NOTES ON T H E DESIGNO F W A G O N S

FOR BROADGAUGE RAILWAYSI N

ARGENTINA

PAPER No. 415.

The object of this Paper is to record important points
to be considered in the design of new wagons, referring t o
some of the good and bad features of existing modern stock
and making new proposals where the Author thinks existing
designs can be improved.
Some sketches arc of standard design slightly altered to
suit the Author’s ideas.
220 JOURNAL OF THIS I N S T . O F LOCO. E X G l N W R S .

General.
N o wood should be used in the construction of a wagon
unless it is required for insulation, or where there are
chemicals which seriously corrode steel, a s o n cattle wagon
floors.
'There should be ample clearances between all moving
parts, especially the hinges; nothing less than in. should
be considered. Wherever possible rive.ts should be used
rather than bolts, so that o'n a wagon everything should be
either very loose or very tight.
All bolts should have castle nuts and splitpins ; but the
mistake is often made of putting castle nuts on drawbars and
buffer spindles, where a few turns more or less do not matter.
Splitpins a r e generally better .and cheaper than split
cotters, but they are usually too small. The diameter of a
splitpin should be about 0.4 times the diameter of the pin
through which it passes.
Any nut-locking device which relies o n gripping the
threads is of no use.
Excepting the bearing springs, springs should not be
employed ; they invariably cease to function in a year o r two.
Rivets are generally placed too far apart and too far
from the edge of the plate, which allmvs excessive: r u s t i n g
in the joint.
I t is no good putting rivets where they cannot be
properly riveted : better use bolts.
In many cases the Author has shown riveted joints where
they might be welded. I n the case of riveted versus welded
joints a good deal depends on the cost. If riveting is not
more expensive, it is to b,e recommended, a s it lasts as long
and riveted parts a r c easier to' change. There are excep-
tions, such as tanks, where th,e rivet heads inside collect
dirt and rust and obstruct cleaning.
T h e great advantage of a welded job is that it is lighter,
for jointing angles are not needed and rivet holes g-en,erally
weaken members. P a r t s which never have to be changed
should obviously be welded, provided the cost is not more.
W a g o n s must be designed to stay in service for ten
years without attention being given to any part except the
axleboxes.
Size of Wagons.
This is controlled by th,e maximum weight allowed o n
the wheels, which is roughly 17 tons per a x l e ; s o without
using three-axle bogies a wagon cannot cnrry much more
than 50 tons, and for this capacity $3 feet is considered long
enough for a covered wagon.
 Open low-sided, and cattle wagons can be a s long 3s
44 f:.,
I he distance from centre to centre of bogies in a four-
axle wagon, or of the axles in a two-asle wagon, should
not be less than 6.; per cent. of the length of the body of
the vehicle.
The wheel base of a two-axle wagon should not he
less than 1 2 ft. or more than 15 ft.

Wheels and Axles.

Wheel centres have slowly changed from mild steel
spokes pressed into .a mild steel boss, to. solid rolled steel.
Both types are quite satisfactory. In both cases the tyres
are shrunk on and secured by studs, Mansell rings o r Gibson
rings. The latter, which i s shown in Fig. I , is the best, and
so long a s the tyre is shrunk tight enough, it will never fail:
even if a tyre breaks it cannot get away.
Wheels are generally pressed on to axles with a pressure
of j o to 80 tons.
The inclination of I in 2 0 on the tread of the tyre has
been almost universal, though tyres ~ i t ha s little inclination
a s I i n 100have been tried in order to stop hunting. There
is n o doubt that a flat tyre hunts less than an inclined one,
but a flat tyre will hug one rail all the time and wear its
flange out as well as the rail.
Some rai,l\vays do not increase the inclination from A
to B. A smaller radius a t C: is now the practice on some
railways, but the Author does not think it good.

Axles.
;-\xles are fairly standard in design, at least for the old
brass be.aring. They are reduced at the centre for lightness
and also flexibility. Fig. I shows a common axle for a
j o ton four-axle wagon.
Th,e Author considers that an axle should be as long
a s possible within reason between the centres of the journals.
This not only allows room for more effective dust guards
and gives less opportunity for the hub of the wheel to rub
against the box, but it also makes the asle more flexible.
W a g o n axles seldom break anywrhere except on the
inside of the journal and it will be seen from the diagram
Ihat this i s the weakest point.
Where the thrust is taken by the collars they should
be large in diameter ; thcre is a tendency t o keep the collars
too small.
222 JOUI1NAL OL' THE ISS'l'. O F LOCO. 13SGISEERS.

Axleboxes and Bearings.

Axleboxes should be of Cast stecl. There should be
ample room for a n efficient dust shield.
Every imaginable sort of dust shield has been tried and
none are ideal. One with metal in i t , which may come
in contact with the axle, is considered dangerous as the
metal will cut the axle. A plain plate of wood o r felt about

c
5 in. thick is common, but the wood breaks and the felt
gets soft and is pick,ed out by mistake by the packers when
the waste is changed. A leather flange fixed with copper
rivets o n to a wood plate is also common.
The Author considers that a dust shield should be split
and the box so arranged that half can be put in from the
top and half from the bottom. Probably the best and
224 J O U R N A L O F THE: I N S T . O F L O C O . ENGISEERS.

simplest shield is tough wood, o r hard composition un-

affected by oil. It should be I in. thick and the bottom
half, a t least, should be kept up by a spriiig.
It is most important that it should bc possible to change
o r examine dust shields with little trouble.
The dust shield chamber should be cast part of the box
o r a t least welded t o the box ; a mild steel plate slid down
the back of the box behind the shield is dangerous, as it
may get lo.ose and cut the axle.
Lubrication may be effected either by pad or soaked
Lvaste. In either case sufficient room must be left to get
the pad o r waste in without much trouble, and it ought
always to. be possible for a man to get h i s hand under the
axle. In boxes carrying waste there should be .as little
space a s i s reasonable between the bottom of the box and
the journal, so that the waste cannot s a g too much.
The Author considers that the end thrust from the axle
should be taken between the lid of the box and the end of
the journal and that there should be no collars on the
end of the journals: Fig. 3 shows a box of this type. The
bottom of the box a t the outside sho.uld be flat and squarc
so a s to afford plenty of hold for a lifter's jack.
Bearings are generally made of brass, and lined with
+
whitemetal about in. thick. It is usual but not imperative
to have a kcep o.n the to,p of the bearing. Keeps should
be of steel; some have slightly curved or hogged backs;
theoretically thc hog back is right, but in practice, especially
under two-a xle wagons, better results are obtained from
bearings with flat backs which cannot rock.
Boxes for a two-.axle wagon should have much more
bearing surface on the guides than is usual. Also for two-
axle wagons with 1.aminated springs, sufficient bearing surface
for the springs on the top of the box is not always allowed.
The whole of the bottom of the buckle and part of the bottom
leaf should seat on the top of the box, otherwise the box and
the buckle wear, the box tilts and excessive wear of the
guides and brasses result.
Bogies.
,.
I he commonest wagon bogie in use is the " diamond
frame " type shown in Fig. 4. Most of the parts of this
bogie under a 4.j ton wagon without power braking, will
last 30 years. T h e only parts which may require renewing
a r e the columns, column guides and brasses: axle boxes
may g e t worn by the bosses of the wheels due to brasses
not being changed i n time, and some of the springs will
give out, their average life being only about z j years.
 DESIGN OF W . \ G O S S FOR BROAD 0 4 T G E R A I L W A Y S . 225

