CAR DEPARTMENT WORK ORDER
by Rick Henn
WHEEL SET CHANGE
ON COACH #2906
|  On September 8th, 2006, the big news out of the car department is that coach #2906, which was identified as having a wheel flange that was approaching the minimum legal limits for service, has had a new wheel set installed that will be good for many miles. The first step in getting #2906 ready was to separate the cars so it was no longer coupled to its neighbors. George Specht provided the motive power with his truck and, in a tribute to the design of the roller bearings, moved the entire five car train. Once the cars were uncoupled the preparation started. |
|  Dave Fleenor removed the center pin that locks the truck assembly to the car body while Al Olmstead and George Specht removed conduit and wiring from the end of the car that would have interfered with the lift. Measurements were taken so the proper equipment would be available to make the actual lift. The replacement wheel set came out of a spare truck located in Hamburg. Dan Feneziani went to Hamburg to inspect the wheel sets and pick the one that would be the best match to the other wheel set in #2906’s truck. Al, George and I spent an evening in a light rain getting the truck in Hamburg ready for a crew from Winter’s Rigging to come in and remove the wheel set. A wheel set is removed from the truck assembly by removing the keys that secure the wheel set in the truck pedestal and then lifting the truck assembly, leaving the wheel set sitting on the rail. |
|  For those of you not familiar with the size of these things, a truck assembly weighs about eight tons and the wheel set (two wheels, axle and bearings) weighs about a ton and a half. This is not something a couple of guys in a pick up truck do on a Saturday afternoon. The muscle for the heavy lifting was supplied by Winter’s Rigging. A crew was sent to Hamburg to get the wheel set, which turned out to be a more difficult job than expected because, after years of exposure to the weather, the wheel set was very tightly frozen in to the pedestal. However, the Winter’s team has the equipment and the experience to handle the situation and the wheel set was removed and loaded onto a truck to be taken to Medina. |
|  The Winter’s crew arrived in Medina on Friday morning, September 8th. They came prepared to handle anything that might arise.
They had the company’s 100 ton capacity crane, its support truck and a boom truck with the spare wheel set. After some careful preparation the car went up about four feet on one end with the truck assembly still attached. It took a little coaxing but the bad wheel set dropped out and the new one was installed. By 11:30 we were on our way back to Hamburg. We owe a great thanks to Marv Winter for assisting us to complete this project. We also greatly appreciate the work the Winter’s crew did. They were highly professional and completed the operation quickly and, more importantly, safely. After that it was the job of the car department to put #2906 back together and make it ready for service on the fall trips. |
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| I want to take a moment to thank member Mark Banish for his efforts to put together options for completing this job. He put in a lot of hours trying to arrange for cranes and jacks and all of the other things needed. In the end, the decision to contract with Winter’s Rigging was based on the logistics of removing and transporting the spare wheel set as well as the possible difficulties with lifting the car itself. We felt it made more sense to use an experienced crew to do this job rather than doing it ourselves. However, that takes nothing away from Mark’s efforts. They are greatly appreciated. |
| Along with the heavy work there has also been some less strenuous work done. The WNYRHS’s partnership with the Medina Railroad Museum has allowed us to
make many needed mechanical repairs and upgrades but there is much more to be done. I'll be sure to keep you posted on our progress. |
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On September 8th, 2006, the big news out of the car department is that coach #2906, which was identified as having a wheel flange that was approaching the minimum legal limits for service, has had a new wheel set installed that will be good for many miles. The first step in getting #2906 ready was to separate the cars so it was no longer coupled to its neighbors. George Specht provided the motive power with his truck and, in a tribute to the design of the roller bearings, moved the entire five car train. Once the cars were uncoupled the preparation started.)
Dave Fleenor removed the center pin that locks the truck assembly to the car body while Al Olmstead and George Specht removed conduit and wiring from the end of the car that would have interfered with the lift. Measurements were taken so the proper equipment would be available to make the actual lift. The replacement wheel set came out of a spare truck located in Hamburg. Dan Feneziani went to Hamburg to inspect the wheel sets and pick the one that would be the best match to the other wheel set in #2906’s truck. Al, George and I spent an evening in a light rain getting the truck in Hamburg ready for a crew from Winter’s Rigging to come in and remove the wheel set. A wheel set is removed from the truck assembly by removing the keys that secure the wheel set in the truck pedestal and then lifting the truck assembly, leaving the wheel set sitting on the rail.)
For those of you not familiar with the size of these things, a truck assembly weighs about eight tons and the wheel set (two wheels, axle and bearings) weighs about a ton and a half. This is not something a couple of guys in a pick up truck do on a Saturday afternoon. The muscle for the heavy lifting was supplied by Winter’s Rigging. A crew was sent to Hamburg to get the wheel set, which turned out to be a more difficult job than expected because, after years of exposure to the weather, the wheel set was very tightly frozen in to the pedestal. However, the Winter’s team has the equipment and the experience to handle the situation and the wheel set was removed and loaded onto a truck to be taken to Medina.)
The Winter’s crew arrived in Medina on Friday morning, September 8th. They came prepared to handle anything that might arise.
They had the company’s 100 ton capacity crane, its support truck and a boom truck with the spare wheel set. After some careful preparation the car went up about four feet on one end with the truck assembly still attached. It took a little coaxing but the bad wheel set dropped out and the new one was installed. By 11:30 we were on our way back to Hamburg. We owe a great thanks to Marv Winter for assisting us to complete this project. We also greatly appreciate the work the Winter’s crew did. They were highly professional and completed the operation quickly and, more importantly, safely. After that it was the job of the car department to put #2906 back together and make it ready for service on the fall trips.)
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