Some time ago I asked if anyone had an extra pair of tender trucks and was
willing to part with them, as a previous owner of the one I had bought had
swapped out the original archbar trucks for Andrews. I was able to obtain a
set of sideframes from another list member which I understand he had cast from
the originals, all other sources having come up empty.
I drilled them for the wheelsets almost immediately after getting them but the
bolsters had sat on the back burner for some time. I finally fabricated a pair
the other day and assembled everything.I first ground off the mounting stub
from the back of one sideframe and drilled and tapped it, soldering the other
side after opening a hole in the bolster for its stub. The former was so much
trouble and so unsatisfactory I decided to drill each mounting stub for a pin,
which I did (even replacing the one I'd earlier soldered).
There were two problems with the replacement Andrews trucks (and I cannot
identify them, as they are unlike either the Overland USRA 2-8-2 or USRA 4-6-2
tender trucks, nor yet like SS&LS ones) other than that they are not
prototypical: they are a bit longer wheelbase than the original archbars (and
the previous owner had also ground away some of the ends beams to accommodate
them), and they made the tender sit too low for good coupler height. I gained
at least 1/16" when I assembled my replacement archbars with the bolster at the
top of the sideframe, but that was still inadequate. Even after using THREE
washers each on the kingpins, the coupler STILL sits too low, even after a bit
of judicious filing on the mounting pad on the rear beam.>From frustrated
curiosity, would someone check their stock model and tell me whether a Kadee
sits at the correct height with no modications? And, if so, how their trucks
and body mounts differ from mine?
Jace Kahn
General Manager
Ceres & Canisteo RR Co./Champlain County Traction Co.
