Left unsaid in my comments of a few days ago was my reason for objection to calling something a "Simplex truck." The Simplex bolsters were sold for use with many different trucks, and indeed, were somewhat dated by the time cast steel trucks became common. Simplex bolsters were more common in archbar trucks, and IIRC, the original trucks on the Canadian "Fowler" cars were archbar trucks equipped with Simplex bolsters.

I just ran into a handy web photo of a Simplex bolster in an archbar truck:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d9_f61qQiSU/Tv9WYAozrEI/AAAAAAAAGu0/pIJEUZHIdS0/w416-h276-k/North%2BCoast%2BLogging%2B021.JPG

Dennis

On 1 Jan 2012 at 4:05, soolinehistory wrote:

Left unsaid in my comments of a few days ago was my reason for objection to calling something a
"Simplex truck." The Simplex bolsters were sold for use with many different trucks, and indeed, were
somewhat dated by the time cast steel trucks became common

While I can't disagree with this I looked at a Red
Ball/Cape Line catalog and they have a Simplex High
Speed truck. Very strange looking and I don't think
I've ever seen a picture of one in use. Any comments
on this truck?


Jon Miller
For me time stopped in 1941
Digitrax Chief/Zephyr systems, JMRI user
NMRA Life member #2623
Member SFRH&MS

On 1 Jan 2012 at 9:29, Jon Miller wrote:

Very strange looking and I don't think
I've ever seen a picture of one in use.

I take this comment back. PFE used it and being
lazy looking up the references in Tony's book, I don't
remember what he called it. Do know I used one on a
model.

Jon Miller
For me time stopped in 1941
Digitrax Chief/Zephyr systems, JMRI user
NMRA Life member #2623
Member SFRH&MS

On Jan 1, 2012, at 9:29 AM, Jon Miller wrote:

On 1 Jan 2012 at 4:05, soolinehistory wrote:

Left unsaid in my comments of a few days ago was my reason for

objection to calling something a

"Simplex truck." The Simplex bolsters were sold for use with many

different trucks, and indeed, were

somewhat dated by the time cast steel trucks became common

While I can't disagree with this I looked at a Red
Ball/Cape Line catalog and they have a Simplex High
Speed truck. Very strange looking and I don't think
I've ever seen a picture of one in use. Any comments
on this truck?

A completely different animal, Jon. The Simplex cast steel bolster
was introduced around the turn of the 20th century by the Simplex
Railway Appliance Co., which had disappeared by the early 1920s. The
Simplex high speed truck was an ASF design, shown in the 1937 CBCyc,
and though it never caught on in a big way, PFE and others applied
some of them to as an experiment. Apparently the truck worked okay
but wasn't a sufficient improvement over conventional trucks to
justify the added expense.

Richard Hendrickson

I took that photo two days ago... It is under a flat car (I believe a wooden logging car, but possibly the single steel car in the string.

The cars were built by/for The Pacific Lumber Company, and were in use until 1977.

The cars with one exception are wood frame, wood bolster, truss rod cars... most on arch bar trucks, some on Andrews, all with solid bearings, all with spring draft gear, I believe "D" couplers.

These operated in captive service in part over the tracks of the North Western Pacific Railroad...

There are 31 or so, with at least half available if someone wants a really big project.

Randy Hees

There was more than one Simplex bolster design too. The TLT truck
is one. I have a hi-res 1967 picture of an SP flanger that has very
different looking bolsters, but cast into the face is SIMPLEX. (The
trucks are very interesting, appear to have a combination wood and
steel spring plank for example, and an extremely odd spring package.)

Tim O'Connor


A completely different animal, Jon. The Simplex cast steel bolster
was introduced around the turn of the 20th century by the Simplex
Railway Appliance Co., which had disappeared by the early 1920s.
Richard Hendrickson

--- In STMFC@..., Richard Hendrickson <rhendrickson@...> wrote:

On Jan 1, 2012, at 9:29 AM, Jon Miller wrote:

While I can't disagree with this I looked at a Red
Ball/Cape Line catalog and they have a Simplex High
Speed truck. Very strange looking and I don't think
I've ever seen a picture of one in use. Any comments
on this truck?

A completely different animal, Jon. The Simplex cast steel bolster
was introduced around the turn of the 20th century by the Simplex
Railway Appliance Co., which had disappeared by the early 1920s. The
Simplex high speed truck was an ASF design, shown in the 1937 CBCyc,
and though it never caught on in a big way, PFE and others applied
some of them to as an experiment. Apparently the truck worked okay
but wasn't a sufficient improvement over conventional trucks to
justify the added expense.

