Rapido UK recently announced a brake van for the Great Central Railway (official website). Looking at the prototype photo, the wheels have a strange shape.
The spokes of this wheel are split into two. In Japan, they are called “double spoke wheels” or “pine needle spoke wheels.” How would you describe them?
Commonly I think called ‘split spoke’.
These are forged wrought iron, the split spoke plus a section of rim. I believe the hub that goes on the axle is a casting. The tyre (British) was shrunk on and that held the arrangement together – I have seen references that a lateral pull test of 40 tons or greater was used, with the wheel structure condemned if it moved or slid.
Solid-spoke wheels had the centers cast in one piece, like American driver practice, with the ‘fit’ to the axle machined and dressed to a limit, and a tyre shrunk on after the wheel was pressed on its axle…
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Thank you for your advice, @Woke_Hoagland. I immediately searched for it and found an explanation on TrainShop.co.uk. Hornby also sells it under that name. (The image has been rearranged.)
Are you buying one or two, BN7150?
They look really good.
I am thinking of buying the Ammonium Nitrate / Chemical Tank Wagon (OO Gauge).
Currently, the Japanese monthly magazine “Train” is running a series called “An Invitation to British Railways,” with the latest issue published in June 2025 being the 33rd instalment. Each instalment is 4-6 pages in color, so knowledge and interest are definitely increasing.
