Trivial D&RGW wheel trivia
| August 06, 2014 09:31AM |
Lacking anything truly productive to do at the moment, I will continue to flood this forum with trivial trivia about the D&RGW's narrow gauge freight cars. (I only wish there were enough C&S, F&CC etc. cars around to be able to get this trivial about, but that is not the case)
Anyway, today's trivia shall be about wheels;
From my observations, it appears that, over the years, the Rio Grande used 3 different types of wheels, all made by Griffin in Denver. The types are -
- Ribbed back with a hollow cavity, dated circa 1900 through the 1920's
- Flat back, no ribs. Dated in the 1930's
- Ribbed back solid. Dated in the 1940's to the 1960's
Some photos
A ribbed back, hollow cavity wheel dated July 19, 1926. Note the three holes around the hollow cavity in the wheel around the hub. These make dandy nests for wasps and mice in stationary cars.
No photo of the plain back type. The only one I have access to right now is under a car and not conducive to being photographed.
A ribbed back, solid wheel dated August 30, 1943. Fewer ribs ( 9 vs 14) and a thinner profile around the hub as there is no hollow cavity.
The faces of the wheels are also different;
Face of the 1926 ribbed back / hollow cavity wheel.
Face of the 1943 ribbed back/solid wheel. Note the much flatter overall profile compared to the older wheel. This type of face was also used on the non-ribbed wheels of the 1930's.
The question is, why the different types? The non ribbed back wheels seem to have been initially viewed as an improvement over the ribbed back/hollow cavity wheels but must not have worked out as they were superceeded by the ribbed back/solid wheels after a decade of use. I have heard that the ribs on the backs of the wheels were to aid in cooling the wheels on long descents. The D&RGW must have felt that they worked.
One last photo...
These are about the oldest Rio Grande wheels I have found, dated April 27 1909 (L) and November 2, 1912 (R). Notice the different lettering on the faces; "G W CO DENVER" on the 1909 wheel and "GRIFFIN WHEEL CO DENVER" on the 1912 wheel. While the truck is from drop bottom gondola 881, it is presently under a 700 series car, possibly 701 in Oklahoma.
Jason Midyette
Anyway, today's trivia shall be about wheels;
From my observations, it appears that, over the years, the Rio Grande used 3 different types of wheels, all made by Griffin in Denver. The types are -
- Ribbed back with a hollow cavity, dated circa 1900 through the 1920's
- Flat back, no ribs. Dated in the 1930's
- Ribbed back solid. Dated in the 1940's to the 1960's
Some photos
A ribbed back, hollow cavity wheel dated July 19, 1926. Note the three holes around the hollow cavity in the wheel around the hub. These make dandy nests for wasps and mice in stationary cars.
No photo of the plain back type. The only one I have access to right now is under a car and not conducive to being photographed.
A ribbed back, solid wheel dated August 30, 1943. Fewer ribs ( 9 vs 14) and a thinner profile around the hub as there is no hollow cavity.
The faces of the wheels are also different;
Face of the 1926 ribbed back / hollow cavity wheel.
Face of the 1943 ribbed back/solid wheel. Note the much flatter overall profile compared to the older wheel. This type of face was also used on the non-ribbed wheels of the 1930's.
The question is, why the different types? The non ribbed back wheels seem to have been initially viewed as an improvement over the ribbed back/hollow cavity wheels but must not have worked out as they were superceeded by the ribbed back/solid wheels after a decade of use. I have heard that the ribs on the backs of the wheels were to aid in cooling the wheels on long descents. The D&RGW must have felt that they worked.
One last photo...
These are about the oldest Rio Grande wheels I have found, dated April 27 1909 (L) and November 2, 1912 (R). Notice the different lettering on the faces; "G W CO DENVER" on the 1909 wheel and "GRIFFIN WHEEL CO DENVER" on the 1912 wheel. While the truck is from drop bottom gondola 881, it is presently under a 700 series car, possibly 701 in Oklahoma.
Jason Midyette
| Subject | Author | Posted |
|---|---|---|
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Jason Midyette | August 06, 2014 09:31AM |
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Jason Midyette | August 06, 2014 09:56AM |
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John West | August 06, 2014 10:30AM |
|
Earl | August 06, 2014 10:52AM |
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