Some railways are troubled with broken arch bars in

this type of bogie, but this is due to either bad material or
design.
I t is of course the bottom or tension bar which breaks
generally just outside the column or the box. This is due to
226 J O U K X A L OF TIIR INST. 01" LOCO. I C S G I S I . : ~ ~ H S .

the bar not fitting the column, but k i n g bent up half an

inch or more away fro,m it. . .
However, many engineers are now going in for cast
steel bogies: the sides being cast in one piece with the axle-
boxes, and the bolsters with all fittings possible being cast
also in one piece as shown in Fig. 5.
The cast steel bogie has been running satisfactorily for
many years, but the Author doubts whether the extra cost
is warranted. Ln any case, he considers that the boxes
should be separate, as shown in Fig. 10.
All parts fixed to the bolster or spring plank should be
riveted 0.r welded. Brake block hanger brackets should
be fixed to the side frames and not to the bolster, which
is continually moving up and down.
I t is better not to fix the spring planks to the columns,
but merely to hook th.em on by means of ears cast on the
columns and recesses pressed in the planks.
:lctually bogies will run perfectly all right without any
spring plank.
All spring planks should be adequately drained : drain
holes should be-at least I $ i n . diameter.
Bearing springs must not be too stiff, it is better to
have more springs of a smaller section. Dead loads, such
a s tanks, need more springs than ordinary goods wagons.
A 40 ton water tank requires 2 0 springs 84 in. x 5 in. x
I; in. ro'und; whereas 16 of these springs are sufficient Lo
carry a 4.j ton grain wagon ; this is an important point.
Spring seats of pressed steel are generally made too
thin so that they soon rust away. 'They should not be less
than +in. thick. I t is better to secure the springs by means
of nipples on the spring planks ; care must then be taken
t o see that there is sufficient clearance between the top of
the bolster and the frame to allo'w the springs, when free,
to b,e lifted from the nipples.
O n cast steel bogies where the column guides are very
short manganese steel wearing strips are being fitted to the
columns and guides. Rut on th,e old diamond frame bogie,
these parts have so much wearing surface that they seldom
require changing. T h e guides should be packed out from
the bolster in such a way that, by removing th.e packing,
they can be changed without taking the side to pieces.
There should be a clearance between t h e side friction
blocks of from + +
in. to in. o n each side.
Centre pins z in. diameter a r e .all r i g h t ; they should
have at Least half an inch vertical play, otherwise the bolsters
are strained by rough shunting and when the vehicle passes
on to traversers.
 DHSIGN OF W A G O N S FOR H I ~ O A I ) QAUC:~<;
RAILWAYS. 227

Centre pivot plates should not only be riveted on with four

I in. rivets, but they should be either lipped over the bolsters
or recessed into them. They should be cast steel and will
last the l i f e of the bogie ; therefore, with cast stcel bolsters
they can be cast in one with the bolster.

Brakes.
W i t h the exception of brakes inside vehicles, such a s
brake vans, the Dean and Churchward apparatus for apply-
ing a wagon brake by hand is probably the only method
worth considering: n o o,ther brake has proved to be so
satisfactory.
It has, however, one fault, which is that due t o wear
of blocks and pins, it very soon reaches the end of its
stroke ; this has been remedied by an improvement designed
and patented by the late Mr. W. E. Heaton, which enables
any amount of wear to be taken up by simply taking two
or more strokes with the hand lever.
The standard brake, however, can be very simply im-
proved i n this respect. At present the hand lever can only
be moved through about 130' due to the pull rod coming
in contact with the shaft. If th.e pull rod, instead of being
pullcd by a lcver were pulled by a chain working round a
drum, then not only would the travel of the hand lever not
be limited, but for 180" travel of the hand lever there would
be j o per cent. more travel of the pull rod-Lc., the difference
between the diameter and half the circumference of a circle.
The spring for holding the pawl down is of n o use.
The pawl should he very loo'se on its hinge and be made a
little heavier, and no spring is required.
Turnbuckles for tightening up pull or truss rods must
not have lock nuts. All that is required is a large split pin
through the end of one of the rods inside the buckle.
The old Stirlingworth beam has been quite satisfactory
for hand braking, b u t it is not strong enough for power
braking; however, all that is needed is a stronger beam.
The system of carrying the block is good and should not
be altered ; a block holder which fits on to a round shaft is
most unsatisfactory ; both the shaft and the block holder
wear excessively.

Axle Guards.
Xxle guards of two-axle wagons are a great source of
trouble due to wear. A good design of axle guard is shown
in Fig. 6.
228 JOURNAL O F THE I N S T . O F LOCO. E S G I S E E R S .

Here designers have not considered sufficiently the effect

of increased weight in bvheels, axles and axle-boxes during
shunting. Modern axle guards fail by buckling and bending
and the rivets o r bolts securing them to the underframe are
seldorii strong enough. 'I'hey must not be joggled back
to the sole-bar, but rather packed out from i t ; and t h c b
packings must be large in seating area.
 1)ESIGS O F I\'&GOKS P,)K B R i ) 4 r ) GAUGE R4ILM'AYS. 229

Springs for Two-Axle Wagons.

These are nearly always of the laminated type. A
mistake has been made in the past in making the ends with
a round hump on the top so that they bear only a line till
they wear a groove into the slipper, after which they cease
to slip and also to spring.
T h e area of contact between the spring and slipper
should be a s large as possible.
I t has been found that the above-mentioned springs are
so stiff that light all-steel wagons derail on curves if the
track is a t all uneven. This has been overcome very satis-
factorily by using a n auxiliary spring o f two leaves on the
top of the main spring: see Fig. 7. I t has also b w n done
by giving extra camber to the two top leaves: this latter
method is not very good because there is excessive deflection
i n the two top plates.
It is not always realised that on bad tracks g-uides may
rise and fall a s much .as z in. and there should be at least
z i n . clearance under the box when the wagon is light.
r .

I he system of suspending the w.agon from the springs

by links and brackets a s shown in Fig. 8 is not satisfactory.

