USRA Steel Rebuilt Boxcar Trucks

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi all,

Just a quick question: what was the name of the type of trucks the USRA steel rebuilt boxcars used? I am looking at replacing some plastic ones with Kadee trucks, if I can figure out which ones they used, and if Kadee makes them.

Thanks!

-Christian Javier

2

Any particular railroad’s USRA rebuilds you are thinking of (and I assume you mean the USRA double sheathed boxcars rebuilt with new steel sides, usually given away by the inset side sill)?

Dave Nelson

3

I’m looking at getting an NKP one and an ACL one. And yes, I’m pretty sure those are the ones[:D]

-Christian

4

Without a specific prototype photo it’s hard to know for sure, but a lot of USRA rebuilt cars I’ve seen had Andrews trucks. Kadee has Andrews trucks, only in metal, and I think it’s an early variety (i.e. pre-1900).

This is Kadee’s version from http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page509-553.htm .

Tahoe Model Works has nice Andrews trucks in plastic with machined metal wheelsets. I found the above photo here http://www.sunshinekits.com/tahoe.html .

There were a lot of different prototype variations of sideframes and bolsters, so you may want to look at different manufacturers before deciding (assuming that’s the basic type of truck you want).

5

Yes, the Tahoe 112/212 is a good representation of the type used on many (most?) USRA boxcars; and many (most?) rebuilds tended to keep their original trucks. Red Caboose also makes a nice version of this truck. The Kadee truck is, indeed, an earlier variation.

Tom

6

Jeff Wilson’s new Kalmbach book on grain shows a CStPM&O (C&NW subsidiary) USRA double-sheathed rebuild with Andrews trucks and the inset side sill. He dates the photo to the late 1950s which surprised me as I thought I had read the Andrews trucks were not used in interchange after the mid 1950s. I suppose there is a chance the car was not being interchanged, or that my information is mistaken about Andrews trucks.

The photo of the Omaha Road boxcar shows Andrews trucks that don’t look exactly like either the Kadee or the Tahoe models shown above, but more like the Tahoe.

Dave Nelson

7

I think that most rebuilt USRA cars used their original trucks, but it wouldn’t be unusual for an owner to change them during shopping or repairs.
One of the nicest-looking (and most reasonably-priced) versions of the Andrews truck is that from Accurail, and it’s the ones usually included with their kits for the original USRA doublesheathed cars.

They’re shown here under a modified Accurail reefer:

This one is a Sylvan kit, and it’s riding on Accurail Bettendorfs:

…while this one is from Tichy, on Tichy Bettendorfs:

It wasn’t all that unusual to see freight cars on two dissimilar trucks, either, so I don’t think you need to be too concerned unless you’re attempting to model a specific car at a specific time.

Wayne

8

I had heard that Andrews trucks were outlawed by the 1960’s, but we have documented evidence that some AC&Y Mather boxcars continued to ride on Andrews trucks in interchange service as late as 1970, which is late enough to operate behind SD45’s! I have no idea what the AAR or the ICC or the lawyers had to say about that.

Tom