Date
1 - 9 of 9
Turn of the century freight car wheels
|
Gentlemen, does anyone know what metal was used in fright car wheels around the turn of the 20'th centruy? I'm talking about the year 1900. I am interested because of the heat characteristics that the metal would have had as the trains decended a steep grade. I understand the early wheels heated up rapidly causing a safety hazard on early cars on steep grades as a train decended. Also when were air brakes required to be on all freight cars?
Any help is appreciated. Fenton Wells |
|
|
|
Tom Vanwormer
Fenton,
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Mostly cast iron, some were wrought iron. Some of the eastern roads had started to switch to steel. Tom VanWormer srrfan1401 wrote:
|
|
|
|
soolinehistory <destorzek@...>
--- In STMFC@..., "srrfan1401" <srrfan1401@...> wrote:
1900 was right in the heyday of "chilled" cast iron wheels. They were called that because by the use of a steel "chill ring" that formed the tread and part of the flange mold, allowed a single iron casting to be made of two different grades of iron. The wheel hub and plate, cooling slowly against the sand mold, became grey iron, which is somewhat ductile, while the chill ring caused the tread to form white iron as it quickly cooled, which is considerably harder and more wear resistant. The biggest disadvantage of cast iron wheels was that the uneven heating from heavy tread braking (this being before the days of dynamic brakes) could cause cracks to develop in the wheel flange. If a portion of the flange broke out, it could lead to a derailment. Google "chilled car wheels" for more information. Dennis |
|
|
|
Anthony Thompson <thompson@...>
Dennis S. wrote:
The biggest disadvantage of cast iron wheels was that the uneven heating from heavy tread braking (this being before the days of dynamic brakes) could cause cracks to develop in the wheel flange. If a portion of the flange broke out, it could lead to a derailment.The same thing can and does happen with wrought steel wheels under heavy braking, even in the diesel era. 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 |
|
|
|
Thanks Tom. Did the cast iron and wroght iron overheat when decending a
steep grade? Fenton Wells On Tue, May 15, 2012 at 12:22 PM, Tom Vanwormer <robsmom@...> wrote: ** -- Fenton Wells 3047 Creek Run Sanford NC 27332 919-499-5545 srrfan1401@... [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] |
|
|
|
Tom Vanwormer
Fenton,
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Regular occurrence on the Colorado Midland with its steep descents from Hagerman Pass, later from Ivanhoe in both east and west directions and eastbound out of Cascade down the 4% grade into Manitou. The ETT had major sections on the inspections to be performed, the documentation of those inspections and the operation of the Safety Switch a quarter of a mile downgrade (east) of Cascade. We have found lots of period newspaper stories of the problems with wheel and axle failures. Tom VanWormer O Fenton Wells wrote: Thanks Tom. Did the cast iron and wroght iron overheat when decending a |
|
|
|
Thanks,
I am also finding out the same thing in my Saluda Mountain (NC) research. Apparently the Interstate was very late switching to steel wheels which caused the Southern a big headache if their cars were in the descending train. SR actually started limiting the IRR cars to no more than 8 per train. Saluda was the main route for coal from Appalachia to the port of Charleston SC Interesting. Thanks, Fenton Wells On Tue, May 15, 2012 at 4:32 PM, Tom Vanwormer <robsmom@...> wrote: ** -- Fenton Wells 3047 Creek Run Sanford NC 27332 919-499-5545 srrfan1401@... |
|
|
|
Tom Birkett <tnbirke@...>
And cast iron brake shoes threw many sparks, necessitation "spark shields"
under wood floors Tom Birkett From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@...] On Behalf Of Anthony Thompson Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2012 2:12 PM To: STMFC@... Subject: Re: [STMFC] Re: Turn of the century freight car wheels Dennis S. wrote: The biggest disadvantage of cast iron wheels was that the unevenThe same thing can and does happen with wrought steel wheels under heavy braking, even in the diesel era. 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@... <mailto:thompson%40signaturepress.com> Publishers of books on railroad history |
|
|
|
Good stuff gentlemen, I appreciate the info.
Fenton Wells On Tue, May 15, 2012 at 4:54 PM, Tom Birkett <tnbirke@...> wrote: ** -- Fenton Wells 3047 Creek Run Sanford NC 27332 919-499-5545 srrfan1401@... [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] |
|
|