Hi Folks,
Strictly speaking, is operating wooden framed equipment with friction bearing trucks forbidden in captive service? I know several RRs out there operate wooden cars, like Strasburg's former B&M coaches, the Old Colony and Newport also owns some of these coaches... Can anyone briefly describe what steps need to be taken to allow equipment like this to operate safely in a modern environment?

Regards,
Trevor H.

Trevor-

I would say that in captive service (not leaving your own owned rails), wood cars with friction bearing trucks would be OK to run. You could even run arch-bar trucks and use Sharon couplers for that matter. The only thing you should do is inspect the equipment and appliances to make sure they are in good working order and that the equipment is safe to operate.

Les Beckman (Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum/North Judson, Indaina)