Back into HO trains for only two years and have a SW USA layout from the late 1800 - early 1900. When constructing rolling stock from kits without trucks, I’m in a quandary about which trucks to purchase that are period accurate. My grandkids won’t notice and I’m not so worried about extreme details, but would like to know since I have to purchase them. Links and part numbers are welcome. Thanks.
I would seriously consider any of the HO Kadee Arch Bar trucks.
Good Luck, Ed
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Thanks now I have to look for low prices.
Everyone wants to go modern but there’s something about those old engines that needed a lot of human intervention and grit to get them to function. It was a relationship between man and a machine. That’s why I like wood kits and scratch building.
Ed’s choice for your Arch Bars is excellent and will not disappoint. But as I recall these are metal, fully equalized, sprung trucks; high end all around. You will certainly get what you pay for. As a scratch builder, you may well prefer them.
Here’s something fully acceptable from the other end of the spectrum: more economical, but still good looking for a one-piece plastic truck, are those available from Accurail. Check out their website. Excellent and fast service direct from their plant in Illinois. These trucks provide a dependable and much more pedestrian ride, but will save you substantially if you’re redoing an entire roster of anything more than a dozen or so cars. Note: a check of period photos will reveal that Arch Bars were also common for many cabooses and smaller tenders as well, I suspect particularly so on smaller, more localized railroads.
John
Thanks. I checked the Accurail website but no Arch Bar (yes for Bettendorf, Andrews, Roller Bearing). Then checked Hobbylinc and ordered TIC3035 Trucks Arch Bar (20). It was only ~$16. These are only for some wooden rolling stock kits. At worst it will be another hobby learning experience.
Sorry for sending you down a blind alley, buddy. If I did the recommend, the least I should have done was check out the site beforehand! 
John
Around 1895 Fox trucks appeared, followed by Andrews trucks, Vulcan trucks, Crown trucks, and the L- & T-section Bettendorf trucks by 1910. The Fox truck model was manufactured by MDC.
By the way, this is a Kadee Vulcan Double Truss truck: style around 1920. What does “Double Truss” mean?
Those Vulcan trucks are decades later than his period of interest. See the 1922 Car Builder’s Cyclopedia, fig. 1349.
Woke_Hoagland, is 1920 off topic? Well, please forgive me for mentioning it here. By the way, I know the figure (Car Builders Cyclopedia Tenth Edition). But my doubts about the “double truss” remain unresolved.
The OP said ‘late 19th and early 1900s’ which I took to mean the early-to-mid 1890s to about a decade later. While the Vulcan truck does reference Floyd’s patent of 1910, it does represent a post-WWI level of development.
I am frantically trying to find where the ‘Double Truss’ comes from – it will probably be in advertising material somewhere. I don’t have Car-Builder’s Cycs to go with my Locomotive Cycs, but ASF was a major trade advertiser…
In the June 2018 issue of MRH magazine (Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine (mrhpub.com)), a writer named Richard Bale wrote, “ASF introduced the Vulcan cast truck in 1905.” The word “double-truss” appears here as well, but I don’t know what it means.
For what Google’s A.I. may be worth:
"On a railroad truck, “double-truss” refers to a truck design that features two interconnected trusses (a structural framework of beams) to support the wheels and frame. This design was common in earlier railroad trucks and provided a more robust and stable ride.
Here’s a more detailed explanation:
- Trusses:
These are essentially triangular structures used to distribute weight and provide strength. In a railroad truck, they help transfer the car’s weight to the wheels and axles.
- Double-Truss:
This refers to having two of these truss systems, usually connected, to increase the truck’s overall strength and stability."
I set the apparently operative phrase in bold under the description of a (single) “truss”. Double must then represent one each on either side of the central spring assembly.
Mystery possibly solved. Until a more formidable expert weighs in. 
John (of Attu)
The ‘authority’ appears to be Richard Hendrickson, who wrote an extensive article on freight trucks in Railway Cyclopedia #4. I don’t have a copy, but it is cited as saying “Vulcan” (presumably ASF) trucks were introduced in the first decade of the 1900s and went into production about 1910 – which is the year of the Floyd patent.
That is not the truck style pictured, however, which has C-shaped side frame profile with ‘two webs on the periphery’ where older trucks like the original Bettendorf had a cast center web for a T-like profile. Those frames didn’t start being made until about 1918 and Bettendorf in particular is mentioned as not adopting them until the mid-Twenties.
Next step is to pull up the 1910 Floyd patent, note its claims, and see which company, if any, it was assigned to.
The ‘double truss’ might also refer to the three-piece construction, with a balanced truss independently articulating on each side. But I’m waiting until I find an actual ASF source for the name.