Continuing...
TRUCKS:
Hamilton obtains wheel, axle, roller bearing, and journal box assemblies complete from the supplier. (I don't yet know the company.) Although Jeff said the frame is a steel casting, that is not obvious in the photo posted at Craig William's WP&Y website. (URL below, I hope.) The frames appear to be weldments, and the pedestals to be numerically controlled flame cut parts, bolted to the frames. The coil and leaf springs are manufactured in Seattle, and, after some early problems, have been set up to give a good balance between ride comfort and reliable tracking.
My original notion about the design of trucks for the C&TS RR was to follow traditional lines, and to hide the roller bearing ends under journal box lids. Now, having seen the pictures of the WP&Y trucks, I lean the other way. Why go with cosmetically dishonest design? My training is to let form follow function, and this is a fine example of that.
BRAKES:
The cars are fitted with a conventional brake system, including rods and levers. (The levers are flame cut from steel, about 1/2" thick.) Brake shoes are commercially available iron (?) castings. Jeff said that each car requires some $6500 of WABCO parts. (Type ABDX triple valves, cylinders, and actuators.) Hamilton does all the plumbing.
I still want to examine the possibility of using truck mounted, instead of carbody mounted brakes. My notion is that this would be a more elegant way to go.
COUPLERS:
Hamilton, the WP&Y, uses standard size couplers, but the lightest available. (Perhaps rated at 250,000#) (An aside: Many model railroaders do not know that it is illegal to paint couplers, or wheelsets. Paint can cover cracks, and prevent them from being seen during inspections.) The couplers have a cutting lever located conventionally, above. They are attached to a yoke, which captures two springs. This gives about 1.5" travel upon coupling. The centerlines are 26" above the railhead, as with Rio Grande practice.
END PLATFORMS:
Considerable thought has gone into the platform/step arrangement. The steps are conventionally sized, with 8" risers and 9.5" treads. (I've been measuring such things regularly over the last month or so. Always carry a tape measure.)
A nice, but not surprising, feature of the platforms is a floor piece that hinges down from the endwall of the car. This makes the platforms safe to ride. Jeff says they are very popular with photographers. Sturdy railings and grabirons are part of the design.
The gangway between cars is not particularly well done, in my opinion. It has only a single chair at hand level. I suggested three chains, captured in canvas, to provide a much safer passageway. (The railroad has a rule against using the gangways while the train is moving, but that is probably violated frequently.) I'm also concerned about wheelchair accessibility. I have a disabled friend, and - as a result - have become somewhat sensitized to this matter.
FLOOR:
As posted earlier, the floors are 3/4" plywood. Hamilton uses the finest grade of plywood available. Jeff calls it "void free", and says it consists of seven layers of knot free veneer. Expensive. I tried to guess at the weight, assuming 8 x 40 feet. This would be ten sheets, so must be something like 500#. The floors are sprayed from underneath with a foam covering, that reduces the noise significantly.
The floors are carpeted, and have aircraft type seat rails. (Jeff says the rails are probably superfluous, not generally useful. My guess is that once the seats are installed, they are never moved.)
I honestly believe that a lighter material, providing Adequate floor stiffness, could be used. All we want, really, is for the floor to not bounce when a fat lady walks by.
SEATS:
Well, as I've gotten into this project, I've been measuring seats on buses, trains, and airplanes. Here are a few numbers:
On the Amtrak Talgo cars I rode to Seattle, there is 19" inside the side armrests, 24" over them. The seats are spaced at 38", have a front height of 17", a seat depth of 18", and a backrest height of 43". The outside width of a seat-pair, over the armrests, is 45". I consider these seats to be very comfortable, not confining.
The WP&Y seats are a little over 36" between the armrests, 38" over the outside. The backs are 33" high, the seat 17" above the floor, and 18" deep. They are "flop-overs, so can be reversed at the end of the run.
Now, as you might know from my earlier posts, I'm trying to design genuinely comfortable seating for the proposed C&TS RR cars. The WP&Y seats are OK, but the trip is only slightly over three hours. I'm attempting to put swivel mounted seat pairs into 40" diameter circles, and think it can be done nicely. The seats would have to be custom built, but that is no big deal. Hamilton builds the WP&Y seat frames in its shop, and has them upholstered by a local outfit.
WALLS:
Basically, the walls are finishing veneer bonded to the plywood underlayment. This, incidentally, is screwed to the steel framing. This is done with power driven self-tapping hardened steel screws. Jeff says that two men, one with the drill and the other with the driver, can do a car - inside and out - in one day. Incidentally, the use of wood inside the car would be illegal under the fire safety provisions of CFR Title 49, but that (Thank God) applies only to standard gage cars. And that, for your amusement, is divided into two parts: one for speeds up to 125 mph, and the other for 125 to 150 mph.
The woodwork, both inside and out, is very neatly done. Most apparent is the craftsmanship of the clerestory windows, which is just fine. The wood looks very nice, and gives the cars a pleasant cast. However, the grooved siding used at the D&S is almost indistinguishable from real wood. I would opt for that, to save weight.
POTTY & HEATER:
The little potty compartment, which also holds the PA system controls (under the washbasin) takes up one seat position. The heater, an oil fired unit, sits opposite. Hamilton puts the fuel in a stainless steel tank mounted on the endwall. They apply a "marine service" carburetor, so that train movements don't confuse it.
Actually, the heaters are used only two hours each morning before train time - to dry out the condensation which forms in the cars at night. There is no need for them when the cars are full of humans generating their own heat. Jeff says the fuel tanks have to be topped off only about in mid-season.
WINDOWS:
The windows are safety glass, marked with an FRA standard. They are held in vinyl frames, which Jeff says have completely eliminated the need for tedious annual painting. The windows do not open, but the car does not feel confining. This is due to the fact that the window area is so large.
I'm still including openable windows in my design for the C&TS RR cars. After hundreds of trips as conductor, one of my favorite memories is of the "outdoor" experience of hanging out the window area of the snack car at the center of the train. I think this is one of the finest features of the C&TS RR trip, and want to enhance it as much as possible.
ROOF:
The roof support members are made from square steel tubing, bent and then cut to size. There are literally bundles of them lying around the Hamilton shop. The roof itself is steel sheet (1/16" ?) rolled to the proper curvature, and then sheared to size. The whole works is welded together. (I was damn well impressed by the skillfulness of the welders I met at the shop.)
Well, I'm tired now, and will quit for tonight. The next post will deal with my ideas for financing the construction of new high-tech cars for the C&TS RR. I genuinely believe it can be done. It just requires a good plan, and a bit of faith.
Bob Keller
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