Vndtrirame l o r 2 axle zo on waqjn

I t causes excessive wear on the guides, and the box tilts
both ways, also the lateral movement against the brackets
causes the web of the sole-bar to crack longitudinally.
A good springing arrangement for a two-axle brake
van, o r t w o axle vehicle where good riding is required,
is shown in F i g . 1 1 . This, however, also h a s the faults
mentioned above and requires specially strong guides and
the sole-bars reinforcing to resist the lateral bending stresses
from the brackets.
Underframes.
An underframe for a two-axle wagon with non-
continuous d r a g gear is shown in Fig. 1 2 . Sole-bars need
reinforcing over the spring shoes to prevent the bottom
flanges bending up.
Underframes for four-axle wagons vary very much.
T h e Livesey Gould type is very common, a n example being
given in Fig. 13.
Most body bolsters a r e too weak a t the b o t t o m ; the
cover plate and flanges a r e bent backwards .and forwards
by rough shunting. It must be remembered that when a
wagon is stopped suddenly there is a t,endency for the bogie
t o shear itself off the underframe.
T h e channel irons forming the bolster are usually set
too near together, This underframe h a s also been weak
in resisting buffing shocks, the bottom gusset plates and the
diagonals being too weak. T h e plate across the frame
+
under the headstock is gmerally made in. or a t most Q in.
thick, but as this p h t e is in compression, it is clearly not
thick e n o u g h ; it should be a t least 9 in., o r if Q in., it
must be reinforced with an angle iron. A11 channel iron
headstocks give way in the web behind the buffer, unless
reinforced ; they should be reinforced by pl.ates 5 in. thick,
the height of th.e headstock, and long enough to' reach from
the diagonal or sole-bar to the outside sill.
BufTer trimmer beams a r e generally too weak.
Fig. 14 shows the Author's idea of a n underframe for
a four-axle wagon ; bolster and buffer parts have been much
strengthened and the gener.al design simplified.
Draw Gears.
Continuous gear seems nowadays to have n o advantage
over the non-continuous type. N o doubt many years a g o ,
when wagons had wooden underframcs, it was better t o
haul a wagon from behind rather than from the front.
To-day steel underframes a r e quite capable of resisting all
draw stresses and transmitting them through the train.
W i t h non-continuous g e a r the bars a r e very much shorter
232 JOUIZK.41. OY THE INST. C)1' LOCO. ESGISEERS.

and n o cradles o r supports a r e required. W h e r e the gear I S

continuous the cradle shown in Fig. 19 will be found a
very good one.
Draw hooks and couplings should be made of high
tensile steel, with the following characteristics :
'Tensile, 42 to 50 tons per 5q. inch ;
Elongation, 20 per cent. in 2 in. ;
Impact (Izod) 70 ft. lbs. ;
Bend test, 180' without fracture ;
Sulphur and phosphorus not to exceed 0.05 per cent.
each.
 I t costs about twice a s much as good mild steel ; requires
tempering if heated, and can only be welded electrically.
R u t mild steel will not stand modern conditions unless the
parts are made excessively heavy.
Dratvbars wear out on the shank behind the hook
where they come in contact with the guide plate, which
has generally too little bearing surface. This plate should
be at least 7 in. long.
The hooks wear where the link pulls and they should
be at least 3 in. thicker than necessary, when new at this
point. Fig. z j shows a good hook, and screw and link
coupling of high tensile steel. If made t o these dimensions
of mild steel they a r e too weak. Hooks open out, screws
stretch, trunnioiis bend, links close in and shackles bite
on t o the hook till they cannot be forced dotvn and the
opposite link hooked over it will automatically uncouple.
This is a common cause of cut trains: see Fig. 17.
 Three-quarter inch studs in mild steel chains and
shackles prevent closing in, but a stud in <he link which
engages with the hook causes it to unhook itself in service.
If studs are put in links they must be very securely welded
in because i n service they have to resist continual blows
from the next link.
Three Spencer's No. 388 rubbers per hook are a suii-
able drawbar spring. More rubbers might b.e used, but this
is not advisable, a s the more elastic the train becomes, the
greater is the acceleration a t the tail of the train. In fact,
it is probable that up to a point he more elastic the draw
gcar, the greater the shocks it has to stand.

Buffing Gear.
The mistake has been made of underestimating the
energy t o be destroyed when big loaded wagons are buffed
together, and the speed at which shunting takes place.
Eight miles an hour is a common shunting speed, and
a wagon with a gross weight of 70 tons a t this speed has
I j o foot-.tons of energy.
Assuming that a t the moment of maximum pressure,
half this has gone in accelerating the stationary wagon, then
7 j foot-tons has been absorbed in the buffers and frames of
the two wagons.
The maximum energy which most of the older types of
buffers can absorb is about 1.5 foot-tons each, and four
buffers are equ,al to 6 foot-tons, so that a s a proteciion to
t h e wagon they arc practically useless.
,.
I h e common modern buffer has a capacity of about
4& foot-tons. The buffer shown i n Fig. 19 would absorb
about 1 2 foot-tons and four buffers are equal to 48 foot-tons,
the rest has to be absorbed by the wagon frame and the
cargo.
As the work done by the buffer is in proportion to the
length of the stroke, the stroke should be a s long as possible.
In most modern buffers on Argentine broad gauge railways
it is between j and 6 inches. There seems no. reason why
it should not be as long a s 7 inches.
Rubber springs should not have much initial com-
pression, a usual figure being 10 per cent. But before the
plate strikes the case, the Author considers there should be
j o to 60 tons on all the rubbers, say, 100 t o 1 2 0 tons on
each buffer plate.
Therefore it will be seen that it is a difficult matter to
design an efficient buffer with steel springs.
236 J O U R N h L O F THE I K S T . OF' LOCO. KNGISEERS.

i
 Uulfer trimmer beams are generally too xveak ; they
ought to stand a pressure of a t least 1 2 0 tons.
Ample clearance and drainage is necessary in buffer
cases, otherwise water and dirt, which gets in along the
spindle or behind the case, corrodes the case and parting
plates and the accumulated mud jams the spring.
'The rubbers behind the headstock must thrust on to a
trimmer beam and never pull from the headstock.
XI1 parting plates should be galvanised and their edges
rounded.
A s to the kinetic energy of a moving wagon is pro-
portional to its weight, a small wagon does not require so
much buffer capacity as a ' l a r g e one.
Buffer spindles tend to screw themselves into their nuts
while in service, so that the end of the spindle should only
be screwed enough for the nut just to pass the splitpin hole.
Rebound springs at the tail end of the buffer spindles
are not necessary on wagons.

Covered Wagons for Bulk Grain and General Cargoes.

Floors should be of mild steel 3 in. thick. Side
stanchions 4 in. x 3 in. bulb T, with the bulb on the inside ;
this helps to hold the load and prevents all the weight
coming on the ends.
If the leg of the T is outside it gets swiped. Side
plates can be f in. thick for the bottom half and & in.
thick for the top half; they are better fluted horizontally,
though this is not necessary. If they are not they become
slightly bulged and dented.
The ends can be the same, but with two stanchions of
4 in. x 6 in. bulb T, the bulb being outside; these should
bc securely riveted to the headstock by 4 in. rivets. They
must also be firmly attached to the purlins, or if no purlins
a r e used, the connection to the roof must be carefuIly
designed, otherwise the top of the stanchion will be torn
axvay from the roof, especially with heavy bulk cargo.
Fig. 1 . j ~shows a wagon of 50 tons capacity.

Riveting.
I t i s important to have the rivets pitched so that rusting
will not take place at the joint. Bad corrosion is apt to
+
occur at the bottom of the side plates. F o r in. plate, rivets
should be 4 in. diameter, 3 in. pitch and not more than
in. from the edge of the plate. F o r & in. plate, rivets
should be 4 in. diameter at z in. pitch. Fig. 18 shows the
result of pitching rivets too far apart.
2-38 .TOVHNhL OF’ THE Ih’ST. O F L O C O . l*:X(:ISEI.:RB.

