Flange Lubricators

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Tom Macrery
Posts: 308
Joined: 26 Jan 2007, 08:47
Location: Pretoria, South Africa

Flange Lubricators

Post by Tom Macrery »

While investigating the rail defect near Cullinan I looked at the Flange Lubricators which are on the S-bend leading out of town. Neither one is working. Steve A. says they have been broken for quite some time. Apparently, according to Steve, by lubricating the flanges, especially on curves with check-rails, friction is reduced and efficiency is increased. The concern, I imagine, would be that grease must not get on to the top of the rail nor on the adhesion portion of the wheel, as this would make the rail slippery and reduce the adhesion coefficient for the driving wheels.
Attachments
The lubricator lower down and broken open.
The lubricator lower down and broken open.
js800_03102009002.jpg (144.13 KiB) Viewed 1111 times
The lubricator nearest the rail defect and yellow box.
The lubricator nearest the rail defect and yellow box.
js800_03102009005.jpg (150.33 KiB) Viewed 1111 times
Grease
Grease
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