Richard Hendrickson

Except the Simplex bolster wasn't cast, it was fabricated, but using few rivets. It's selling point was the structural steel cross members, for those who didn't trust castings not to crack in service. Very strange, then, to order them for use with cast steel sideframes, which leads me to believe that when CPR re-trucked their cars to comply with the AAR mandate to eliminate archbar trucks, the bought new sideframes, but retained the Simplex bolsters that had been used in the original archbar trucks.

I looked through the 1922 CBC. It appears that at that time the Simplex bolster design was owned by American Steel Foundries. Here is the sum total of what they have to say about it:

"The Simplex bolster is a trussed construction and, although of a built-up type, it is not dependent upon rivets for strength, due to its lapped end construction."

The Simplex bolster was composed of three castings, a length of rolled steel channel, and a length of appx 1" x 12" (not dimensioned in the illustration) steel flat stock. The channel, laid flat, flanges down, formed the top chord of a truss. This was fitted between two end castings that incorporated the spring seats. A casting was riveted to the middle that acted as a king post. The flat stock passed under this kingpost, was threaded through slots in each end casting, and was forged back upon itself, thereby holding the whole assembly together. The design was similar to the Huntoon bolster, marketed by the Republic Railway Supply Co., except in the Huntoon design, the flat stock was simply riveted to the end casting, it's obvious weak point.

Since the design intent of both these bolsters was to avoid the use of a casting to span between support points, which was exactly what the ARA / AAR mandated cast steel sideframes did, it is obvious that the thinking behind the design was at least one generation behind current practice, and the design simply faded away.

That, of course, left the Simplex name available to be applied to something new and different.

Dennis

Richard, Where was the Simplex manufacturing plant located?  For what it's worth the 1925 C of G flat car that was recently saved had Simplex bolsters on it.   Todd Horton


From: Richard Hendrickson <rhendrickson@...>
To: STMFC@...
Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2012 1:10 PM
Subject: Re: [STMFC] Simplex Bolsters


 
On Jan 1, 2012, at 9:29 AM, Jon Miller wrote:

On 1 Jan 2012 at 4:05, soolinehistory wrote:

Left unsaid in my comments of a few days ago was my reason for

objection to calling something a

"Simplex truck." The Simplex bolsters were sold for use with many

different trucks, and indeed, were

somewhat dated by the time cast steel trucks became common

While I can't disagree with this I looked at a Red
Ball/Cape Line catalog and they have a Simplex High
Speed truck. Very strange looking and I don't think
I've ever seen a picture of one in use. Any comments
on this truck?

A completely different animal, Jon. The Simplex cast steel bolster
was introduced around the turn of the 20th century by the Simplex
Railway Appliance Co., which had disappeared by the early 1920s. The
Simplex high speed truck was an ASF design, shown in the 1937 CBCyc,
and though it never caught on in a big way, PFE and others applied
some of them to as an experiment. Apparently the truck worked okay
but wasn't a sufficient improvement over conventional trucks to
justify the added expense.

Richard Hendrickson

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Todd Horton wrote:

Richard, Where was the Simplex manufacturing plant located? For what it's worth the 1925 C of G flat car that was recently saved had Simplex bolsters on it.

As the Simplex bolster was an ASF product, the question would where was the ASF plant. IIRC it was in St. Louis.

Tony Thompson Editor, Signature Press, Berkeley, CA
2906 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 www.signaturepress.com
(510) 540-6538; fax, (510) 540-1937; e-mail, thompson@...
Publishers of books on railroad history

--- In STMFC@..., Todd Horton <toddchorton@...> wrote:

Richard, Where was the Simplex manufacturing plant located?  For what it's worth the 1925 C of G flat car that was recently saved had Simplex bolsters on it.  Todd Horton

Google is a wonderful thing:

http://books.google.com/books?id=qgVLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA244&lpg=PA244&dq=simplex+bolster&source=bl&ots=zZofcRzQii&sig=0jTtRG3lH1OYI7qLM2NdUnKDsQc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=oYYBT8nIAeew2wXQ_YCaCw&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=simplex%20bolster&f=false

Although the Chicago reference is likely just the sales office. Note from the text it sounds like this was a mature product even in 1901.

Drawing:

http://books.google.com/books?id=o-06AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA90&lpg=PA90&dq=simplex+bolster&source=bl&ots=o12LfJGzSg&sig=c9NER414V9Pk9BJMSUJLxZ0sSYA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=oYYBT8nIAeew2wXQ_YCaCw&ved=0CEQQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=simplex%20bolster&f=false

HO scale model:

http://www.truelinetrains.ca/paint-accessories

Yeah, it looks like the entire bolster is set too high in this truck. Maybe the TLT underframe has undersized center sills; I recall the sills on these early steel cars were 15" channels, 3" larger than the 12" that later became the defacto standard.

Dennis