Roofs.
There is a good deal to be said for the old galvanised
corrugated plate roof, the most important thing being that
it allows excellent ventilation along the whole length of the
wagon a t both sides. I t is also a very easy roof to take
off, and, considering that the sheets can be thinner, it costs
no more than a roof of flat sheets.
If flat sheets are used there should be ventilation near
the top. A method of doing this is sho\.vn in Fig. 16.
In either case sheets should all be riveted to the wagon
frame and to each other. Corrugated sheets should be
18 S.W.G. and flat sheets 16 S.W.G. C o r r u p t e d sheets
should be riveted to t h e cant rails only, and by 8 in. rivets
a t 1 2 in. pitch.
It is the fashion t o curve the roof where it joins the
side; there does not seem t o be much &ject in this and it
is a more expensive design than the angular corner.

Doors.
Doors of covered wagons should he as shown in
Fig. 15.
If it is desired that the door shall slide easily, rollers
can be fitted to the top of the hangars, but the objection to
rollers for doors is that, i n shunting, the door, if it is
unfastened, is ruiining about, and if not, there is a greater
strain on the hasp due to th,e lack of friction in the runners.
F o r wagons carrying bulk cargoes, such as lime,
charcoal and firewood or material in sacks, it is most im-
portant that doors shall swing out a s soon .as the fastening
is released ; but there must be a n automatic catch t o prevent
a n unfastened door blowing out while the wagon is travelling
and thus hitling a passerby or fouling the gauge.
W i t h the exception of this safety catch the door should
be quite free .at the bottom; when shut it may be secured
by a hasp pin at the front and a ring and pin a t the back.
The design of the fastening a t the back is important
a s it must not, in any position, prevent the door when partly
open engaging with the catch.
The design of the catch is also peculiar, because it must
be possible to release the catch without pushing the dooi-
inwards.

Open High-Sided Wagons.

Fig. 9 shows a good design. The pitch of the rivets
must not be more than 3 in. at A , B, or C.
 A good method of making the doors shut or open flat
against the side is an arm on the door, which slides up
a cam o n the door post till the door is half open and then
it slides down again till the door is full open : see Fig. 2 0 .
The best arrangement for fastening the doors is a small
T stake a t the bottom and an inverted U clasp at the top.
The latter is seen in Fig. 2 1 .
The tops a t the corners must be rounded or sacks will
be cut.
240 JOURS.\L O F TITE INS'F. OF LOCO. E N G I K E E R S .

Open Flat Wagons.

The chief feature of importance about these wagons is
the stakes or method of holding the doors up.
For the sides there is nothing better than the T iron
stake, in cast steel sockets. It is most important that stakes
shall have plenty of clearance every way, specially sideways,
where they need $ in., because otherwise, when they get
bent or hainmercd u p a t the bottom, by unloaders trying

b:# Sectional pla. o f door

to release them, they cannot bc released. The bottom of
the stakes should be chamfered for the same reason.
There should be four stakes a t each end, but T iron is
not strong enough, and they must be of cast steel.
Fig. 26 shows both side and end s t a k e s ; it also shows
good doors, which should be all the same a t the sides, i . e . ,
the length of the wagon should be a multiple of the length

Iff.
of the door, and the hinges ought t o be i n thc same position
o n each, so that they are interchangeable
The door when in the vertical position and closed up,
should be 3 in. clear of the floor and 3 in. clear of the stakes.

Refrigerator Wagon.
X refrigerator wagon should be an all-steel box covered
on the outside with insulating material.
As these vehicles a r e nearly always wet inside there
should be no wood inside, except the ceiling. It should be
easy to change any wood or other insulating material. A
design of this sort is given in Fig-. 2 2 . Doors should be
all steel except for the insulating material filling them and
they can best be made air-tight by rubber joints as shown.
Wooden doors are smashed by carts and rot if made of
soft wood.
There are many opinions about ice chambers and tanks.
N o doubt the best place for the ice is in the roof, but the
trouble of putting it there makes it hardly worth while.
Probably the best plan is to put it on shelves a t the end
of the vehicle.
A4sthe water of the melted ice has very little refrigerative
value, there is no 0bjec.t in retaining it unless it can be shown
that this water, which generally contains a lot of salt, will
d o damage to the track and bridges.
A simplified form of the " W i n e " fastener has proved
satisfactory for refrigerator doors a n d is illustrated in
Fig. 2 4 ; it forces the door to open o r to shut.

Tank Wagons.
l h e designs shown in Fig. 27 for a 40 tons capacity
tank have b.een perfectly satisfactory a s regards strength,
with the exception of the headstocks. Anchor rivets never
fail. I t has been suggested that the side sills might be done
away with, but they are useful for carrying the brakes,
ladder, inscription, etc., and they help t o reinforce the head-
sto'cks. In fact the Author considers them very necessary
for this last reason.
The bolster and chairs have been made of cast steel, but
the design can probably be much simplified by doing away
with the chair straps, and anchoring the tank a s shown in
Fig. 28.
Fig. 30 shows an anchorage for two axle 2 0 ton capacity
tanks.
Baffle Plates.
All s o r t s of a r r a n g e m e n t s of baffle plates have been tried
to prevent t h e liquid s u r g i n g , but most of thcm g i v e trouble
d u e to t h e rivets securing them to t h e barrel l e a k i n g ; and
in water t a n k s the life of a n y sort of baffle plate, unless
244 J O U R N A L O F TIIF, I N S T . O F LOCO. 13SGIXEERS.
 DE:SI(;ZI OF \‘I A G O A S FOR BROAD GAC‘GI.: T t u r A w A k y s . 245

excessively heavy, is very short, because, due to the con-

tinual bending, they soon rust away.
Baffle plates are also a great nuisance when tanks have
to be cleaned.
However, there is no need for baffle plates; scores of
tanks have been running for many years without them, but
care must be taken to see that the wheel base is long enough
to prevent pitching.

Discharge.
For petrol and light oils the discharge should be through
a 4 in. pipe running up from a sump in the bottom of the
tank and o u t through the top. The unloaders make their
connection to this pipe a t the top of the tank and start the
liquid syphoning out by a suction pump or by putting a little
compressed air into the tank. This system is particularl!
good for sulphuric acid transport, where any sort of valve
is undesirable.
If receivers refuse to use tanks with top discharge, the
pipe is taken up into the dome, down again and out through
the bottom of the tank, the U bend a t the top being suspended
from the dome.
In this case there is the danger of the down pipe filling
while in transit and the syphon starting to discharge as soon
as the cap is taken off and before the discharge pipe can
be connected t o the receiver’s pipe ; it is therefore necessar]
to have a valve at the top of the pipes, which, by letting air
in breaks the syphon. This valve should be open while the
tank is in transit. The sump must not be too small, other-
wise the syphon breaks before the tank is empty; 8 in.
diameter by 8 in. deep is a suitable sump for a 4 in. pipe.
Even fuel and crude oil might be syphoned out of tanks,
but if not, a simple screw-down mushroom valve a t the
bottom of the sump, with a wheel in the dome t o operate it
is a s good as anything.
Locking devices have been fitted to prevent the spindle
turning of its own accord, but with a single standard square
thread this does not happen.

