The WLA has just placed a substantial order (in monetary terms) for four Pedestal Brackets, washers, pins and bushes for D1013 Western Ranger, plus a further two Pedestal Brackets to be kept as strategic spares. The Pedestal Brackets (two per bogie) are major safety critical components located inside the bogie frames which support the suspension compensating beams, each bracket supporting half the weight of the leading and centre axles. The order, valued at £8.2k, has been placed with specialist rail engineering Company, CWE Ltd, based in North Lincolnshire. Approx £6.5k will be paid from D1013’s appeal fund.
Our thanks to Graham Gant for progressing this order and for drawing up the specification.
NB Pictures and description courtesy of Pete Sandham, main photo shows a bracket removed from one of D1062 bogies illustrating the wear and tear problem. The bracket is inverted to that shown when fitted in the bogie, the bushes are retained by caps and are subjected to stresses sufficient to cause the wear and distortion over time, note the crack propagating axially through the bush.
The following drawing illustrates the location of the compensating beams, circled in red; the pedestal bracket is located in the centre of the beam, above and below the letter E:
