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TRUCK QUESTION
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WILLIAM PARDIE
We have been spoiled in recent years with the numerous versions of HO trucks with raised lettering. This morning while reviewing my truck stash I came across a set of trucks with the raised BETTENDORF lettering above the spring box. For ages all we had were Kadee Bettendorf trucks. I don't, however, recall seeing a photo of a truck with the word Bettendorf on them. Is this prototypical? Richard ! Where are you? Bill Pardie Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone |
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Tony Thompson
Bill Pardie wrote:Since Bettendorf exited the truck business in 1941, if it’s a later truck, then obviously not prototypical. Richard ! Where are you?Now that one’s beyond my ability to answer. Tony Thompson tony@... |
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convinced ? :-) On 9/21/2022 4:03 PM, WILLIAM PARDIE wrote:
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Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts |
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brianleppert@att.net
If the side frame was cast by Bettendorf, then it might have that raised lettering. Attached are two photos of a Bettendorf caboose truck under a Santa Fe caboose at the Orange Empire RR Museum it southern California. I used it for researching my Tahoe Model Works' TMW-104/204 Bettendorf Caboose Truck. The HO truck has this raised lettering.
Brian Leppert Tahoe Model Works Carson City, NV |
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Todd Sullivan
When I worked at Alstom Transportation in Hornell, NY, we had a substantial collection of old trucks, mostly roller bearing types, from different freight cars that most likely had been scrapped somewhere else. They were used as shop trucks to put under transit cars we were building so they could be moved around in the shops. I think almost every truck I looked at (sorry, no photos - we weren't allowed camera inside the facility) had raised lettering on it. Some of the lettering had the bearing size, which determined the capacity of the truck, and almost every truck had the manufacturer's name on it in raised letters.
Todd Sullivan |
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Richard Townsend
I think Accurail trucks have the raised “Bettendorf.”
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On Sep 21, 2022, at 2:07 PM, Todd Sullivan via groups.io <sullivant41@...> wrote:
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Notice the four different journal box lids.
Mark |
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Scott
Brian how do you engrave microscopic lettering in metal molds? Do you have some kind of laser etch it in?
Scott McDonald |
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Many trucks have foundry symbols on them.
Kurt Laughlin compiled a WORD document for foundry marks in the 1940 to 1945 time period. He wrote it in 2005. It covers foundry marks found mostly on military equipment but since many of the railroad manufacturers were building military equipment then in their foundries, the same marks can be found on railroad car castings. I have a nice shot of an ASF cast truck (with the ASF letters and also a foundry stamp) but in the center of the truck at the top is spelled out "BARBER S-2" On 9/21/2022 5:07 PM, Todd Sullivan via groups.io wrote: When I worked at Alstom Transportation in Hornell, NY, we had a substantial collection of old trucks, mostly roller bearing types, from different freight cars that most likely had been scrapped somewhere else. They were used as shop trucks to put under transit cars we were building so they could be moved around in the shops. I think almost every truck I looked at (sorry, no photos - we weren't allowed camera inside the facility) had raised lettering on it. Some of the lettering had the bearing size, which determined the capacity of the truck, and almost every truck had the manufacturer's name on it in raised letters. --
Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts |
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electrical machining, rather than mechanical machining https://veco-precisionmetal.medium.com/differences-and-similarities-between-electrical-discharge-machining-edm-and-electroforming-eca2b91ac68e On 9/22/2022 2:00 AM, Scott wrote: Brian how do you engrave microscopic lettering in metal molds? Do you have some kind of laser etch it in? --
Tim O'Connor Sterling, Massachusetts |
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Dennis Storzek
On Thu, Sep 22, 2022 at 11:01 AM, Tim O'Connor wrote:
I have a nice shot of an ASF cast truck (with the ASF letters and also a foundry stamp) but in theTruck makers liked to put their name on their product (it's good advertising) unless there was some patented feature that needed calling attention to. ANDREWS, BARBER S2, and RIDE CONTROL all fall into this later category. In which case, the actual manufacturer would include their foundry mark somewhere on the casting. This little lettering can be put in the mold cavity by EDM, laser engraving, acid etching, or direct mechanical engraving. In the case of the Accurail truck that started this discussion, the lettering was acid etched into the EDM electrode used to sink the cavity. Dennis Storzek |
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brianleppert@att.net
I cut the lettering into the sideframe cavities the same way i cut the sideframe cavities themselves. I had a bench top CNC milling machine and except for two store-bought ball end mills made all my own cutters myself with a Deckel SO cutter grinder using fine-grade carbide 1/8" diameter cutter blanks. These were ground into 4-sided tapered flat bottom cutters.
The challenge for making the cutters to cut the lettering cavities was the small tip size--.0025" diameter. Accuracy was found using an optical comparitor and if under size the cutter was used for roughing. All this required steady hands and very good close-up eyesight, neither of which I have anymore. Brian Leppert Tahoe Model Works Carson City, NV |
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Todd Sullivan
Brian,
Thank you for your foresight about the hobby's need for more accurate, higher quality freight car trucks, and for all the effort you put in to making them a reality. When I started building models, the most we knew about trucks was "Bettendorf" (meaning steel integral journal sideframes), Andrews, archbar, caboose, and Vulcan and roller bearing. But those classifications pale in comparison to what we have today, and your offerings have spurred other manufacturers (Walthers, Rapido, Tangent, Moloco, Tichy, Exactrail, Atlas, Intermountain) to jump in and offer even more variations. So, thank you again for enriching our hobby! Todd Sullivan |
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