5542 passes steam test

55423 has passed her annual steam test, there's photos of this and the static test on http://www.5542.co.uk/news.html

 

Interesting the use of an engineering polymer for bearings... If that stands up long term it could save a deal of trouble.

 

Jim, Its looking good so far. Apart from one problem we had with one of the bearings, which was fully investigated and the specific cause identified and rectified, we have had 5000 miles of fault free running on 5 out of 6 side rod bearings and 3000 miles since a problem on the sixth. The ease of replacement is remarkable reducing down time from about a week at best, to less than a day, so big savings on labour and time. We are more than happy to talk through our experiences with anyone seriously interested in trying this type of bearing on loco or rolling stock.

John (not the 'engineer')

 

I have long thought that there is use for polymer applications in the steam world......really pleased to see someone has stuck their neck out.....and had success....well done!

 

Teflon/PTFE has been used in many locos already for gland packings but this is a welcome application. Very well done indeed!

 

I've wondered about packings, nice to see people using these materials.......anyone tried different materials for piston rings?

 

Is the vesconite lubricated at all on 5542, or are the corks purely to fill the holes which already exist? Would certainly be very useful if it didn't need any oiling.
Daniel

 

Daniel, We are still oiling because its a bit of a 'mind set' thing, and obviously we still need the rest of the loco oiled, but as the 'environmental' pressure rises hopefully we can gradually reduce the amount of oil that finds it way onto the track and produces the associated polution.

John

 

I would have thought that you would still need to lubricate the bearing. I've past experience in so-called self lubricating bushes which are fine in theory but lubrication also prevents corrosion. If you don't lubricate your steel crankpins, they will corrode and that will present a bigger problem than wear.

 

Thanks for that John. I wasn't worried about the environmental impact, more whether lubrication was neccesary with this material or not. If you think oil on the track is an issue, try dealing with a marine plant where oil end up in the bilge water!
Daniel

 

We are carefully monitoring the situation as much as possible and considering all options, but because we are not in 'day to day' contact with the loco (We're in Devon/Somerset, the loco is on the GWSR) we are erring on the side of caution at this stage and leaving the general operational instructions unchanged to avoid any misunderstandings. The environmental side is something that everyone is going to come under pressure to consider as time goes on and whilst there may be problems with marine plant I would presume that that must also be something foremost in the minds of those involved. I understand soluable oils are available but are excessively expensive, although I hasten to add I have no formal knowledge in that area . I'm just the Chairman , and as everyone knows, chairmen know nothing about anything!

Thanks for everyones interest in the subject.

John