Safety Valves.
These are needed on most tanks and as they are seldom
required to hold more than j o r 6 Ibs. per sq. inch, the simple
design in Fig. 23 is good. More complicated valves become
so rusted and clogged up with dirt after a few years’ service
that they are useless.
Ventilated Wagons.
Fig. I ~ Bshows a fully ventilated wagon body suitable
for carrying fruit or general cargo, but not g r a m in bulk.
The difficulty in designing a body of this sort is t o take
th,e diagonal stresses due to shunting shocks, which are
taken in an ordinary wagon by the sheeting plates.
I n the desig-n shown the pillars have been made wide
and the cant rail extra strong to take these stresses.

Brake Vans.
They should bc a s heavy a s possible and as much weight
as possible should be included in the framing. It is no good
having a light frame filled in with big ballast weights. Thc
weights shake loose and slowly knock the frame t o pieces,
for it must be remembered that a brake van a t the tail of a
train sufTers more than a n y other vehicle, especially from
draw shocks.
.A good way of obtaining the necessary weigh( in a two-
axle van is to plate the underside of an ordinary underframe
with plates, say, I in. thick and fill in above, up to the floor
level, with concrete made of cement, sand and scrap iron.
The bodies should be of & in. steel sheets lined xvith
\vood. There should be a window a t each end opening
inwards ; wire netting of spark arrester strength and mesh
should be fixed over the outside of the \\;indoiv frame, but
not to the window, otherwise the glass cannot be cleaned.
The doors and windows must have automatic catches to
hold them open and prevent them banging when the train
starts.

Cattle Wagons.
These should have steel frames ; they should be about
36 ft. to 40 ft. long, and the sides be c-oniplete beams so
that no truss rods are needed, as in Fig. 31.
‘l‘he floor and side sheeting should be made of hard wood,
such as curupay or lapacho, semi-hard wood such a s oak is
not hard e n o u g h ; floor boards z in. thick, tongued and
grooved, and side sheeting in., except the bottom board,
which should be 14 in. thick.
The underframe, if not made of rustless or galvanised
iron, ought to be protected from contact with the wet boards :
t h i s can be done by covering the top flanges of the various
members and the top gusset plates with strips of sheet lead.
T h e horizontal gangway doors a t the end, when open,
should be inclined upwards and outwards and the hinges set
 P E S I G X OF W.4GONS FOX BROAD G A U G E R A I L W A Y S . 247
a s low as possible, so that a h e n wagons a r e pushed together
too tightly these doors rise up and are not damaged.
There a r e great differences of opinion about the main
doors of cattle wagons. W h a t suits the loaders does not
please the unloaders and those preferred by the Traffic
Departments are costly to maintain.
 DESIGN OF W A G O N S FOR BROAD GAUGE RAILWAYS. 249

Doors, when open, must not project a s far a s the buffer

heads, otherwise they are damaged when wagons are pushed
together.
The cheapest to maintain is the guillotine door, but
what has condemned this type has been the lifting gear,
which would either allow the door to fall too fast, o r would
stick, and not allow it to fall a t all.
The loaders would often damage cattle, accidentally
or otherwise, by dropping the door on to them t o make them
move, and lifting chains and other parts were continually
broken by the doors being dropped too fast.
This trouble, however, has been overcome by the gear
shown in Fig. 3 3 , which is extremely simple, with no part to
get out of order.
The door is lifted by a hand wheel, held up by a hook,
which is hooked on to the wheel, and it is lowered by gravity
after the hook is released. The inertia in the hand wheel
prevents the door falling too fast.

Horse Boxes.
Horse boxes should have one entrance for the horses
a t each side, in the centre of the wagon ; the bottom half of
the door should fold down on t o the platform and the top
half slide, a s shown in Fig. 32.
The door for the attendant must open inwards.

Conclusion.
In conclusion, the Author wishes t o express his thanks
t o his colleagues, Messrs. Cochrane, Cardus, Meadows and
Tomkinson, for their valuable assistance.

DISCUSSION.
The Chairman, in opening the discussion, said their
thanks were due to the Author for presenting a very in-
teresting Paper which should ensure a good discussion.
I t was noted, he said, that the Author considered the
extra cost of cast steel bogies was unwarranted. H e also
pointed out that bogies would run perfectly well without
spring planking. The latest type of cast steel bogie was of
the plankless spring type.
The Buenos Aires and Pacific Railway had had cast steel
bogies running for ten years and it was believed that those
bogies had given absolutely no trouble and the maintenance
had been nil, with the exception of changing the brasses,
during the whole of that period.
250 JOURNAL OF THE I N S T . 01; Loco. ENGIXEERS.

l’he Author considered that the axleboxes should be

separate. In the U.S.A. to-day there a r e 98 per cent. of
cast steel bogies running with the axleboxes cast integral
with the side frames and 2 per cent. with the axleboxes cast
separate. If bogies with axleboxes cast separate were
better, why had the LJ.S.A. adopted cast steel bogies with
the axleboxes cast integral with the side frames as their
standard ? As a matter of interest, as from July that year,
no wagon in the U.S.A. would be accepted at any inter-
change station unless equipped with cast steel bogies.
Mr. F. G. Cleaver said, at the very beginning, under
“ General,” it was stated: “ N o wood should be used in
the construction of a wagon, etc., etc.” That, he said,
might be very good from a workshop or maintenance point
of view, but it would not meet the requirements of the traffic
department or the clients of the railways who, after all,
were the people who used the wagons.
I t would seem there was a lot of merchandise carried
which was much better off in a wooden wagon, as for exam-
ple, cement, flour, grain, etc., which would suffer consider-
ably in all-steel wagons, due to the condensation of
moisture. Even general merchandise would receive a lot
of damage by sliding about on a steel floor wagon. Another
example came to his mind in the general purpose wagons
which had steel floors, but for the purpose of the trans-
portation of fruit in the season, wooden grids had to be
fitted over the floors. ‘The bodies were of wood and the
lining boards spaced to give the necessary ventilation-a
very simple arrangement.
I n his opinion the expense of castle nuts and split pins
was not warranted to the extent recommended by the
Author.
H e also states.-“ W a g o n s must be designed to stay in
service for ten years without attention being given to any
part except the auleboses.” T h i s certainly Tvould be a
very desirable feature, but rather out of the question with
present day shunting, wear on buffing and draw gear rub-
bers, brake gear, etc.
A s regards Bogies.--.4lthough without experience OF
them, he believed a modern practice was the self-aligning
bogie bolster for wagons.-Perhaps the Author or other
members could tell us something about the results of same.
T h e Author also said.-As the kinetic energy of a
moving wagon was proportional to its weight, a small wagon
did not require so much buffer capacity a s a large one. H e
enquired if that held good when they considered how the
 DESIGN OF W A G O N 8 FOR BROAD GATGE RAILWAYS. 25'

