6 wheel trucks

Thu Nov 29 13:12:55 EST 2018

Uncle Ed,

I waited two days for the real experts to answer, but they've remained
silent.  A wiser man than I once said that the best way to get good data
out of the woodwork is to put out bad data, so here goes.

According to the 1948 Virginian Freight Car plan book, those cars had
Vulcan Cast sideframe trucks with 33" wheels.  I'm not sure how unique
those would be for the 1924 build period, but it seems that the answer is
"yes".

There may be five people who want additional information, so here's some,
as far as I can find or remember.  More specific information is in the Dow
book, the COHS freight car books, and the instructions for the Westerfield
kits.

These cars are adapted from a USRA 70 ton triple design that was never
built as originally authorized.  The original design, and the cars that
were built, had a center clamshell with two outer regular hopper doors.
The Virginian had 500 of these, and at least two lasted until 1959 and one
lasted to 1962.

In addition to the 500 for the Virginian, the C&O, the HV and the NYC (and
subsidiaries)got a few thousand more to the same basic design at the same
time.

In the 1930's all the railroads that had them rebuilt them to change the
center clamshell to a three sawtooth design.

The only picture we've found, so far, of a Virginian car in the three
sawtooth configuration is of a car sold, and repainted and lettered, for
the Tennessee Central(?).

This car, the VGN H-5, is noticeably different from Virginian's next 70 ton
triple, the H-14.

Westerfield had done excellent models of the car detailed for the C&O and
the NYC (no, I'm not checked out on the differences)in both the clamshell
and as rebuilt versions. I do not know if the new owner of Westerfield has
rerun these cars or plans to.  They are available at train shows and hobby
shops if you search.  The C&O rebuilt version has the arched ends.

I picked up a few of the NYC cars with a view to making credible Virginian
H-5's.  After looking at the 55+ step instructions I put them in the
To-Be-Done-When-My-Skills-Get-To-That-Level Box.  I suspect that's the
reason a lot of unbuilt kits are available at hobby shops.  The few I have
seen built are really good.

Now the real experts can chime in.

Frank Bongiovanni
Going back to the bunker and working on #610

On Tue, Nov 27, 2018 at 9:09 AM NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
wrote:

