Steam & Excursion > UP4014 Bolt: What & Where of its Use??

Yesterday I was visited by my nephew from California who brought me a late Christmas present that's shown here.  Neither he, nor I, have an idea where it was used on the UP4014 engine, but the photos of it and certificate from the Rail Giants Train Museum authenticate it.  This bolt has the slotted nut for a cotter key.  The bolt itself measures 1 1/4” dia. x 5” long to beneath the head .  The head itself measures 1 1/2” dia. x 2” long with a 1/8” x 45˚ chamfer at the extreme end of the head.  Now I’ve got a piece which I have no idea what it performed on the UP4014!  Out of curiosity, does anyone on TO's know where it may have been used on UP4014?!!  Maybe I just need to ask Mr. Ed Dickens Jr.!!!!!!!

Shown is the bolt and the Certificate of Authentication.

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Interestingly, they didn't fill in the blank on the "Certificate of Authenticity." Guess they don't know what it is either.

Posted from Android

Chris Bost
Leesport, PA

The extra-long castle nut (notched for a cotter pin) indicates use in a high-vibration environment. The rounded bolt head isn't designed for a wrench, and the bolt body appears to have a slight taper (1/16" in 12", IIRC, is standard for taper-fit bolts (steam locomotive frame bolts and valve gear bolts, for example), which are installed in a hole reamed to the same taper. When driven in with a sledgehammer, the tapered bolt and tapered hole lock together quite effectively. So I suspect that this is a valve gear bolt. 

- Doug Debs

It’s a nice document,
but it’s inexcusable that the description line is a blank.

What’s wit’ ‘dat?

There are many places on a loco that could use that bolt, but the specific location would certainly help the
collector.

What a shame that the loco team didn’t, at least, attach a tag describing what location it came from. It’s common courtesy.

W.

Posted from iPhone

How did it get so rusty?  If it was in a taper hole, I would expect it to be pretty clean.  Did they just leave a bunch of stuff out in the rain after removing it?

Cool… however since the letter/certificate isn’t completely filled out it basically makes it not authenticated and a meaningless paperweight.

Posted from iPhone

VERY TRUE!
( about having little value, since not authenticated)

Maybe Ed Dickens could do the courtesy of sending this buyer 
a letter, describing in more detail, about the original location 
where this bolt was used, on 4014, as well as an apology.

Dickens needs to realize that he represents, and has a Corporate 
responsibility to the public and private documents that he signs,
while representing the UP's Corporate Logo.

Whatever the buyer paid,  this lack of courtesy on UP's part reflects badly,
and is more costly,  on the Corporate Image of the Union Pacific RR.  
Everything about 4014 is related to Corporate advertising.  
This sloppiness is more costly to the "cheap UP", than to the buyer.

Selling formerly used steam parts from an operating steamer can be a
lucrative enterprise.  All it takes is a documentary form, a complete description,
and a corporate signature.   Then you've got someting of value.
The blank description line speaks VOLUMES about the UP RR's lack of
courtesy & damaged integrity.

If this had been a used spike, given to a supporter, or significant stockholder,
at a Corporate event at Headquarters, you could bet that the description line
would have been completed, and authenticated.

​W.

( Come-on UP, light a fire under Ed's butt and correct this serious oversight!
   This incomplete document should not have the UP's Corporate seal,
    or Ed's signature on it.)

The OP's nephew thoughtfully gave him a gift, believing it to be something the recipient would appreciate.  Can we just let the OP enjoy his gift?

sf1010 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The OP's nephew thoughtfully gave him a gift,
> believing it to be something the recipient would
> appreciate.  Can we just let the OP enjoy his
> gift?

Even if it is a fake?

Why doesnt the OP just give Ed a phone call? Didnt he post that here on TO?
RB

Here I am, late, but the below response from Mr. Dickens.  Now, can anyone of knowledge, display a photo showing the actual location where this bolt was located ON THE CROSSHEAD GUIDE??

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/25 19:37 by rrman6.

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Crosshead guides are supports for the piston rods extending outside
the rear cylinder head.

They must be longer than the nominal piston stroke.

They tended to fall into two types:
Two parallel, mating bars, — one above the piston rod and one below
the piston rod.

Or…

A single bar, with interior ’shelves’, above the piston rod

The modern crosshead guide, like on the 4000 series, UP steamers,
has 2 shelves carrying the sliding crosshead and the rear of the piston
rod. The one-piece crosshead guide was made with two original bars, machined in
a ‘shaper’, with 2 , long shelves.

By being machined separately, it’s possible to precision finish the facing, guide-halfs for
a smooth guideway as the piston makes hundreds of strokes per minute.

Two, mirror image guide-bar halves are bolted together to make a one-piece crosshead guide.
They are bolted together for manufacturing ease, and the assembly bolts are fitted with
recessed, round, heads ---- on the inner bars closest to the main frames.

When assembled, the manufacturers never intended that the crosshead
guides’ halves would EVER need to be unbolted and separated.  
The roundhead bolts never move, are securely torqued, and out-last the life of the engines.

In photos of crosshead guides, you can find them carrying the large crosshead, and the
outer end of tte piston rod…. And, you can find 10 or 12, or more slotted hex-nuts,
on a top row, with cotter-keys, locking the nuts to the threaded bolts.

The need, in service, to separate the two halves of a one-piece crosshead guide would
NEVER be a item of wear, or an item sustaining any substantial side-pressures —
that might be attempting to separate the two halves.

The sliding crosshead has a long, steel, sliding block that fits into the shelves of the crosshead
guide.  The new/ reconditioned piston is inserted through the front of the opened cylinder,
and the crosshead + the steel, sliding block are mounted and slid, from the rear of the guide,
along the crosshead guide, at the rear of the piston rod.

The crosshead and the guides suppprt the outer end of the piston rod,
And the rod’s Steam seal assemblies  never carry any weight of the extended piston rod.

The steel sliding block, of the crosshead, has the sliding surfaces all covered with a soft,
lead-alloy, closely machined to match the guide shelves of the crosshead guides,
as the crosshead slides on the steel shelves.

The wear occurs on the soft, lead-bearing coating applied on all sliding surfaces of the
sliding ‘foot’——matching the steel shelves on the one-piece crosshead-guide.
It is common that reconditioned crossheads are fitted with freshly-machined,
crosshead ‘slippers’at shop-overhauls, the newly applied, lead-based, babbitt alloy
metal is applied to the steel crossheads’ bearing blocks..... and the shelves are
precision machined, to fit smoothly into the crosshead guides.

The crosshead guides are equipped with copper, lube-lines, from a mechanical
lubricator, which is ratcheted ‘round by the oscillating valve gear, according to
loco speed…. To keep the crossheads and the guides well lubricated.

It is VERY unusual that  there are similar crosshead guide's, clamping bolts preserved,
like the owner now possesses.  There are only those that might have been collected 
at the time of 4014's return to steam. Nobody else finds the need to ever disturb them.


W.

(That’s enough for now).
Not proofed, yet ….

test sequence... 1349 hrs, 1/10
Posted from iPhone



Edited 9 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/25 16:07 by wcamp1472.