Generated 21 August 2026

VESCONITE IN RAIL

 

Our Vesconite rail polymers have over several decades been successfully used in a number of railway applications. The materials’ self-lubricating properties make them well suited to railway components that are prone to metal on metal wear and require regular greasing. Not only will a switch to these bushings and wear components avoid long periods of downtime, the noise and squeal issues commonly associated with rolling stock will be significantly reduced. With a resultant reduction in rolling resistance, considerable power savings have been noted with the use of Vesconite rail polymer components.

“The quality and performance of the product often exceed the specifications. Our customers are impressed by the lifetime of our Vesconite Bearings supplies.”

The Managing Director of a Belgian purchaser of rail parts

Common Rail Applications

Vesconite centre pivot liners

Vesconite centre pivot liners allow bogies to pivot smoothly with low stick-slip effects.

This is achieved with a static coefficient of friction that is close to the dynamic coefficient of friction.

Vesconite Rail Resources

Vesconite Used in Point MachinesWatch
Pedestal LinersWatch
Hilube 10 Centre LinersWatch

BENEFITS FOR RAIL

Vesconite rail polymers create overall smoother train and wear component movement.

Vesconite rail polymers ensure low wear in expensive rail box bearings and shafts.

Vesconite rail polymers avoid the need for regular greasing.

Vesconite rail polymers reduce noise and squeal associated with rolling stock.

Vesconite rail polymers are resistant to oils and fuels. Vesconite rail polymers reduce maintenance on rails, wheels and axle bushes.

MATERIAL COMPARISON

Manganese steel tends towards material fatigue and cracking.

Metal center liners have a higher friction coefficient compared to Vesconite rail polymers. The result is greater turning effort and faster wear on rails and wheels.

Metal bushings and liners are difficult to remove and fit. This is not the case with Vesconite rail polymers.

Metal to metal wear causes costly downtime on rolling stock – an issue often not factored in.

Vesconite Rail Case Studies
Hilube 20 pedestal liners demonstrate low wear in North American EMD locomotives
A North American short-line freight operator serving a mixed network of regional freight routes sought a durable alternative to the conventional pedestal liner materials used in its EMD locomotive fleet. The operator runs a fleet of four-axle and six-axle locomotives across a network characterised by curved track, varying gradients, seasonal…
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Vesconite Hilube bushings in double-decker tram main drive bearing application
Vesconite Hilube motor axle bushings are currently in operation in a double-decker tram application, replacing traditional bronze and white metal bearings. The application was introduced in response to rising cost pressures and supply challenges associated with these conventional bearing materials. The tram fleet operates in a demanding urban environment, with…
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Bolivian railway improves locomotive maintenance outcomes with Vesconite Rail’s Hilube 20 pedestal liners
A Bolivian railway operator manages a fleet of 35 locomotives, comprising 29 GE C23 units and 6 EMD models, along with several hundred freight wagons that operate at generally low speeds, typically ranging from 20 km/h to 30 km/h. Locomotives undergo major overhauls every two years, and wagons are usually…
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Brazilian railway boosts locomotive efficiency with Hilube 20 pedestal liners
A Brazilian railway company operates a fleet of six locomotives, four from the 1970s and two from the 1980s, to transport materials across a rail network featuring numerous curves and switches, requiring speeds to be limited to 10 km/h due to track conditions. In addition to maintaining a robust six-week…
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Wagon inspection door bushings prove reliable for freight wagon operator
Vesconite Hilube bushings continue to demonstrate their reliability on the inspection doors of the open-hopper bulk wagons of a UK-based freight operator. The operator, seeking a durable and low-maintenance solution, initially installed the no-swell wear-resistant bushings in November 2023 as part of a test on one set of wagon doors.…
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Vesconite Bearings supplies low-friction bogie liners to South African railways
Vesconite Bearings continues to supply cup liners and flat liners to the acclaimed South African Sishen Saldanha heavy-haul railway line, which uses these parts in the centre bowls of the bogie bolsters that support freight wagons. Vesconite Bearings’ status as the supplier of these parts follows five decades of development…
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Vesconite Bearings powers new machine with solar energy
Vesconite Bearings is excited to announce that most parts produced on its new 450-ton injection-moulding machine have been proudly labelled “Manufactured with Solar Power” following the machine’s commissioning in June 2024. The introduction of the cutting-edge machine was preceded by an integrated energy management project that significantly bolstered the company’s…
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Vesconite Hilube liners reduce noise on S6000 trams in Italy
Vesconite Bearings, a leader in advanced bearing solutions, recently received an order for 60 spherical Vesconite Hilube liners. This order came after less than one year of initial testing. These liners will be used in the GE90-SW plain spherical bearings at the articulation points of the S6000 tram fleet operated by an…
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Vesconite Bearings celebrates milestone achievement with thinnest-walled bearing
Vesconite Bearings, an innovator in bearing technology, is thrilled to announce a significant achievement – the creation of its thinnest-walled product to date.  This groundbreaking accomplishment is attributed to Vesconite Bearings’ unparalleled technical ingenuity and advanced CNC programming capabilities. The focal point of this achievement was the production of close-to-paper-thin…
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'Using Vesconite was a no-brainer'
“We have successfully used Vesconite on many applications on the miniature railway in Stellenbosch, so using it on a full-size rail vehicle was a no-brainer!” The team behind the Winelands Light Railway, in Stellenbosch, was asked to revive the old Ratanga Amusement Park 24″ gauge railway that had, since the…
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Brake linkage bushings improve park braking
A large freight-rail operator in Australia has approved Vesconite Hilube brake linkage bushings for its locomotive fleet, to replace bushings in its fleet’s brake levers and improve its park brake performance. Brake linkage bushings are essential to brake rigging systems, which distribute braking forces from the brake cylinder to the…
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Accelerated wear test shows less than 0.17 mm wear on Vesconite slides
A specialised Southern African railway signalling company, Actom Signalling, has found minimal wear in accelerated wear testing on the Vesconite slides that are contained in its point machines, which control railway tracks and switch the tracks that particular trains will be directed to. This was confirmed by Actom Engineering Projects…
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Vesconite's Hilube 20 replaces manganese pedestal liners
A freight operator in Africa tested Vesconite’s Hilube 20 pedestal liners on its type 9307 locomotives and will be installing these liners due to their better wear resistance. Pedestal liners are installed on the locomotive at the interface between the pedestal leg and the axle box. They reduce the friction…
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Vesconite bushings fitted to Guinness World Record miniature steam train
The team that was awarded the Guinness World Record in 2017 for the longest distance covered by a miniature steam train is setting its sights on improving its record. Keyser Locomotive Works, together with the Pietermaritzburg Model Engineering Society, in South Africa, was able to cover 330km in 24 hours…
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Vesconite Superlube load pads show little wear after two years
Six Vesconite Superlube load pads that have been recovered from South African rail parastatal Transnet’s Sishen-Saldanha-line bogies show little wear after two years of use. This is according to Dr Jean-Patrick Leger, the CEO of Vesconite Bearings, which makes the polymer load pads that are installed on railway bogies －…
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