What are the current rules for new railroad car wheels?

The SPCRR has (modern) patterns for 24” and 26” late 1880’s Whitney single plate wheels. While the original wheels were chilled cast iron, we have then cast in a mild steel then surfaced hardened. The SPCRR’s Ardenwood Railroad is insular, slow speed, so we have not had to deal with the issue, but we have had inquiries from other groups, some of which might be “more” regulated...

Historically, the rules required destructive testing of a certain number of wheels as part of the regulatory system… Our production is likely to be less than 20 wheels in any year. What are the rules for cast steel wheels, and how hard would it get to receive a exception of these wheels for use on restored historic cars that might see occasional demonstration operation?

Randy Hees

Mr. Hees:

This answer assumes all of the general caveats; your mileage may vary. In manufacturing something for insular railroad use where one is not seeking AAR approval for the manufacturing process, it is still wise to follow all of the AAR engineering standards to the tee. The reason for that is that in the event of any question of liability, that is the standard that your organization would be held to.

The AAR manufacturing standards for cast steel wheels are voluminous and more than I have time to summarize here. But they should be followed and the processes documented if you choose to do this in-house. You might want to check with AAR shops like McKees Rocks to see if they would take your patterns and do the casting and heat treatment for you.