Plain bearing

Plain bearing on a 1906 S-Motor locomotive showing the axle, bearing, oil supply and oiling pad
A sliding table with four cylindrical bearings (1)
A wheelset from a Great Western Railway (GWR) wagon showing a plain, or journal, bearing end[1]

A plain bearing, or more commonly sliding contact bearing and slide bearing (in railroading sometimes called a solid bearing, journal bearing, or friction bearing[2]), is the simplest type of bearing, comprising just a bearing surface and no rolling elements. Therefore, the part of the shaft in contact with the bearing slides over the bearing surface. The simplest example of a plain bearing is a shaft rotating in a hole. A simple linear bearing can be a pair of flat surfaces designed to allow motion; e.g., a drawer and the slides it rests on[3] or the ways on the bed of a lathe.

Plain bearings, in general, are the least expensive type of bearing. They are also compact and lightweight, and they have a high load-carrying capacity.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference CSXJ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mukutadze was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ BBM 1921, p. 1.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference reliabilitydirect.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).