Draft Gear Classification Guidelines

As each gear is received at Independent Draft Gear it is immediately classified per a variety of criterion. Should a customer own the incoming gear, the classification report is immediately, upon its completion, faxed to the customer for gear disposition. Criteria for gear classification is as follows:

Date – Original Manufacture Date or Last Reconditioning Date Classification

Per Rule 21, AAR Field Manual, draft gears must be reconditioned after sixteen years from date of original manufacture or ten years from last recondition date. Should a date not be readily apparent on the case, the gear is deemed to be more than sixteen years old and must be reconditioned. Gears are date classified as follows:
  • Pin Only Gears: Draft gears that were either manufactured or tested within the last ten years. These gears need only be pinned.
  • Test & Pin Gears: Draft gears that are less than sixteen years old or have been reconditioned within the last ten years. These draft gears must be tested and pinned.
  • Out of Date Gears: Any draft gear over sixteen years old since date of manufacture or ten years old since last date of recondition must be reconditioned before being applied or reapplied to a car.
Friction Component Classification

Irrespective of the gear’s date classification, a gear must be reconditioned if any of its friction components are broken or damaged in any way or are missing. Further, gears are classified as FC/C/D (Friction Component Case Damage) per the following criteria:
  1. More than 1 broken or missing friction component
  2. Center wedge is damaged
  3. The gear is stuck in a compressed position
Case Classification

As in the case of friction component damage, a draft gear must be rebuilt if the case has been subject to excessive wear or is damaged. Gears with cases that meet the following are also considered FC/C/D:
  1. Wall thickness – visibly worn case wall
  2. 2. Torch cut – 1 inches or more
Scrap Classification

Gears with bulges, split cases or cracks in excess of 2 inches cannot be repaired and are classified as scrap. Also, gears not listed on the IDG list of acceptable gears are either not reconditionable or are obsolete and therefore classified as scrap.
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