MORRIS ON TRACK TO BUILD LOCO REPUTATION

A ground-breaking Bitumen free lubricant for diesel-electric locomotives is proving popular with some of the biggest manufacturers across Europe.

Leading oil blender Morris Lubricants is looking to make in-roads into the mainline railway sector.

The company has designed an innovative product, Lodexol MTL, specifically for the lubrication of traction motor gears commonly found on diesel-electric locomotives on both the rail networks and heritage lines.

Lodexol MTL is a highly adhesive, water resistant lubricant which incorporates a highly stable additive package to prevent corrosion and wear even under high stresses and loads. The absence of Bitumen or residual oils yields a product which requires no special handling requirements, unlike previous formulations used over the last 50 years.

Almost all of the locomotives produced in the UK since the 1950s use traction motors with open gear case. Many of the older locos still use dated lubricants and greases.

Simon Matthews, technical services manager at Morris Lubricants, formulated a replacement product – and it has proved very popular within the industry.

Keiron Thorogood, an agent for Morris, said: “We are finding great success and doors are being opened to the mainline market.  Lodexol MTL really is the only direct replacement and is better than the original product because of the modern technology used to formulate it.

“Currently it is being used in mainline locos as well as heritage locos. It has been welcomed with open arms by companies like Brush Traction, Devon and Cornwall Railways, Nemesis Rail and UK Rail Leasing.”

Lodexol MTL was tested abroad on the mainline with Europhoenix locos. It is slightly hazy brown in appearance, a pour point of plus 10 degrees Celsius and a flash point of greater than 200 degrees Celsius.  It is available in 12.5kg and 50kg kegs.

Craig Bastable, marketing manager at Morris Lubricants, said the railway sector was one which the company was looking to grow in the coming years.

He said: “Many people will know of Morris Lubricants’ strong reputation within the steam and heritage sector. But, while that remains important, we are also keen to improve our presence in mainline trains.

“This product once again shows that we are capable of taking a problem and coming up with a solution by creating a cutting-edge product. This is the only product of this nature on the market and it’s being well-used already.”

Lodexol MTL is available from www.raillubricants.eu as well as through Morris Lubricants.

Morris Lubricants is a British company that has been manufacturing lubricants in Shrewsbury since 1869. Over 140 years of development has seen the company grow to become one of Europe's leading oil blenders and marketers, with a reputation for quality and service. The company offers an extensive range of performance lubricants covering a wide variety of application areas.