What are railroad brasses?

[NW Mailing List]

Those  journal brasses have value.  At the time that N&W was increasing its fleet
of 100 ton hoppers (roller bearings), there would be seasons when H-9 hoppers
(with brass bearings) were recalled to active service to handle increased coal
traffic.  When the downturn came, the H-9s would be stored until the next surge.
One point of storage was Island Yard, Lynchburg --  on the James River and
of little significance after the Old Main Line was abandoned.  N&W found that
"pirates" had navigated the James to Island Yard, jacked the H-9s up and
removed the brass.

There was also an incident involving friction bearings on the Southern Railway's
line from Winston-Salem to Charlotte.  Their once-daily run via Barber hauled
cigarettes from R.J.Reynolds for through freight movement beyond Charlotte.
Around 11:00 PM one night, the southbound had a 'hot box' and set the carload
of Camels off on a siding near Mocksville.  When the mechanical forces showed
up to make repairs, the box car  doors were open and the cigarettes were gone.  
Investigation revealed  it was an "inside job". Seems that someone with Southern
connections had persuaded an RJR employee to fill the journal (axle) box with sand
and without lubrication, the brass became overheated.  So the thieves got away with
cigarettes, not brass. 
                                                                                   Harry Bundy


Railroad brasses refer to bearing blocks that go on top of the axle in the journal box. 

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