Most wreck trains had a car that carried some spare trucks. What did the trucks rest upon on the car platform? I assume that either steel rails were mounted to the floor of the car or heavy wood timbers were used to distribute the weight of the trucks. Also, what was used to keep the trucks from rolling around in transit? Chocks or tie down chains? I need this info for a model I'm building.
Thanks,
Tom
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On at least one wrecker I am furmilar with there were 1X4 steel bars bolted to the deck For rails. There were anchor points down the center to the car so the axles could be chained down.
Thanks, David. This information helps a lot. I'm not trying to model a specific car, but I want the main details to be somewhat accurate.
Thanks, David. This information helps a lot. I'm not trying to model a specific car, but I want the main details to be somewhat accurate.
This pic might show the bars the trucks ride on...
Mark
Thought that was a yard gnome sitting on the end of the flat car at first glance. Figured, "Nah, couldn't be," looked closer and sure enough it wasn't. <phew> Nice photo, Mark!
Neil
Tom, coincidentally I had the very same question as I've been working on a wreck train project. I scratch-built a cut-down gondola to be used as a spare truck car, but couldn't find any good photos of the prototype car that clearly showed how the trucks were carried.
I used my imagination and created a spare truck rack made from "steel I-beams"...see photos below. The cross-member I-beams keep the trucks in place. I'm thinking about adding some tie-down chains as well to really "lock them down". May not be prototypical, but it keeps the trucks from rolling around in my model train world!
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