ISO: Early PRR wood car drawings

twofoot · **Joined:** Mon Jun 24, 2013 1:14 pm **Posts:** 205

Hi folks. Would anyone have access to drawings for early PRR freight cars from the 1867 period? I am currently working on the trucks for this equipment, and I would like to recreate proper rolling stock.

Thanks

Chris

Ron Travis · **Joined:** Sun May 15, 2005 2:22 pm **Posts:** 1543

Chris,

Have you checked John White's book, The American Railroad Freight Car? I am not sure if it gets back to 1867 for PRR cars, but it might have something you can use. I am curious about your drawings for the USMRR trucks. Do you have historical drawings for those trucks which show all the hidden details? They appear to be swing motion trucks conceptually.

twofoot · **Joined:** Mon Jun 24, 2013 1:14 pm **Posts:** 205

Ron Travis wrote:

Chris,

Have you checked John White's book, The American Railroad Freight Car? I am not sure if it gets back to 1867 for PRR cars, but it might have something you can use. I am curious about your drawings for the USMRR trucks. Do you have historical drawings for those trucks which show all the hidden details? They appear to be swing motion trucks conceptually.

Thanks, I will look.

Based on this drawing. Has been updated significantly since the snapshot I posted.

C.

ted66 · **Posted:** Mon Oct 29, 2018 1:01 pm

another possible source of information would be the various editions of the Master Car Builder's Encyclopedias.

Come to think of it; does anyone know the first year for those books?

Ted66

twofoot · **Joined:** Mon Jun 24, 2013 1:14 pm **Posts:** 205

ted66 wrote:

another possible source of information would be the various editions of the Master Car Builder's Encyclopedias.

Come to think of it; does anyone know the first year for those books?

Ted66

Google Books has the 1879 edition.

https://books.google.com/books/about/Ca ... oMAQAAIAAJ

Chris

TrainDetainer · **Joined:** Wed Nov 23, 2016 7:05 pm **Posts:** 283

Ron -

I think Chris had originally labelled the file USMRR trucks, but they are credited in White's book as 1867 PRR trucks, which is why he's looking for PRR equipment drawings.

Also, the PRR trucks in the original drawing are floating bolster design, not swing motion. It is interesting that this stated PRR 1867 design, if true, came about at least 4-5 years after the USMRR was buying better, higher capacity trucks.

In that vein of squirrelly dating- as information, while I was looking for pre-standardization PRR stuff, I came across the Jackson and Sharp builder's photo of what's listed as their 1881 Standard Domestic passenger truck and zoomed in for a closer look - it has "MCB STD" and "Approved 1881" cast in the pedestals but the photo is not from 1881. If you look closer, one wheel has a casting date of 1889. Further - while cast with the 1881 approval date, it is an update. My Carbuilder's Dictionary has a drawing of the pedestal and states the standard was adopted at the Eighth Convention of 1874 and reaffirmed at the Fifteenth convention of 1881. So was this truck really an 1881 design or sometime after 1874 and just got the pedestals with the updated approval? Another builder's photo of their pre-MCB "Suspension Car Truck, Patented Oct. 8th, 1878" and dated as 1878 has 1882 cast wheels.