Re: Regauging pressed on wheels
Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 8:39 pm
Actually, on the decapod I saw, the outside edge of the tires was all torn up, presumably from hitting self-guarding frogs that were designed for standard-width driver tires! Anecdotally, a former fireman on the GM&O RR told me how the Russian Decapods would tear up the switches when running on unfamiliar territory (with self-guarding frogs).Pontiacguy1 wrote: ↑Wed Jul 10, 2019 3:30 pm That's how the manufacturers reduced the gauge on the drivers of the 'Russian' decapods back in 1918. They were built for the Russian 5' gauge railroad when the bolshevic revolution stranded several hundred of them in various stages of build. They modified the lead trucks, modified the trucks on the tender, and used a really wide and thick tire on the drive wheels which brought the gauge down to our standard 56 1/2" width, flanges moved back 1 3/4" per side. If you ever see one up close you can see that there is a lot of wear right up next to the flanges, but the outside area is not very worn at all. It is also a bit surprising how wide those tires look compared to others. It definitely worked, though. Some of those locomotives lasted until the very end of steam.