Abstract: A bearing fail-safe type dynamoelectric machine is provided with first and second bearings at one end of the machine. The machine is shown as a vertical shaft machine with both bearings capable of carrying the longitudinal thrust due principally to the weight of the rotor and shaft. The first bearing is mounted in a seat in the frame and rotatably journals the shaft under normal running conditions. The second bearing is adjacent to the first and positioned above it, and is in an idling condition or nonload-bearing condition by being radially and longitudinally spaced from the seat in the frame. If the first bearing should fail, then the shaft will drop slightly, due to gravity and applied external forces, and the second bearing will become enabled, rotatably journaling the shaft. This will establish a fail-safe bearing construction in the dynamoelectric machine.