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train wheel gages

jsn_joiner

Aluminum
Joined
Dec 15, 2006
Location
Pekin IL
i bought a lot of tooling and these were in the lot all i could find was they are for measuring steel train wheels. I dont know if they are old or not but figured they are since trains are not as common as they used to be.


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Jason
 
Those are still in use today for measuring profile and wear according to AAR standards.
You will find them in any wheel reclaim shop.
There is still a high production of wheel sets, both in US and Canada, Canada conforms to AAR.
IIRC the life span of a car wheel set averages between 100k and 200k miles before re-profiling or replacement.
Minder.
 
"I dont know if they are old or not but figured they are since trains are not as common as they used to be."

Although certainly many railroads have been abandoned, the total ton-mileage being hauled by trains is still VERY high. (Look at the Railway Age website for current stats.) Your view of this would depend on what part of the country you lived in. Some areas have lost most of their RR's, other areas are seeing heavy mainline traffic.

AAR = Association of American Railroads

The Pratt & Whitney Small Tools company issued catalogs similar to the Starrett catalogs. Perhaps someone on PM has some old P&W catalogs? A collector would accumulate an assortment of catalogs (or reprints). Then they could give a date range when the tool first appearred in the catalog and when it was dropped from the catalog.

I'd like to see one more photo, with the scale on the moveable jaw aligned with the reference mark. That would give a better impression of how that tool could be used on a wheel.

John Ruth
 
Even though railroads are fewer...

There are more of these gauges around now, then there was 50 years ago.

Anyone doing AAR/FRA mandated inspections on a railcar HAS to have and use one of these gauges to inspect for improper wheel taper, irregularity, flatting, and flange height, so there's lots of 'em.

I don't believe it's in the AAR or FRA rules, but at every railroad I taught, the rule was universal: IF they're ever deemed unfit for use, they must be destroyed.

DK :-)
 
Wheel gauges

Every railroad repair shop and train yard has those wheel gauges. The finger gauge is used to measure flange thickness and rim thickness.
 








 
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