Lionel Trucks

[stuartmit]

Is there a CTT article re truck development and designations? What trucks would have been shipped on 3462 milk car?

[ChiefEagles]

Sorry no one has answered.  I'll see if the CTT staff knows.

[cnw1995]

 Great story idea. I didn't see anything browsing the CTT index.

[Bob Keller]

According to Greenberg's Guide to Lionel Trains 1945-1969 Vol. I, the 3462 had staple end trucks with coil couplers. Though we've probably run some material about trucks in a specific context (Ray Plummer's story "Get a grip" about Lionel knuckle couplers comes to mind) I don't believe that we've run anything on trucks or their development.

[stuartmit]

Ok--I have made some progress. I found I had the answer myself, and so does Kalmbach! Greenberg published 3 or more volumes in the early 90's which I have, it turns out. The first was a cataloguing of cars and locos with detailed discussion of  various aspects of their design and changes in the design as the product "aged" in the market.The third was a discussion of sets. The second was a selection of special topics; 2400 series passenger cars, madison cars, "plugdoor" boxcars. etc. There is a discussion of the development of the freight car trucks and knuckle couplers down to the details of the thickness of the axles, the wheel castings (pinwheel?), the nature of the wiring of the coupler coils, the winding of tape to conceal the windings, etc etc.

Sometimes when you lose your glasses, all you have to do is put your hand to your forehead to find where you put them, and all I had to do was look in my own (extremely modest) library.

By the way, I looked at all the indexes, because I had thought initially that I had seen this info in CTT. I find that I really didn't know where to look, but finally settled on History. That could take in a host of stuff--personalities from JLC to Carmen whatshername to Frank Ellison, or companies which came on (and went from) the scene, or product originatioon, etc. Could there be a better clasiification index? Maybe create a "test' of 10 topics you have covered in the mag and see how many readers can locate the issues from the index, and what suggsetions they might make as to improvement of the categories.