For anyone dealing with a worn brushplate "bearing" in a PW Steamer, here's a method for installing a metal bushing that has worked phenomenally well for me.
1. Order “8801-77 brushplate bearing” from Train Tender at jeff@ttender.com. Get several, they're cheap and you'll want to do this for ALL your PW steamers.
2. Drill out the original hole in the brushplate using the following twist drills: 9/64, 5/32, 11/16, 3/8, 13/64. Each drill should each be used in increasing order to gradually increase brushplate hole diameter while keeping its original center. I turn the drills carefully by hand since the polyamide "fiberboard" of the brushplate is quite soft. The 13/64 drill will give a snug press fit for the bushing into the brushplate.
3. Press the bushing into the brushplate. Make sure the "shoulder" of the bushing is seated against the back side of the brushplate. For final alignment of the bushing in the brushplate, assemble the armature and brushplate without brushes into the motor and then rotate and slide the armature back and forth several times until it slides back and forth and spins freely.
4. To "lock in" the bushing, carefully apply a tiny drop of liquid, not gel, CA adhesive at the point where the bushing is inserted into the brushplate. I use a hat pin to get precise adhesive placement. Make sure the adhesive "wicks" all the way around the base of the bushing. Let the adhesive cure for a few minutes.
5. Finally, remove the brushplate and apply a tiny drop of CA to the "shoulder" of the bushing where it contacts the back side of the brushplate, again making sure the adhesive wicks all the way around the bushing shoulder where it contacts the brushplate.
Let everything cure up for a couple of hours and you're good to go.
I first did this for a 1960-61 027 2037 Adriatic that wouldn't even run until 15V when I got her from the auction site. As the video shows, now she pulls 29 027 cars plus PW caboose at only 10V:
I did add shims to the wheelsets and connecting rods to further reduce driveline friction, but the bushing replacement gave the most improvement.
I've since done this for a 2037 Adriatic "motor" I use for track cleaning, the whistle motor in a 671W tender and to replace a cracked bronze bushing in one of the motors in my 2340 GG-1.
