[N&W] Re: Y3/Y3a tender wheels in the early '50's

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

N&W was an early user of wrought steel wheels on freight cars; by early, I
mean back into the 20s; tenders would have been early conversions.  I don't
remember seeing any cast iron (the ribs were actually known as "brackets"
and did not extend from the rim all the way to the wheel hub) wheels under
ANY N&W equipment in the 'fifties, and you'd probably be correct in saying
they didn't even use them as early as in the 'thirties.

The model manufacturers have the strange idea that putting "ribs" on the
back of wheels is a good detail.  Walthers is a bad offender.  100-ton cars
including covered hoppers made by Walthers will be found with ribbed wheels,
with the ribs extending to the hubs.  Even the smaller 70-ton cast iron
wheels were outlawed by the AAR under covered hoppers by the 1950s, so any
covered hopper of that capacity or larger newer than that with a ribbed-back
wheel would be an outlaw.

The Virginian had a lot of cars with cast iron wheels (cast iron wheels
without brackets had been outlawed shortly after WWII, I believe) at the
time of the merger; N&W, as I said, had none.  The VGN cars were stencilled
"new standard Wrot Stl Whls" so that any wheel/axle sets needing replacement
would be replaced with the Wrought Steel wheels instead of being replaced in
kind; N&W didn't try to change them out all at once.  The stencilling
allowed foreign shops to make the upgrade and assured that the AAR billing
for it would be approved.

Evidently P2K has fallen into the ribbed back trap and thinks that it's a
nice little detail.

It isn't.

EdK

----- Original Message -----
From: "N&W Mailing List" <mailing-list at nwhs.org>
To: "N&W Mailing List" <mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2003 10:35 PM
Subject: Y3/Y3a tender wheels in the early '50's


 > Hi All;
 >
 > I am wondering if the wheels under tenders of Y3/Y3a locomotives in the
 > early '50's where cast (rib backed) or wrought (flat backed).  I am
 > suspecting wrought, but a P2K tender I have has ribbed back wheels.
 >
 > Also other N&W tenders in the early '50's.
 >
 > Thank you
 > Nigel F Misso, P.E.
 > nfmisso at cox.net
 > Yukon, Oklahoma
 > visit:  http://www.comrail.org
 >
 >
 >