Timken Rail Services - Bearings, Alloys and Specialty Steels and Components

The Timken Company (NYSE: TKR) is a leading international manufacturer of highly engineered bearings, alloy and specialty steels and components, as well as related products and services.

Since the early 1930s, Timken has been manufacturing products for the rail industry. From bearings to steel, and to new technological advancements in rail efficiency, you can rest assured you are getting the support of unequalled engineering and technological support.

TIMKEN RAIL BEARINGS

Customers have long depended on Timken tapered roller bearings and steel to keep freight rolling smoothly. As a separate business of Timken, Rail Bearings continues the ongoing investment in new technology as an integral part of the company's strategy to remain a bearing technology leader today and in the future.

THE HISTORY OF TIMKEN RAIL BEARINGS

During the early 1930s, the competitive advantages of tapered roller bearings had been proven on automotive passenger cars; however, locomotives remained a challenge for Timken. To demonstrate that tapered roller bearings could be successfully used on locomotive axles, Timken commissioned the 'Four Aces' - the first steam locomotive equipped with Timken tapered roller bearings. Using three women to pull the locomotive with a rope, the Four Aces was an outstanding success and achieved all the objectives. During the two years of intensive testing on 13 different rails and 23 years of heavy service on the Northern Pacific Railway, this engine never failed. It saved fuel and ran at high speeds more smoothly than conventional steam locomotives. This reduced engine and track maintenance that was due to the heavy pounding caused by driver wheels equipped with standard non-tapered bearings.

INNOVATION

In 1954, the Timken AP™ bearing was developed. This self-contained, preassembled and prelubricated bearing reduced maintenance costs and was easily adapted to all types of rail cars. It revolutionized the rail industry by becoming an industry standard. Since that time, Timken has developed numerous innovations and improvements to the AP bearing. In 1994, the Timken AP-2™ bearing was produced. This bearing, which has fewer components, carries heavier loads and reduces fretting wear.

Timken has supplied this maintenance free AP bearing to the rail industry for over 65 years, over 10 million times to some 400 rail companies in 140 countries.

SUPERIOR DESIGN

Although the Tapered Roller bearing was designed over 100 years ago, it has certain exclusive fundamental attributes that make it much more than just an anti-friction device. It is a broad analysis of the bearings function in a particular system that is leading many designers to rediscover specific benefits of the tapered roller bearing. In this process, a number of traditional "conventions" governing its use have been completely overturned and it is being more readily accepted in areas formally the traditional ground of other anti-friction bearing types. Where it was once thought, for example that the tapered roller bearing was suitable only for heavy loads at slow speeds, it can now be found in the wheels of the Columbia space shuttle which has the bearings rotating at 2400 rev/min upon touchdown. Tapered roller bearings are now being used on most of the world's fastest trains such as the French SNCF TGV, the Japanese Shinkansen, British Rail HST and the German ICE trains.

RECONDITIONING

There are about 1.2m bearings a year that require reconditioning. Timken Rail Bearing Service (USA) and Timken Rail Services (UK) removes the used bearings from the customers property, help plan a maintenance schedule and handle all bearing related issues as well as the usual bearing needs. Bearing reconditioning is a process that includes cleaning bearings, inspecting them, and fitting them with new parts as necessary, re-qualifying them and reassembling them. Programmes are designed to meet the specific needs of each customer and in all cases stringent inspections assure the appropriate reconditioning specifications are followed and the bearings are returned to the customer with the same guarantee as a new Timken bearing.