Re: Blind Drivers - a few questions

kcsivils Wrote:
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> Were blind drivers ever used on standard gauge
> locomotives with long, stiff wheelbases?

You bet, and sometimes even on short locomotives.



Here is the William Mason at the B&O Museum. Her front driver is blind. She gets away with it because of having a rigid lead truck with no swing links. IIRC, there are also ten wheelers at that museum with flanges on their rear drivers only.



PRR's giant I1 class 2-10-0's were built with only the front and rear drivers flanged. You can see how wide the blind tires were due to the shadows the tires cast on the wheel centers.



Here is a close up. That's a lot of locomotive to back up counting on only one flange to keep you on the track. In later years PRR modified them by adding flanges to the 2nd and 4th driver sets as well. Must on gotten tired of rerailing them on crappy yard tracks.