> Didn’t those earlier VGN 3-bay 70-ton hoppers have a rather unique truck
> under them?  If I’m not mistaken, they had a very rare 6x11 journal Vulcan
> truck.
>
> EdKing
>
> *From:* NW Mailing List
> *Sent:* Monday, November 26, 2018 2:57 PM
> *To:* NW Mailing List
> *Subject:* Re: 6 wheel trucks
>
> Steve Summers researched the heck out of these for a clinic, and I have
> the material somewhere, but I'm 95% certain that the H-14's were built
> after the H-15's.  The H-15's are another in the long line of 50/52.5/55
> ton two bay hoppers; the H-14's were the second group of 70 ton three bays,
> several years after the 70 ton 3 bay H-5's.  The H-14/H-34's are kind of a
> unique VGN/N&W design, and as far as I know, even though we've had two
> different postings on how to take an MDC or Atlas TrainMan 70 ton 3 bay and
> convert it to the H14/34 hopper, an accurate model has not been done in kit
> or RTR.
>
> Frank Bongiovanni
>
> On Mon, Nov 26, 2018 at 2:44 PM NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
> wrote:
>
>> Don’t recall the VGN H-15s.  Do recall the H-14s; I was working at
>> Shaffers Crossing Shop Track at the date of the merger and was drafted for
>> a couple of jobs at other locations.  My impression was that the H-14 class
>> was in existence before the merger and that 500 more were built after the
>> merger as N&W H-34s.  I don’t recall the numbers.
>>
>> Ed King
>>
>> *From:* NW Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List
>> *Sent:* Monday, November 26, 2018 12:07 PM
>> *To:* NW Mailing List
>> *Cc:* NW Mailing List
>> *Subject:* Re: 6 wheel trucks
>>
>> Ed,
>> Virginian drawings show 1000 H-15, 55-T hoppers built by Bethlehem Steel
>> from Mar. thru June 1953, numbers 26000-26999.
>> Then, from May thru Oct 1956 Virginian built at Princeton, 500 total
>> hoppers, H-15a nos. 27000-27299 and H-15b nos. 27300-27499.
>> I know the H-14, 70-T hoppers were built in Princeton, but for some
>> reason I do not have that drawing.
>> Since I do not have the H-14 drawing I can't prove it, but something
>> tells me, and I don't know why, that the H-14 hoppers were actually built
>> after the the H-15a&b hoppers. That would explain the left over material
>> for more H-14s after the merger.
>> Your thoughts?
>>
>> Jeff Sanders
>>
>>
>> On Monday, November 26, 2018, 7:51:35 AM EST, NW Mailing List <
>> nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Jeff -
>>
>> The Virginian cars were 70-ton hoppers classed H-14.  At the time of the
>> merger, material was on hand at Princeton to build 500 more cars; they were
>> N&W class H-34.  At least, this was the story at the time.
>>
>> Ed King
>>
>> *From:* NW Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List
>> *Sent:* Sunday, November 25, 2018 6:08 PM
>> *To:* NW Mailing List
>> *Cc:* NW Mailing List
>> *Subject:* Re: 6 wheel trucks
>>
>> Interesting that the Class was H-15. The Virginian had just built class
>> H-15 hoppers in Princeton in the late '50s. In fact, I believe the N&W
>> continued to build cars in Princeton after the merger, under the new N&W
>> numbers and class. N&W wasted no time in reclassifying Vgn equipment to fit
>> its system. I'm betting all that was probably settled before merger day.
>>
>> Jeff Sanders
>>
>> On Saturday, November 24, 2018, 6:47:46 PM EST, NW Mailing List <
>> nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
>>
>>
>> I only missed the class by two . . .
>>
>> EdKing
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: NW Mailing List
>> Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2018 10:30 AM
>> To: NW Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: 6 wheel trucks
>>
>> Except that the  class was H-15, the rest sounds good to me.
>>
>> Gordon Hamilton
>>
>> On 11/23/2018 10:19 AM, NW Mailing List wrote:
>> > Around 1961 or so N&W designed a massive 150-ton hopper car (class
>> > H13?) to use short-wheelbase Buckeye 6-wheel trucks like those used on
>> > Y-6 tenders. They started construction and ordered the trucks from the
>> > Buckeye people and were advised that the short-wheelbase item was no
>> > longer available.  In order that the project not be scrapped on the
>> > spot, they had to go to United Iron and Metal at Roanoke which was
>> > scrapping Y-6bs at the time and buy a pair of tender trucks, which
>> > reportedly cost $25,000.
>> >
>> > I saw the car a couple of times; it really stood out in a coal train.
>> >
>> > Gordon, can you correct any mistakes I have made?
>> >
>> > Ed King
>> >
>> > -----Original Message----- From: NW Mailing List
>> > Sent: Friday, November 23, 2018 3:48 AM
>> > To: NWHS LIST
>> > Subject: 6 wheel trucks
>> >
>> > Recent discussions with a friend on the VGN battleship gondola brought
>> > to memory of a 6 wheel hopper I thought was VGN, but could also be N&W.
>> > There were either photos or drawings in the ARROW, which I have gone
>> > through and found the VGN car, but not the style I am remembering.
>> > A friend of mine had his father cut the shape out of wood some years
>> > ago. I got 6 wheel trucks for them, but never finished them.
>> > Does anyone know or remember these cars, and where the drawing/photo
>> was?
>> > I know with all the talk of the manufacturers closing down, and really
>> > putting the squeeze on available models, has anyone considered 3D
>> > printing?
>> > I have quite a few hoppers, excavators, front end loaders ect that
>> > were 3D printed. I know they are not perfect and need extra attention,
>> > but after putting micro-train trucks under them, they look quite nice
>> > and work fine. 3D printing could offer unlimited items to manufacture,
>> > that otherwise would never be made except for scratch building.
>> >
>> > PS in the March/April 2006 issue of the ARROW, mine came with 2 front
>> > covers, so if your issue is missing its front cover, I have it.
>> >
>> > Jeff Wood
>> > ________________________________________
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