small wagons were intermingled with the large, or how

they suffered when shunted between two heavy vehicles.
Mr. P. J. Dawes said the subject of the Paper was of
particular present-day importance in view of the widespread
policy of wagon reconstruction which was being put into
effect in practically all the leading repair shops in that
country, and although for some of them a number of the
excellent suggestions made would have to await that
moment when orders could again be placed for new rolling
stock, the majority of the points raised could be incor-
porated in the rebuilt vehicles.
Constwction M a t e ~ d s . - I n his remarks on construc-
tion materials the Author condemned the use of timber
except in special cases. H e suggested, however, that one
of the simplest and cheapest constructions was that which
embodied a steel framework with single wooden sheath
composed of heavy section boards bolted horizontally to the
inside of the framework.
That design was particularly suitable for covered
wagons, and after 2 5 years' service the maintenance bill
was still comparatively negligible.
Bolt Locking Devices.-With regard to bolt locking
devices the " Grover " spring washer gave good results
when the nut was pulled up tight, a s by the time the washer
had lost its spring sufficient oxidisation had formed to pre-
vent the nut from slacking off. Castelated nuts took longer
to fit and usually had to be cut for removal.
Welding and Riueting.-The decision a s to the method
of plate jointing to be employed did, as the Author stated,
depend largely on the cost. The cost of welding, however,
could be greatly reduced with modern equipment, and some
of the latest portable D.C. generator sets in conjunction
with certain makes of electrodes would run a clean smooth
bead at remarkable speeds, in addition to which the slag
came away without the need of laborious chipping.
Welding with that equipment should prove an econo-
mical proposition, and in any case was to be preferred
round the floor zone. Corrosion at that point was con-
tinually taking place even in vehicles with steel floors,
although to a lesser degree than mhere wood was employed,
a n d was not necessarily attributable to specially corrosive
cargos. Grain dust, fine coal, sand, etc., which collected
in the joints would hold moisture and cause oxidisation of
the plates.
Waqon Ends.-In the United States covered steel
wagons " were constructed without end stanchions, heavy
section plates & in. and t in. thick being used with hori-
252 JOURNAL OF THE INST. OF LOCO. ERGINEERS.

zontal fluting of a full 32 in. radius a t about 1 2 in. pitch

( 2 0 tons tare and 36 tons capacity).
Wheels.-No mention was made of the solid wheel in
which the tyre was an integral part of the wheel centre.
Apart from the fact that the final difference of cost between
that and the re-tyred wheel was small, when the additional
machinery required for tyre boring and fitting was taken
into account, together with the elimination of the risk of
loose or broken tyres, the solid wheel would be preferable.
Dust Shields.--Mrhile the suggested dust shield in two
parts could be incorporated in a new design of box, he felt
that something could be done to improve those in existing
types. Many locomotive tender boxes had no dust protec-
tion other than the twisted hank o€ soaked waste rammed
up against the axle collar. While he did not suggest that
practice for wagons, a s they did not receive the same amount
of attention a s a locomotive, he was of the opinion that
the wooden dust shield might be made in the shape of a
fork, that was, dispensing with the part on the under side
of the axle and leaving that area of the collar t o be pro-
tested by the twisted hank of waste. T h e shield should
have a doubled strip of leather fixed to the top curve and
be kept in contact with the collar by a light watch spring
fixed t o the top of the shield and pressing against the cover
plate. That would permit waste and dust shield revision
to be carried out simultaneously, and the changing of the
latter if necessary.
Bogies.-He asked the Author why he recommended
that the axleboxes of cast steel bogies should be separate.
Damage t o those through excessive lateral wear of brasses
should occur very occasionally under present day brass
revision programmes on most railways and even then a
repair was easily effected. A s the latest types of spring-
plankless cast steel boltless bogies could be stripped down
or built up by two men within half an hour, there would
seem to be no particular need for separate boxes. T h e
virtual elimination of wear on that type of bogie and the
ease of handling made it a God-send to the repair shop,
and any slight increase in first cost over the arch bar type
would, for that reason, be warranted.
Tank E’agons.-The one objection to syphon discharge
of tank wagons was that they were difficult to clean and
could not be entirely emptied. That had been overcome to
some extent by fitting plugs in the bottom well plate, but
complicated safety devices were required t o prevent pilfering
by slacking back the plugs.
 DESIGN O F WAGONS FOR BROAD GAUGE RAILWAYS. 253

In his opinion a satisfactory job could be made of the

bottom gravity discharge system if a better type of valve
were fitted. A self-lubricated conical plug valve was manu-
factured by the American Crane Valve Company, which
had been used successfully on light fuels by refining con-
cerns for a number of years.
W i t h regard to the baffle plates, those perhaps could
be dispensed with on systems where bulk oil was dealt
with in small q:iantities, with perhaps a maximum of two
o r three wagons per train. However, where larger quan-
tities were regularly handled, as, for instance, on shipments
from the producing wells, baffle plates were essential in
order to cut down surging to a minimum. Even with those
the handling of a train of 1,000 tons or so, made up of
crude oil tanks, was a tricky business and required careful
and experienced handling.
Mr. P. L. Falconer said a feature that had to be taken
into consideration in designing wagons for use in that
country was the rapidly changing conditions.
T h e growing use of grain elevators had resulted in il
demand for a weather proof steel wagon of substantial
design, with a suitable internal grain door, that permitted
the handling of grain in bulk instead of bags.
T h e growth of fruit and vegetable cultivation called for
ventilated wagons with suitable shelving or supports to
obtain a good load-tare ratio.
T h e discovery of additional petroleum resources had
created a demand for heavy tank traffic.
The paving of earth roads, and the growth of door-to-
door transport, made the container a more interesting
prospect.
The demand for increased speed led to an extension
of the use of power braking, and called for a more sub-
stantial and better sprung bogie.
T h e Author, he said, mentioned the use of a thrust
block a t the end of the axle, without advocating its use
on wagons. H e said that they had a block of that descrip-
tion on the radial axleboxes of some of their largest loco-
motives for about three years, with very satisfactory
results. The block was of the floating type and was made
of a lead bronze.
One of those was available for the inspection of the
members interested.
Mr. W. Archbold thought the Author could have ampli-
fied the reference to wheels and tyres t o include the latest
development of solid disc wheels and tyres being harder on
the tread than a t the boss.
254 J O U R N A L O F THE I N S T . O F LOCO. ENGISEERS

