I'm looking over some inspection reports for several freight cars and I've run into a question that I can't find a quick answer for. If a wheel is given a description of ( 5 1/2X10 CJ33 C 18/0 ) I recognize that the first is the bearing size of five and a half inches X ten inches and that the wheels are 33" with the last one being the wheel condition, but ....this is where the help comes in... Is a car is an 18/0 is this better or worse than a 23/0 wheel for example? I'm guessing that a 23 would be a thicker wheel in better condition (more "meat") or is this a flange condition indication which would be a higher flange?

When I work with our FRA inspector, contract wheel shops, and others we've always been talking about 0 - 9 flange measurements from our gauges. If these readings are for the "other" type of gauge, I must admit I simply don't have any experience using this type and don't have anything to go on. Any answers, ideas, or references that are on the web?

One reference that I ran across is on the Winchester site. Hadn't seen the information tab before, probably wasn't there when I purchased gauges from them. http://www.railroadgage.com/information.htm Still, not positive I am reading the codes the right way.

Thanks in advance!

David Farlow, CMO
Whitewater Valley Railroad

The CJ-33 C is the AAR designation for a cast steel, 70 ton, 33 inch diameter wheel with a grade C heat treatment. The final designation is not as standrized, but I beleive they refer to rim thinckness and finger reading. 18/0 would be a wheel with a rim that is 18/16 (1 1/8") thick. The minimum allowable thickness depends on several things, but is probably around 15/16". The /0 part refers to the flange finger reading. This reading is often mis-used. This number is the thickness of tread material that has to be removed by the wheel lathe to restore the wheel to a full flange contour. A "0" flange is one that has little or no wear on it. It may or may not be the thickness of the flange, as the gauging point moves up and down with tread wear. To get the approximate flange thickness using the finger number, you need to use a table that converts the finger readings to flange thickness dimensions. See the AAR Field Manual for the proper use of all of these wheel gauges.

Thanks for the reply,

We are buying one car out of a group of five and the wheel readings were the primary difference between one car and another.

David Farlow, CMO
Whitewater Valley Railroad