What is the difference between equalized trucks and sprung trucks?
I never knew that I had any rolling stock with sprung trucks until today when a Kadee covered hopper started derailing on a turnout while backing up. I removed the car from the layout and inspected it on the workbench.
Turned out, the wheels were coated with crud. While cleaning the wheels, the truck basically exploded in my hands. Who knew? It was a metal sprung truck. I had to order a new one from Kadee.
Just google or search on Ebay for āCentral Valley Passenger Trucksā and you will see what sprung equalized passenger trucks look like. These were state of the art when I got in the hobby.
They consist of lots separate parts, little springs, and move in a way similar to, but not exactly, like their prototypes.
By the way, you did not need to get a whole new truck from Kadee - they sell the replacement springs and they are not that hard to re-assmemble. I learned to do it at age 10, all my Varney, Athearn and other early 60ās rolling stock had sprung trucks.
I tried these ānewā rigid plastic trucks for a while, but as I got more interested in longer trains, I found all those old lessons about railroad physics were true.
In my case, the Kadee metal trucks, refitted with Intermountain wheelsets, roll more freely, track better, and add weight down low where it does the most good, often elminating the need for other extra weight.
I only recoginized 4 posters, 3 of which are still active in the forum. I think I have some Walthers? plastic sprung trucks and I was always skeptical that the springs could overcome the friction of the plastic.
The Central Valley trucks seem a little more plausibe, but we often say physics doesnāt scale down to HO. Until I get my layout up and running, label me as spring agnostic.
When the truck āexplodedā in my hands, one of the two springs went missing. But, in the box that the covered hopper came in, two extra springs were in a plastic capsule along with extra coupler springs. However, I was unable to re-assemble the truck. It was wobbly and wouldnāt hold together. So, I just ordered a new pair of trucks.
Well, that was pretty funny to read for someone who has been running sprung trucks with no problems for 53 years on a fleet of freight cars that is now nearly 1000 in number, and who pulls 50 and even 100 car trains of them.
Pruitt summed it up pretty well, there are/were some junky ones over the years and you have to know what you are doingā¦
But actually my testing shows the average freight car does weigh enough to flex a kadee or similar quality sprung truck and keep all the wheels on the rails all the time.
But I assure you, Iām not going much deeper in this discussion because it is a road I have been down too many times. A good search of this topic will find pages and pages I have written on the subject.
Ive installed a few of those plastic Walthers sprung trucks. I bought them because for CAD$3.00 a pair how could I go wrong? I was sceptical that springs would work on cars this small and light but they do.
The springs donāt need to overcome the friction of the plastic. And the plastic is slippery delrin like rigid frame trucks in most cases of sprung plastic trucks, like Walthers.
The springs only compress a very little amount, not from the weight of the car, but from the flexing of the sideframes.
Most better plastic sprung trucks, like the ones Walthers made for decades, Lindberg (sold under the EB name,and I think still around with a new ower) and others work fine.
I must say, the Kadee covered hoppers are among my favorite freight cars. I also have a number of Kato covered hoppers. No idea what kind of trucks are on those Kato cars, so I better check.
Yes, the ones with the actual springs are metal, the new HGC ones are not. But they flex to keep all the wheels on the rail because of their multi piece sideframe.
And yes they too will come apart in your hand if removed or flexed too far.
Thereās a bit of a trick to holding these Kadee trucks together in one hand if theyāre not mounted to a car. Thereās a plastic retaining clip that comes installed on each of the trucks when packaged new. Handy to keep those clips in case you want to take the trucks off for any reason.
