Hodges Trailing Trucks (Southern Steam Engines)

Classic Trains General Discussion
1

Someone was kind enough to tell me the name (Hodges Trailing Trucks). How did they work? A book about Southern Steam Engine kept referring to them in the captions but, I was unable to find out how they work. Those elegant green engines certainly impressed me as a five year old and continue to do so now that I am seventy. I’ve ridden a number of Southern’s passenger trains when they were still being pulled by those pacific type engine. Alas, they were rapidly being replaced when I rode The Royal Palm and Ponce de Leon.

2

That name may or may not be right. Alco built most of the Ps-4s, but the last five came from Baldwin; Bruce seems to associate the Hodges truck with Baldwin and the Cole truck with Alco. Far as I can see looking at the Ps-4 pics in Prince’s book the Ps-4 trailing trucks are all the same, but can’t be sure.

In any case, no idea how they work.

3

Commodore,
I think that I have an explanation somewhere. It might take me a several days to find and get it posted. If I go more than a week, send me an email to remind me.

4

Big Jim,

Thanks much, every photograph in that book kept saying the engines had Hodges trucks.

All the best,

Michael

5

timz,

Thanks for the info. I wonder if Southern ever indicated which company they thought made the better Engine.

All the best,

Michael

6

The Hodge, or Hodges, has leaf springs on the outside of the frame.

The Delta had a coil spring above the bearing within the frame.

And I have no pictures of a Cole.

Most models I built in the late 40’s had Delta trucks, The spring was molded into the truck frame so was non-functional but cheap.

This site might be of interest to you.

http://www.greenwayproducts.com/a_brass_trucks.shtml

Click on Pilot truck and then scroll down.

Art

7

Further Internet research on trailing trucks led to this link at Google books.

If the above link doesn’t work, this is basically what it says on Pages 39 and 40:

Prior to the standardizing of locos by the USRA, the loco builders had their own trailing truck designs.

Baldwin had the Hodges; American had the Cole Scoville.

In 1916, the Commonwealth Company came up with the Delta and the USRA more or less made it the standard. The defects it exhibited were overcome in a 1921 revision.

I could not find a good photo of an ACL engine with a Cole trailing truck, but if the above book is correct, an American (Locomotive Company or ALCO) loco built just before 1914 should have a Cole trailing truck.

Art

8

Thanks much for the information. It seems to have been pretty standard on the Southern’s engines. I will read your enslosed information later. Were Hodge’s trailer power assisted?

All the best,

9

Commodore,
I think that I have what you are looking for. If you will drop me a line with your e-mail address, I’ll send you a pdf file with the information.
I’ll probably go to work later this afternoon, so it may take a day or two before I get back to my computer.

10

Every Delta trailing truck I’ve ever seen, whether one or two-axle, had leaf springs, not helicals/coils. The trailing truck springs were attached to the couple axle springs via equalising beams, as part of the foundation rigging. Bit hard to do that with helical springs.

Mark.

11

The name is right, they are Hodges trailing trucks. The identifying features are the two prominent leaf spring hangers and the lack of a horizontal spring yoke.

There is a description in Bruce’s book, page 254. The spring moves with the truck as it pivots, the hanger link pins are set tangent to the arc of truck movement.

Mark.

12

Timz,

Thanks for the information. I think I read somewhere that they were powered assisted but, I have no idea how that worked as well. They were great looking engines and they were my first acquaintence with railroads.

All the best,

Michael

13

I’m Mark, not Timz. By “power assisted” I take it you mean a booster engine? I’m not sure whether Ps-4s were fitted with boosters. As far as I’m aware boosters were mainly fitted to Delta cast trucks, as they would tend to cause excessive wear to a fabricated truck such as a Hodges.

A booster engine is simply a small, two-cylinder engine that is connected to the trailing truck axle by a rocking idler gear. It can cut in by the driver as required, up to a speed not exceeding 15mph.

Cheers,

Mark.

14

Mark,

Thanks for the information. My apologies for the misidentification.

All the best,

Michael