WW&F Railcar No. 4 (RC4) - Official Work Thread

[Matthew Gustafson]

Ive heard about you guys are building a black, open, carlike, railcar in the Car Shops? Hows that going? 

[Ed Lecuyer]

^{(Photo by Leon Weeks, courtesy of Dave Buczkowski and Stephen Hussar)}

This is what the car looked like in the Spring of 2007.

As I understand it, the car itself it pretty much done. A testament to one of our master craftsmen, Leon Weeks.

The WW&F crew (led by Jason L.) is working on completing the wheels, running gear, etc. There are pictures elsewhere in this forum of that work.

I'm guessing that we'll see it rolling along the rails in 2009?

[Ed Lecuyer]

Master craftsman Leon Weeks built the car. Jason Lamontagne (our CMO) is doing the running gear.

[Mike Fox]

The tires showed up yesterday for the railcar. Nice and new looking. Stack of 4 on the left is the railcars. The 2 on the right are for #11


Looking down at the tires



And finally, a keyway was recently cut into the new drive axle.

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

Thanks for the photos Mike.  They look good, especially the two thick ones for #11's pony truck

[Eric Bolton]

I remember when we put the new tires on our moguls wheels at Pine Creek. An interesting thing to watch. We ended up making a rig to support the wheel set above the floor then made a special hook to hang the tire from. It was hung almost againts the wheel and the hook was designed so the tire could be slid off it. Put the fire ring around it and lit it up. Very neat.

[Ed Lecuyer]

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slooper wrote:

What about building a Motor Car similar to S.R.& R.L. Ry #3, using the KISS principle.  Use relative modern power plant from small car/truck (something common for ease of parts), gas, four banger with auto transmission (with In Park Locking pawl),  Keeping the power brakes for normal operation.  Disk brake rotor outboard wheel and before bearing.  This would allow easy replacement of pads and rotors.  Emergency/Parking brake could be a band type on drive shaft.  Seats could be "standard" slatted park bench type, three or four for passengers and one for operator.  Safety chains between seats.  Hood, Grill, head lights, dash and wind shield frame from vintage car or truck (search the junk yards).  Add turntable, like those on speeders or Electro-Switch tampers.  Unload passengers at end of track and turn it around.  Only need a few inches of lift, one person can do it.  No need to operate in reverse over the entire round trip.

The car could be used for crew movement and/or revenue service on week days, when regular train not in operation.

James Patten replied:

One of our volunteers is working on a Model-T ford railcar.  He has the body and motor built, all that is needed is the running gear and wheels, and the wheels are being cast now and will need to be machined.  It will also have a method of turning, much like you suggest.

I expect it will see revenue use during slow days.

Stephen Hussar replied:

Leon has done quite a bit more since this photo was taken last spring...

jockellis replied:

That is so cool! Leon, how much of that is stock Model T?
Jock Ellis

Dave Buczkowski replied:

Jock;
Leon doesn't spend too much time on the computer though he did email me the photos that I then posted with Steve's advice. Leon gathered the parts including the engine from various sources including flea markets and Old Ford gatherings. In other words, the parts are not from one particular vehicle. I believe that, basically form the cowl forward are Ford parts. the frame, seats, flooring, etc. were all either built by Leon or came from non-Ford sources.
Dave

Duncan Mackiewicz replied:

Dave, et al;
It's obvious that Leon has done one heckuva job on this motor car.  It doesn't matter where the parts came from just the talent of the man assembling them.  Three cheers for Leon.
Duncan

[Jason M Lamontagne]

Hello all,

We're currently planning on putting the tires on the railcar wheelsets on Saturday, February 7, probably in the afternoon.

This will be preceded by the assembly of the wheelsets on Friday, and fire ring set up on Saturday morning.

Anyone interested in seeing this process is invited.  If the wheelset assembly drags out- some of Saturday may be chewed up finishing that process.  Sunday is our backup plan to finish tires if necessary, though this is unexpected.

We won't be putting tires on No 11's lead wheelset as we have not made an axle for it yet.  This will be secondary to some substantial progress on No 9.  

After this, the railcar will need bearing housings, a new drive shaft and a torque tube.  While still important and involved, this work is minor enough that we'll feel comfortable starting the No 9 project again.  

We have full intentions of putting the railcar in service by (or during) May.

Jason

[Dave Buczkowski]

Jason;
I'm going to show my ignorance for all to see as there may be one or two people who don't know the answer to this. Why are the wheels in two pieces? By two I mean the wheel and tire. I understand the concept on an automobile where the wheel is steel (or alloy) and the tire is rubber composite because of handling, traction, ride, etc. But the materials are essentially the same on a railroad wheel. Is it because the tire can wear out? (which I haven't seen happen at the Museum) It would seem easier to cast it all at once. Just wondering. Thanks.
Dave

[James Patten]

It is because tires wear out, and it's cheaper to replace a tire than to replace an entire wheel (and press the wheel off and press a new one one), especially on a locomotive where you have all kinds of fancy shapes and weights in a wheel.

I think that on our non-engine rolling stock the wheels and the tires are the same unit, so to fix tires on the wheel you change out the wheel.  Once the snow melts you can see what I mean - take a look at the wheelset sitting by the Green House.  It used to be under coach 3, and was changed out because the flange was sharp.

[Keith Taylor]

There is another reason that is just as important as what James has said. That is the materials quality. The center of the wheel can be cast steel that has great strength and is tough as nails. Where the tire can be made of a material that is heat treated for hardness and wear resistance. You may then ask...why aren't car wheels built the same way? There is a good reason for that as well. The majority of train braking is done on the cars, and not with the locomotive wheels. It is not uncommon for a train descending a long grade to have the "retainers set" and in essence having the brakes applied for twenty or thirty miles. That much friction causes a great deal of heat....enough to loosen the tire! Back when I ran GG-1 you were not permitted to use the engine's brakes other than to hold the engine while already stopped! They had incidents where sloppy engineer's had used the independant brake and the tires came off while the train was moving at high speed! So...tires are used where replacing the wheel would be very expensive, such as a locomotive driver, and solid wheels used where there is a chance of a great amount of brake use on lond descending grades.
Keith

[Dave Buczkowski]

Gentlemen;
Thanks for the prompt responses. I guess it's what I thought. I just replaced tire on two vehicles so I know how expensive that can all get.
Dave

[Ted Miles]

Folks

I am not an engineer or anything mechanical so it has to be simple.
I am a simple rail fan who likes narrow gauge among other things.

Why are you pressing tires onto a wheel center? Wouldn't be easier to simply press a cast wheel onto an axel; like they do for freight cars and street cars?

The weight of a Model T or similar body must be small when compared to a typical narrow gauge freight car.

Thanks,

Ted Miles

[Mike Fox]

OK. a few completed shots of the front Axle. Very nice. Stephen took all kinds of photos of how we got to this point.

[Duncan Mackiewicz]

Mike,
Nice pictures of the "tired" wheels.
Duncan