wanted their bearings fully protected.

So, to the best of my knowledge, 759's bearings and grease are still pristine,
and undisturbed as it reposes in Scranton, remembering the Halcyon Days,
of over 70 trips, under Ross's able leadership.

Thank you, Ross, for allowing me to have an unforgettable chapter
in my most unbelievable LIFE, so far.  759 taught me SO MUCH!,
including about roller bearings..


​W.


 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/24 02:59 by wcamp1472.