While he mentioned the load to press w-heels on axles,

it should be noted that the allowances for pressing on the
various types of wheels were different.
’They found that for cast steel spoked wheels, disc
wheels without tyres and solid disc wheels and tyres, the
reductions in boss diameters for pressing on were 0.0045 in.,
0 . 0 0 ~ 5 in. and 0.002 in. per inch diameter respectively to
give a uniform load of 10 tons per inch diameter.
Under axleboxes, the Author mentioned the desirability
of taking thrust on the ends of axles. They had been trying
out a similar fitting on radial axleboxes of locomotives,
where he thought the service was much more severe than
on wagons, with good results, and they were now extending
those trials to tenders. H e doubted whether that method
of taking end thrust on two axle u-agons could be adopted
satisfactorily, due to their laterally weak axle guards.
A trial n-as carried out some years ago on that type of
wagon, with poor results.
The cast steel bogie was mentioned, but the Author’s
statement that the axleboxes should be separate from tho
frames was questionable.
The chief argument in favour of cast stecl bogies was
the reduction of loose parts, especially column bolts and
axlebox bolts, and also having something rigid to attach
brake gear to.
Some three years ago when that railway and another
of the broad g a u g e lines were considering the adoption of
cast steel bogies, the technical representatives of the two
lines discussed the merits of the two types of bogies, but
no standard result n a s arrived at. The other line which
then favoured separate axleboxes was then adopting integral
axleboxes on cast steel bogies of a very good design with
a minimum of loose parts. On the other hand, the railway
which favoured integral axleboxes had g o t the integral
axlebox idea but had defeated the original object by fitting
loose wearing supplements on bolsters and bolster guides.
In those days of building up by electric welding,
supplementary wearing parts could only be justified to
obtain a quick turn round of a valuable machine like a
locomotive, but the system of spare bogies used on that
railway rendered the use OF loose supplenients unnecessary.
Mr. P . I,. Malcolm said that concerning the Author’s
comment that the wagon axles were fairly standard in
design, he thought it was time that there should be uni-
formity of such important parts of the respective rolling
stock for each gauge of Argentine railways, such as had
l o n g been accomplished by the railroads of the United
 DESIGS OF W A G O X S FOR BROAD GAUGE R A I L W A Y S . 255
States, Canada and Mexico, through the American Raii-
road .issociation and its predecessors the Master Car
Builders’ Association and the Master Mechanics’ Associa-
tion, whose standards had greatly served as a basis for
those of the broad gauge railways of India.
The Author’s opinion that one of the types of dust
guards he had tried proved ideal, could be shared by most
railway men ; usually in dusty countries such as Argentina,
if the dust guard fitted its axle snugly enough to keep dust
from entering the boy, a groove was worn in the axle.
However, the axle could be protected by shrinking on
a thin sheet band to serve as a bearing strip for the dust
guard, which could easily be renewed as required. H e
understood that one of the first to introduce that practice
was the Isothermos Company in connection with their
axlebox.
H e noted that the Author advocated collarless journals
for axles and that the end thrust be taken by blocks at-
tached to the axlebox lids; that system was considerably
used by North Arnerican railroads forty or fifty years ago,
but was discarded for journals with collars, nevertheless,
some tramcar builders preferred to continue the use of such
blocks.
Also various manufacturers of roller bearings for car-
riages and wagons have reverted to thrust blocks attached
to the axlebox lids.
I n regard to the Author’s preference for journal bearing
keeps, or slippers with Rat backs instead of hogged or
whaled backs, he believed that investigation of hot boxes
would shorn a much greater number of heatings with Rat
backed slippers than with 1% haled back slippers.
Mr. R. A. Kyle remarked that the Author suggested
that rusting of the underframes of cattle wagons “ could
be prevented by covering the top flanges and gusset plates
with strips of lead, to protect them from contact with the
wet boards. ”
H e suggested that a more effective method would be
to make the floors watertight by the following method :-
All Roor boards had to be free from cracks or loose
knots ; they should be grooved at both edges, and fastened
into position, after which a lath of softer wood should be
driven into the grooves with a mallel L L ) a s to make a tight
fit laterally.
To prevent liquid matter from getting on to the outside
longitudinals and headstocks-as, of course, it was prac-
tically impossible to prevent it from getting over the edges
of the floor and working its way under the flooring. He
2j6 JOURNAL O F THE I N S T . OF LOCO. ENGINEERS.

suggested applying a coating of pitch on the top flanges

of the outer longitudinals and headstocks, before placing
the boards in position, t o act as a seal between board and
flange.
A s the wood laths would be constantly wet, there was
no danger of their shrinking so that if' the boards were
tightly fastened down to the frame and the laths firmly
driven into the grooves, no liquid would ever get through
the spaces which, however well the floor might be laid,
would surely exist between board and board.
Mr. J. Vittone said in accordance with the Author's
suggestion, he wished to add some comments to his ideas
and put forward others he had studied, some of which had
been adopted in practice.
Bearing in mind the present-day competition in the
transport industry, which obliged the railway companies to
run trains at greater average speeds, thus necessitating ;i
larger expenditure in traction services, efforts should be
made to compensate this and one means to that end would
be the reduction of dead weight of the vehicles. That
was possible whilst the vehicles were already in service,
when they returned t o shops for general overhaul and also
when projects were afoot for new wagons. In the last
mentioned the builder or designer should not lose sight of
such important facts as the strength of the materials em-
ployed, costs, etc., and should try to make a strong, light
wagon, less costly to repair. Iq view of that and his own
experience, he agreed with the Author that wood should not
be utilised in the construction of wagons, and that wood
should be eliminated from wagons requiring insulation, be-
cause if it was not properly dried and painted it lost all its
insulating properties as soon as it absorbed moisture ; more-
over, special paints could now be obtained which were no
more expensive than ordinary paints and which when applied
t o the sides and roofs of steel wagons made them more heat
resisting. A point in favour of the elimination of wood
and the replacing of same by steel plates, was the fact that
during the past five years the cost of repair to bodies and
underframes of high-sided wagons-of the same capacity
and dimensions as those belonging to the B.4. Provincial
Railway-had been 72 per cent. less in the case of steel
wagons as compared with wooden ones.
From the point of view of corrosion produced by acid
or alkaline substances, as in the case of cattle wagons, he
considered it would be advantageous t o replace wooden
floors by special sheet steel floors. H e had studied that
question and advocated the use of special pressed steel
 DESIGN OF WAGONS FOR BROAD GAUGE RAILWAYS. 257
plates of & in. thick, of a type which would prevent the
animals from slipping, the plates t o be electrically welded
together, thus forming a floor surface without joints, the
floor being welded to the underframe. Taking into con-
sideration the cost of materials and labour for the construc-
tion of that type of floor, and comparing same with the
cost of a wooden Hoor made of white “ quebracho ” wood
with the corresponding accessories for same, he calculated
the steel floor would cost approximately 5-7 per cent. more
and would be about 38-42 per cent. lighter in weight.
With reference to floors made of- hard wood, such a s
“ Lapacho ” or “ Curupay,” as proposed by the Author,
he would mention that those cost about 80-~coper cent.
more than white ‘‘ quebracho ” wood and were heavier.
Comparing those then with a steel floor, the latter would
work out approximately 29 per cent. more economical. Also,
with the use of a steel floor, a reduction of approximately
450-500 kilos. tare weight would be obtainable in a broad
gauge wagon.
‘The special steel he proposed for that purpose was one
containing low percentages of carbon, manganese and sili-
con, and very small quantities of impurities such as phosphor
and sulphur, the tensile strength of which would oscillate
between 44,000 and 46,000 lbs. per sq. inch, and the yield
point between 27,500 and 32,000 lbs. per sq. inch, that
\vas to say it would be 20 per cent. less in strength than
ordinary steel, the cost of same being approximately 44 per
cent. more than ordinary steel.
T h e advantage of that class of steel was its great
resistance against corrosion, for which reason it had been
used with great success in the construction of septic tanks,
buoys, chimneys, and even tanks for low concentration
acids. H e had been informed that that class of steel was
being used in the U.S.A. in the construction of wagons for
the transportation of minerals which contained a high per-
centage of sulphur, and that in England it had been used
for cattle wagons destined for this country; however, he
was not a n a r e of the results obtained in either case.
H e agreed with the Author that bolts should be
eliminated, replacing same by rivets ; however, he thought
it would be better to do that by means of electric welding.
Admitted in the repairing of wagons it was easier, in
the majority of cases, to change the bolts for rivets, or
to replace them again as, for the successful application of
electric welding, very often the component parts had t o be
changed in design, which naturally would not work out very
economically.
258 J O U R K A L OF THE I X S T . O F L O C O . ESGIXEEHY.

