Before the widespread availability of cast steel truck bolsters, hardwood bolsters were the norm, usually strengthened with trussrods. Being in use on standard gauge cars up to the eve of WWI, the so-called "Cleveland" truck soldiered on in narrow gauge form well into the 1920s. Our example comes from the pen of industrial historian John White and his magisterial The American Railroad Freight Car.

Brake Rigging Super-detail kit: TBA

In steam era railroading circa WWII and into the steam-diesel transition years, the most ubiquitous friction bearing freight car truck is some variation on the steel-side-frame-with-integrally-cast-journal-boxes. The Bettendorf company originated the concept prior to WWI with a T-section design, later superseded by the much superior U-section design. The concept was so popular that the American Association of Railroads standardized the concept; and though many other companies aside from Bettendorf produced their own variations, the name stuck. The prototype for this truck follows the Norfolk & Western T-64 class 50 ton truck with standard spring package (as opposed to the optional elliptical spring & snubber (at left).

Brake Rigging Super-detail kit: TBA

The prototype for this truck is a typical late 19th-early 20th century archbar design using a pair of steel I-beams for a bolster. The 5'-0" wheelbase and 4¼ x 8 journal boxes were very common for this era and could be found beneath multiple varieties of wooden rolling stock. This particular truck supports a 36' Ma & Pa wooden boxcar preserved in operable condition on the Strasburg Railroad located near Lancaster, PA.

The Southern Railway prior to and following World War I used 5'-2" wheelbase archbar trucks under many of its wooden freight cars. Variations included differing varieties of cast column, the "set" or height of the archbars above the rail head, Simplex bolsters built up from 12" channels and bar stock, and double bolts through some columns. The version modeled here is based upon drawings provided by the Southern Railway Historical Association for the SR standard 30 ton boxcar.

With the dawn of the steel car era, archbar trucks of greater capacity were developed, some of which were easily able to support loads of 50 tons or even more. This 40 ton example, with 5 x 9 journals and a cast steel bolster, was in use on the Cass Scenic Railroad and its lumber hauling predecessors beneath 40' wooden flat cars originally built prior to WWI. The model is based upon my own measurements of one of the remaining trucks made on a rainy, cool September day in 2002.

As a successor to the archbar truck, the Andrews concept of a cast steel frame with removable journal boxes antedates the United States Railway Administration (USRA) by nearly 20 years. The USRA U-section 50 ton design and its clones were made in the 1000s after WWI and remained in service throughout the WWII era, and into the modern era in work trains. The casting pattern shown at right was cut on my wire EDM and will be joined to miniature 5½ x 10 journal boxes w/ square bolts.

The Andrews design was first patented in 1896 as a "T" rather than a "U" section side frame; and as such, did not have the strength of the later U-section designs. Nevertheless, the T section was an improvement upon the old archbar trucks, and could still be found in the post-WWI era on small locomotive tenders, some freight cars, and, as in the case of this truck, the Denver & Rio Grande's standard gauge idler cars. This particular truck supports idler car X-3050 at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden and is still used on occasion for switching on dual gauge track.

The F scale version is unique in that (1) this truck has never been modeled before and (2) its casting patterns were created from 3D CAD drawings printed as wax rapid prototypes by Swiss modelmaker Steve Weber. Pictured is the new metal side frame casting pattern. My thanks to Steve and to both Kevin Strong & Rick Blanchard for their research help!

Prior to the much more common USRA Andrews trucks of the 1920s and 30s there was the 1896 Andrews Patent truck. These trucks have been used on a variety of tenders, including various Southern Pacific consolidations. The truck at left was used on the tender of Southern Railway 2-8-0 #154.

The rigidity of archbar trucks was greatly improved by the substitution of one central casting in lieu of two cast columns on each sideframe, and the provision of two steel channels, riveted to those same castings, spanning the width of each truck. Similar to the Theilsen truck, the floating bolster truck substituted a spring mounted bolster for a swinging one. These trucks are found on the tender of Southern Railway G class 2-8-0 #107.

Although the USRA pedestal tender truck may have been more common, at least initially, the most common two axle freight locomotive tender of the steam era is probably the 70 ton USRA Andrews as equipped with leaf springs and a swing motion bolster. This truck lives beneath SR Ks-1 2-8-0 #722.

Status of Model

Passenger car trucks were not always metal. In fact until the turn of the last century, many passenger car trucks were still of composite wood and iron construction, with iron pedestals, journal boxes and braces being bolted onto a wooden frame. Such was the case with the Pullman Palace 6 wheel trucks. The patterns for these circa 1890 trucks are based upon drawings published in the 1892 book by William Voss Railway Car Construction.

This model is the work of Jim McDaniel (see his gallery here) who has agreed to let me reproduce his masterful F scale trucks using his casting patterns and my own laser cut basswood components. These fully equalized swing motion trucks will be offered as kits.