Comments on: Need some traction? A line up of locomotive wheel sets sit outside the diesel shop at MacMillan Yard in Vaughn on a cold April morning. The gear attached to the axle along with gears in the traction motors themselves will decide the gear ration and thus the top speed of the locomotive. 62:18(62 gear teeth mated with 18 teeth) is the ratio for a locomotive with a top speed of 65MPH

By: Driver8666

Driver8666 — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 13:23:30 +0000

Pretty interesting shot. I would’ve asked the same question.

By: ngineered4u

ngineered4u — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 02:12:35 +0000

@dhatley. Honestly I don’t know if these are used or new. Its hard to tell as some gears are wrapped in plastic and others looked greased. I will ask the shop guys next time i get the chance.
I do remember the CP derailment in Oshawa.

By: dhately

dhately — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 00:17:33 +0000

I hope these are used wheel sets. Axles are ground and polished to a very fine finish. The smallest mark can render them unsafe to use so they would not be left out in the weather to rust. The CP wreck in Oshawa a few years ago was traced to a locomotive axle which had been replaced a few weeks before and had some scratches which were not properly polished out.