Norwich bulletin., 1916-10-12
PREVENTING HOT BOXES
 ON THE NEW MAVEN,
Fewer Are Being Reported Than al
 Any Time During Recent Year.

EeWer not DoXeS on the cars or the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad company are being reported than at any time during recent years. During the week ending September g there were only IS hot boxes on pas
 senger cars reported on the entire New Haven road, whereas In the cores bonding week last. year there were 40 reported.
 The reduction each week In com parison with the figures for year ago
 averages over 50 per cent.
 The improvement Is due In large measure to a, more rigid inspection of
 cars, journals and journal bearings. The inspection regulations for New Haven cars have always been ex- tremely' strict, but in order to pre-
 vent delays due to hot boxes while the
 cars are on the road. exceptional ef- total number of delays from this cause. comparatively few persons know anything at all about a hot box, it's
 causes and it's effects. The principal of the journal, journal bearing and the journal box is somewhat similar to the principle of the carriage wheel, and in some respects may be likened to the ball bearing mechanism of an auto mobile whee1. The journal of a raii way car is that part of the axle thai extends on the outside of the wheel
 
 piece.
 i The weight of the body of the car
 must at some point rest upon the l wheel truck. This point of contact l is the journal. As the journal is a | part of the wheel and revolves with | it. the point of contact must conform ] with the curve of the journal The 1 part of the mechanism that rests up i on the journal is known as the jour | nal bearing. It is made of brass and ! J %I7 @f I l timony and tin. It fits snugly over the i upper half of the journal and a forged 1 steel wedge or key holds it in place l in the journal box.
 | A hot box is the result of friction 1 between the journal and journal bear 1 ing. It is the function of the Journal i box to hold and distribute the oil be- l tween the journal and journal bearing i to prevent this friction and consequent l trouble. These boxes are inspected at 1 all terminals upon arrival of incoming i trains and before departure of outgo- 1 ing trains. special men being appointed i for this task.
 Within the journal box is packed for | the purpose. of lubrlcation oil soaked woolen waste. This waste is soaked l and allowed to drain for 4S hours to
 remove all excess oil, the waste re- 1 taining sufficient oil to lubricate but not enough to impair it's elasticity. It | is packed in the journal box in three distinct parts. The first is a roll which is packed at the back of the box l to prevent dust from entering the box from the rear and to keep the second or center packing In position. This second packing supplies the oil that continually flows between the journal and the bearing. It is placed in the box fairly loosely and on the under side of the journal. The revolving journal draws the oil from the waste l upwards but does not move the waste
 itself. The third and last packing is roll that is placed in the front of
 the box to keep the second packing in place and to prevent dust from
 reaching the journal.
 Under ordinary conditions proper
 packing of the journal box with oil soaked waste will furnish ample lubri- cation. But as in everything else or
 dinary conditions do not always pre- vail. There are innumerable things
 that may happen to cause friction and
 heat Grit or sand taking in while train is In motion is a frequent cause. It gets in between the journal and
 bearing, causes friction and heat, and
 unless discovered in time the waste
 catches fire. Another cause is known as waste grabs. This results from a small piece or end of waste getting caught between the journal and bear tng.
 The danger from a hot box is that 1t may not be discovered in time. But with the strict rules enforced by the
 New Haven the danger is minimized to the lowest degree. Besides the fre- quent inspections during the journey of train, the crew utilizes every op- porturity while the train is in motion and at stations to look over the train to see that no smoke is coming from any of the boxes. Upon arriving at destination, journal boxes are inspect ed for heated journals and those found unduIy warm are marked with chalk as an indication to car repairers that journal has given trouble and requires attention.
 The labor entailed by this careful inspection is a considerable item on
 the New Haven road. With over 2,5O0
 passenger cars alone, each car having from eight to twelve boxes, it requires Considerable force of inspectors and repair men to inspect, repack and take care of the necessary work. There are in each 24 hours on the New Haven road passenger train cars running GAO, DOC miles, or ten times the circuIn- ference of the earth, and yet the rec
 ord for the whole month of September I 1.~