Abstract: A wear liner is provided for the roof of the pedestal jaw of a side frame. The liner is welded in place only along the lateral edges of the liner and is retained in place, in the event of weld failure, by depending legs engageable with pedestal jaw stop lugs. Additional retaining lugs may be provided in the pedestal jaw roof.

Abstract: Powdered metal is continuously introduced into a die cavity in discrete quantities and compacted into bar segments to form a bar. The cavity has a fixed cross-sectional area and is open at both ends, except during the initial compaction when one end is closed. After formation of a length of the bar, the frictional resistance between the bar and the cavity wall is relied on so that the bar remaining in the cavity serves as a stopper for subsequent compactions of the discrete quantities of powdered metal to form the continuous bar. The bar is forced out of the cavity and may be passed through an induction furnace for sintering, and through a swager, all preferably in a continuous operation. Also provided is means for varying the compaction so that the bar lengths formed from the discrete quantities of powdered metal are compacted and bonded into a bar of substantially uniform physical characteristics along its length.