After looking at pictures of the recent UP derailment in Texas, I noticed a lot of wheelsets were left on the track from overturned hoppers. Are these not attached to the trucks? If not, what is the reasoning behind this? Easier maintenance?
avonlea22 After looking at pictures of the recent UP derailment in Texas, I noticed a lot of wheelsets were left on the track from overturned hoppers. Are these not attached to the trucks? If not, what is the reasoning behind this? Easier maintenance?
No need. Trucks used to have keepers that held things together, but gravity works just fine.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Not only are the wheelsets not attached*, but the trucks aren't either**.
*There is a provision for a "keeper" that can be bolted into the sideframe to keep the axle in the sideframe.
** There will be either air hoses or brake rods from the car to the truck, that may keep the truck near the car in a derailment, but they don't 'attach" it to the car.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Gravity is one of the engineers best building tools.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Gravity, not just a good idea, its the law.
dehusman Gravity, not just a good idea, its the law. Not really: No government has ever enacted it into law....
Not really: No government has ever enacted it into law....
John Liebson dehusman Gravity, not just a good idea, its the law. Not really: No government has ever enacted it into law....
Johnny
Freight car trucks are kind of like a mechanical puzzle that is assembled without fasteners. I like the way they cast the side frames and then sort them into categories of axle center dimensions. The reason is that they can't hold a tight enough tolerance on that long dimension to have interchangeable parts. So they measure and categorize them. They mark them for the proper category by knocking off one or more of those little raised buttons that are cast into the side of the frame. So when you build trucks, your two side frames can be no more than one button off of an equal number of buttons.
That would have to be one helluva wreck to throw wheelsets 900 ft.
More likely you could be 10 yards from a derailment and get hit by wheels.
Nobody makes screws or screw drivers that big
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Thought that passenger cars had lockng device(s) on center pins to keep trucks from detaching from cars. As well have seen something that keeps wheel sets from leaving truck ? What about 188 and Vermonter ?
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