Absolutely fantastic! I can't even think in terms of anything that big and that heavy being removed and replaced!
As a 51+ year railroader from a railroad family - I have always wondered what the 'enticement' was that drew people to desire to work in the Car Department - spending time much too frequently crawling around on the ground in all kinds of weather underneath rail cars where each and every piece of the car that may require removal/replacement/repair is of a size and weight that can easily crush the life out of a human. Admittedly in the 21st Century the 'shop track' environment is vastly improved over what it was when I was working 'on the ground' in the 1960's & 70's. But even in a well lit indoor type situation - one mistake and the parts being handled can quickly cause one's demise. Hats off to everyone whose career was through the Mechanical/Car Department path - there would not be a railroad without your efforts. It takes people with a wide variety of interests and intellects to make a functioning railroad organization. There is no single path that is suitable for everyone. My own career had me involved in a number of different aspects of railroading - some I liked, some I was less than thrilled with - but all were necessary to the functioning of the company and Class 1's are big enough with enough different areas of work product for virtually anyone to be able to find a job area where on feels qualified, challenged and respected for what you accomplish.
Great sequence of photos. Really explains your operation. I'm surprised the King Pin is so short. MT and Kadee King Pins are much longer. Of Course the dimensions of scale not being linear may explain that. LOL
I had a question, earlier, I forgot to ask. How are the new plastic pedestal liners attached to the bearing blocks? Doug
The plastic pedestal liners wrap around the truck frame on either side of the bearing block just like the steel ones did. However they can not be welded in place so there is a "tab" at the bottom that sticks out to the side and gets wedged between the truck frame and the steel plate bolted to the bottom below the bearing box that holds the box from dropping out the bottom. We actually had the wrong liners that stuck out to the sides too far and had incorrect location for the holes for the bolts holding the bottom plate. We had to drill new holes and saw off the extra tab before mounting the bottom plate. Here you can see the extra plastic sticking out the side before I took my Sawzall to it and cut it off. The bolt with a washer and nut are holding the liner up till the bottom plate was installed.
