611 Rods

[NW Mailing List]

Don't think so, Ron.  The Alloy came from Timken; the forging and machining 
was done in Roanoke.  Maybe Louis Newton has some more information.

Ed King

-----Original Message----- 
From: NW Mailing List
Sent: Thursday, May 07, 2015 10:41 AM
To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Subject: RE: 611 Rods

"These new rods were fabricated from a lightweight alloy by Timken, not
Roanoke Shops. The new rods were installed on numbers 600, 605, 610 and 611.

So despite the N&W film showing rods being fabricated in Roanoke, the rods
on 611 today were made by Timken"


Ron,

What documentation exist to verify that Timken manufactured these
replacement rods for the Class J's, not Roanoke?  Which rods (main and side)
had to remanufactured? All eight of them?

Thanks, John Garner  Newport, VA

-----Original Message----- From: NW Mailing List
Sent: Sunday, May 03, 2015 11:10 PM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject: 611 Rods

I'd like to clear up some questions regarding the side rods on the 611.

Some people have claimed that the rods for the 611 were fabricated in the
shops in Roanoke, referring to an N&W film that shows rods being forged and
machined in Roanoke Shops.
Others stated that the rods for 611 were made by Timken, not the N&W's
Roanoke Shops.

So here's the story:
The rods for the Class J were originally fabricated in Roanoke Shops as
shown in the company film. Look closely and you will see that the
intermediate rod between the number 2 and 3 drivers was actually 2 rods
installed side-by-side. This caused the rods to be set out from the drivers
and the need for long crank pins.

According to Bud Jeffries' book "Giants of Steam", in 1952 a failure of the
crank pin on the number 4 driver led to a redesign of the rods. The new
lightweight rods only required one rod between the drivers, allowing the
rods to be located closer to the wheels and shortening the crank-pins. This
reduced the stresses seen by the crank pins and solved the problem.

These new rods were fabricated from a lightweight alloy by Timken, not
Roanoke Shops. The new rods were installed on numbers 600, 605, 610 and 611.

So despite the N&W film showing rods being fabricated in Roanoke, the rods
on 611 today were made by Timken.

Ron Davis

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