Login
or
Register
Subscriber & Member Login
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Login
Register
Home
»
Model Railroader
»
Forums
»
Prototype information for the modeler
»
Fish plates
Edit post
Edit your reply below.
Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="Dave-the-Train"][quote user="bush9245"] <p>Hello Barry,</p> <p> </p> <p>PS. The guys in the States will probably hammer me for writing "All railroads are different". They have standards across the many systems in the US, but betcha there were variations from the standards.</p> <p>[/quote]</p> <p>They most certainly were different and haven't standardised yet... far too many miles to change it all just to standardise.</p> <ol> <li>Can you imagine telling an <em>American</em> how to build his railroad? <u><em><strong>Don't</strong> be silly!</em></u> </li><li>There were no standards in the early years ... </li><li>When the ARA (or was it AAR that came first) started to bring out standards there was already a whole mass of equipment in use. They couldn't junk it all and start over.</li></ol><font color="#0000ff">ARA came first. The AAR was formed in the 1930s.</font><br><ol><li> PRR was one of the most heavily built roads and a search of old professional journals -where I started to look at US RR - will show you lots of PRR drawings of their Standard cars... even these had modifications. The great PRR recognised that things had to be upgraded (or corrected). </li><li>The Harriman Lines did a lot of standardising to keep costs down within their own system... but they weren't standard to anyone else. <em>Who</em> was going to dictate standards to <em>them</em>?</li></ol><font color="#0000ff">Harriman standards applied when Harriman was alive, sort of, but after WWI, SP and UP diverged completely in most practices.</font><br><ol><li>The biggest pressure to standardise came from the Interstate Transport Commission (think that's correct) ITC regulated interchange traffic. The simple rule was that if you wanted to interchange your cars you conformed or your cars didn't interchnage... the $ ruled. Standardisation spread. To some extent the big-boys were able to use this to squeeze the little operators... who couldn't afford to upgrade their stock so fast. So non-standard locos would stay on line while the big boys cars carried the traffic. Home grown non-standard stock went to MoW or chicken shed use until it fell apart.</li></ol><font color="#0000ff">I think you're confusing <i>interchange </i>with <i>economic regulation</i>. The requirement for standardization for interchange came from the railroads themselves, first via the MCB (Master Car Builders's Association), then ARA, then AAR. The Interstate Commerce Commission was formed for economic regulation and safety regulation, and while the IRR issued safety requirements for railroads engaged in interstate commerce it did not regulate, except indirectly, the interchange standards. The large railroads did not do this to squeeze out small railroads. Interchange standards did not apply to locomotives.</font><br><ol><li>Before you can standardise though you have to get something that works... and works well enough to go everywhere. There were all sorts of designs for almost everything. Couplers and brakegear were two huge issues. Westinghouse were by no means the only brake designs and buckeye Couplers were only one of many... and many were very similar except for details... which made for law suites. At one stage train crews had to carry adaptors to allow different couplers to work together. It was only legislation that made automatic brakes mandatory. Since the Kaddee patent ran out we seem to be heading back in the opposite direction with model couplers... but... it's everyone's right to do their own thing...</li></ol><font color="#0000ff">Couplers of whatever manufacture had to meet the MCB standards for interchange. The non-standard designs were very early.</font><br><ol><li>When ARA and AAR brought in standards there were usually a whole sheaf of pages of "Alternate" designs... so many that they all had to have their own catalogue numbers. Just where to out the wiggle in a car stirrup made a bunch of alternates... for box cars of a class. Other classes had another set... gons sets per class... hoppers</li></ol> <p>Yup the US standardise! [(-D] You gone to buy parts for your auto lately? [%-)]</p> <p>Ever seen how many models of Jeep the US armed forces ended up with? [8D]</p> <p>Oh, by the way... I did a calculation... in H0 you would need to shorten a yard of track a bit to fit to 39' lengths (6 per < 1yd) so you get 24 fishplates to apply to the yard. Should be fun [V] How many yards do you figure before it's [banghead] time?</p> <p>Back at standards (ignoring all my stuff on the colours of ballast for the moment)... different RR used different cuts from different parts of the tree and put the ties down different ways up as "standard" practice... they even had big proffessional meetings to discuss which was best...</p> <p><strong>Just an NB</strong>... Short rails get used in yards and slow tracks... they are <em><strong>not</strong></em> <em>supposed</em> to be used <em>except</em> where essentil in fast tracks... <u><em><strong>but...</strong></em></u></p><p><font color="#0000ff">Not so. There is lots, and lots, and lots of 79-mph track in the U.S. with shorter than 39-foot stick rail. Particularly common is cropped rail, where battered ends are cut off, making about a 37-foot rail.</font></p><p><font color="#0000ff">P.S. -- I have never heard anyone in the U.S. call them fish plates, not in my 30 years or so in the business. Sometimes angle bars, but almost always joint bars.</font></p>S. Hadid<br><p><br><br><u><em><strong></strong></em></u>[/quote]</p>
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag
Update Reply
Subscriber & Member Login
Login, or register today to interact in our online community, comment on articles, receive our newsletter, manage your account online and more!
Login
Register
Users Online
There are no community member online
Search the Community
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Model Railroader Newsletter
See all
Sign up for our FREE e-newsletter
and get model railroad news in your inbox!
Sign up