Automotive and Industrial Groups: The tapered roller bearing was Timken’s principal
product in the anti friction industry segment. It consisted of four components: the cone, the cup,
the cage, and the tapered rollers. The roller bearing contained many individual and highly
tolerances components. When properly applied to a qualified axle journal, it became a system
whose function was to carry the weight of the rail car and its cargo reliably, with minimal rolling
resistance. The bearing stack comprised both load-carrying and non-load-carrying components.
Certain components of the bearing were designed to carry the load. Those components safely
carried the weight of the rail car and its cargo with a minimum of rolling resistance. The non load-
carrying components positioned the bearing laterally on the axle and provided the force
necessary to achieve proper bearing clamp. Although they did not directly carry the weight of the
rail car and its cargo, those components were critical to overall bearing performance. Sometimes
called auxiliary components, they completed the bearing stack. Timken manufactured or
purchased those components and then sold them in a variety of configurations and sizes.