| Welcome to Amtrak's Beech Grove shops. This complex near Indianapolis was built by the New York Central between 1907 and 1910 for locomotive heavy repairs. |
| Our info packets included this map of the facility. |
 | On our way to the welcome and safety briefing. Mostly dedicated to facilities maintenance now, this was originally the boiler shop. |
 | Brake beams being reclaimed. After sand blasting, the brake head hubs were pad welded and then turned. This corrects slop due to wear, which causes the brake shoes to pull sideways. In extreme cases the brakes will create a thin flange on one side. |
 | Superliners undergoing class-I and class-II repairs. |
 | This big blower is used for blowing the junk out of the air ducts. |
 | The locomotive repair shop. |
 | Clever - a table set up for cutting fabrics or rubber sheeting from a roll. |
 | I can only imagine what a steel table this robust might be used for. |
 | Nice. A wide sheet-metal shear with an extension rail to support the sheet and a jib crane for material handling. |
 | A high-capacity hydraulic press brake. High-production models add computer-controlled back stops. Note both hands are required to operate it, for safety. |
 | A nice large power slip roll, for curving sheet steel. I wonder what thickness this will handle... |
 | This lathe was purpose-built for turning wheel hubs and journals on axles. |
 | Not exactly a Bullard, this machine was purpose-built for boring wheels. |
 | Loading another locomotive axle assembly into the wheel press. It normally takes 400 lbs of pressure to force the wheel onto the axle. Nothing locks the wheel onto the axle, other than the axle being too big for the wheel bore. |
 | After the wheels are pressed on, Timken roller bearings are bolted to the axle ends. Note the caps at lower right, which have a serrated edge for wheel slip detection. |
 | Finished wheel sets for GE locomotives, ready for their traction motors. The bar codes are new in the railway supply industry, for better analysis of lot performance. |
 | GE traction motors. |
 | Finished traction motor combos. |
 | A GE locomotive truck. Assembly is a lot easier if it's upside down. |
 | A disc brake passenger car truck - I don't know what car series - on a hydraulic or air lift for convenience during assembly. It looks like Amtrak uses plastic pedestal jaw and center bowl liners. |
 | Under the bridge crane, the truck shop also has these interesting half-bridge cranes. |
 | This neat tool simulates the truck loading, so that they can check whether everything is level and true. |
 | These two heritage trucks caught my attention. They would look great under 1146! |
 | Note the sandblasted frame, brand-new hub-stamped multi-wear wheels, and that all removable fasteners were replaced (using Nylock nuts.) |
 | Note the 3" wheel tread, composite brake shoes, plastic pedestal jaw liners, ground straps, Timken AP-EE 6x11 rollers, box adapter shimmed to exactly fit the drop equalizer, and new bolster anchor rod. |
 | Note the new bolster shock absorber and the all-new fasteners and hoses. |
 | The center plate has been inspected and reinstalled on a Fabreeka pad. It also looks like the swing hanger pivots were lubricated. Note the ground straps. |
 | Detail shot of the pedestal jaw. The red paint is dye-penetrant to check for cracks in this high-stress area. I'll also point out the pad welding behind the plastic liner. |
 | This is another high-stress area which must be checked for cracks. |
 | It looks to me like Amtrak used new truck springs. Note the high-stress area in the drop-equalizer around the spring seat bolt hole. |
 | These Santa Fe trucks date to 1949, and are undergoing a 40-year "inspection". |
 | This gives a better idea of the pedestal jaw pad welding and inspection for cracks. |
 | Canton cast drop equalizers being reclaimed. |
 | These trucks belong to a private car owner, who paid Amtrak to do their overhaul. |
 | Some of the equipment at Beech Grove goes back decades. |
 | Reclamation of "H" tightlock couplers. |
 | Reclamation of slab-type drop equalizers. |
 | Beech Grove is one of the few shops with the ability to heat-treat after welding in order to equalize stresses. |
 | Heritage Diner 8528 is up on jacks for replacement of most mechanical systems. This car is 62 years old and its replacement has already been ordered. |
 | Handy cart, if you can do all your single car tests in one building. |
 | Heritage baggage car 1237 looks like it's getting new wiring and couplers today. |
 | A bleach water cart - for sanitizing the potable water system? |
 | A Superliner on shop trucks is getting a factory-fresh appliance installed. |
 | This Superliner is getting new insulated water reservoirs. |
 | Near the passenger car work areas are large supporting metal working areas. |
 | An overview of the coach shop. |
 | After the heavy structural, equipment and truck work, cars move to the trim shop for upholstery, finish work and paint. |
 | Detail of an H coupler with high-wear areas built up, and a plastic coupler carrier liner. |
 | Nice work platforms! |
 | An F95PHI from California is in the paint booth. |
 | Air conditioning units are rebuilt in the AC shop. |
 | A finished AC unit for a Horizon car. |
 | The building of electrical control panels is also done in the AC shop. |
 | Beech Grove is a large complex. About 700,000 sq feet of buildings. |
 | Stored trucks, rebuilt and ready for use. |