A s the Author remarked, one of the greatest enemies

to steel wagons was t h e oxidation, produced in the normal
way, but t o a much greater extent a t the joints, etc., where
air, water, or humidity could penetrate.
H e had found that the best method of guarding against
corrosion a t the joints, etc., on steel wagons, was by
resorting to electric welding. In that connection would be
noted the methods adopted on the Ruenos Aires and Pro-
vincial Railway, where in the case of high-sided wagons
the wooden body had been replaced by a steel body and
all joints were welded. The plates had been pressed so
that the edges formed “ L ” or “ U ’’ channels, which
proved t o be the most economical method of joining when
welding was carried out.
H e noted the Author claimed that the distance between
rivets should not exceed 3 in. in order to obtain watertight
joints. Notwithstanding that he felt that such joints were
still liable t o osidation, he had a method of joining by
electric welding, but taking into account that that method
would prove an expensive one, he had also another method
which could be applied to new wagons. By the latter
method the surfaces in actual contact were decreased by
bo-65 per cent. in the first case and 100 per cent. in the
second case.
The modifications referred t o can bc carried out on all
types of wagons so a s to eliminate oxidation as far as
possible.
Another advantage of the welding was that there was
a considerable decrease. in the dead weight of the wagon.
In order to obtain the full benefit of the weight reduc-
tion without sacrificing strength, it was decided to utilise
tensile steel of the following characteristics :-
High Tensile. Mild Steel.
Tensile Strength. Ibs./sq. in. . . . . 70,000 45,000- .5.5,000
Yield Point. lbs./sq. in. . . . . . 50,000 30,000-35,000
Elongation in 2in., per cent. . . . . z8--zj 40-35
.
Impact-tensile Strength, It. Ibs./sq. in. .
5.000 2,700
Izod Impact, ft./lbs. . . . . . .
130 30
Modulus of Elasticity . . . . . q.ooo,ooo
. 29,000,000
Corrosion Resistance . . . . . . j-6 I
This high tensile steel was purchased stamped and
cut to size and although the cost per unit weight worked
out 51 per cent. higher than mild steel, taking into con-
sideration the cost per unit of weight plus tensile strength,
it could be said that it was only 5 per cent. more costly. I t
was estimated that the cost of stamping works out a t
about $ 1 . 2 0 per lineal metre.
In converting the wagon the existing uprights were
 IIESIGS O F WAGOKS F O R BROAD GAUGE RAILWAYS. 2 59

used and the cost of converting from wood to steel was

roughly 34.5 per cent. greater than had they undergone a
general repair with the wooden body, but it was estimated
that the cost of modification would pay for itself within
three years.
Comparing the original high-sided wagon with wooden
body, with the reconstructed wagon, there was a reduction
of weight of j5o kilos. Comparing the weight of the welded
steel body with the equivalent riveted body, it was found
that the welded body was roughly one ton lighter than the
riveted body.
He had drawn up in tabulated form, comparative figures
of the capacities of the B.A. and Provincial wagons of
metre gauge, the B.A. Western, Central Argentine and B.A.
and Pacific of j ft. 0 in. gauge, and the Santa FC Railway
of metre gauge (attached hereto).
Tyres.-With reference to tyres, he considered that the
I : 2 0 camber given t o the tyre tread should be complr-
mented by an equal inclination of the rail. He mentioned
that as he had observed that some of the railways laid their
rails so that the surface of the tread was on a horizontal
plane, which in his opinion produced premature wear on
the tyres and in time an abnormal wear on the rails. H e
was in agreement with the Author's suggestion to increase
the inclination-as shown from A t o B in Fig. I .
i l x ~ e ~ ~ o z e s . - w i t regard
h to the axleboxes proposed by
the Author in Fig. 3 , he agreed that from the technical
point of view he was correct, but in his opinion, from the
economical and practical point of view the method sug-
gested would turn out to be more expensive than the method
actually in use, with or without a wedge and that it tended
to complicate the axlebox for revision purposes when the
wagon n a s in service.
Wheels.-He expressed the opinion that when it was
necessary to change the wheels of wagons it was more
economical to utilise the solid wheels in preference to wheel
centres and tyres.
With regard t o the two types of solid wheels, i.e., the
solid wheel which had sufficient thickness of tread to allow
for turning up when wear had occurred, and the lighter
type of solid wheel with a thinner tread which was dis-
carded completely once the wear on the tread had reached
a certain limit; he considered the latter to be the more
economical, taking as a n example a wheel of 29+ in. dia-
meter on the tread, on which a wear of 9 millimetres was
allowed by the Government authorities.
 COMPARISON
BETWEEN
HIGH-SIDED IN
WAGOXS THE ARGEKTINE.
pro- Pro- C.A. Rail-
vincial vincial B.A.W. BA.W. way steel
Provincial Railway Railway F.A.W. Railway Railway C.A. welded
Railway steel steel Railway steel steel Railway wooden B A.G.S. B.A P.
Description. Unit. wood. riveted. welded. aood. riveted. welded. steel. floor. steel. WWd. +-4
Floor surface available . . mt.9 23.06 2395 23.48 26.32 28.24 31.10 2844 28.4 28 4 28.4 Y
Cubic capacity of body . . mt.3 18.45 19.16 20.38 36.4 34.00 - E!
Load capacity. . . . . Ton 30.0 30.0 30.0 40.0 40.0 45.0 50 0 45.0 45.0 40.0 E
m
Tare weight . . . . 10.65 11.12 10.10 r2.5 14 j 14.60 17.09 '5.9 16.7 15.0 !+
Cubic capacityltare . . . mt.s/ton '.75 1.72 2.02 - - 2.12 2.25 -
Loadltare. . . . . . Tonlton 2'81 2.70 2.97 3.20 2.75 3.18 2.82 2.84 2.70 2.67
- - - - - c)
Loadlcubic capacity . . . Tonlmt.8 I .63 1.57 1.47 I .37 1.32
P
Load/floor surface available , Ton/mt.a 1.30 1.25 1.25 I .52 1.42 1.45 176 1.59 1.59 1.44 M
mts. 10.3j 10.40
z
Interior length of body . . 10.385 '0.455 10.46 9.68 9.74 9'75 10.35 10.35 B
Interior width of body . . mts. 2.22 2.290 2.96 2 72 2.90 3.19 2.74 2.74 2.74 2.70 2E
Loadltare by length . . , Ton x m./ton 29.16 28.22 31.06 30.97 26.78 31.0 29.19 29.39 27.94 27.77 g
 D E S I G N O F W A G O N S FOR BROAD G A U G E R A I L W A Y S . 261

Mr. J. Coehrane said the subject of wagon design was

of special importance a t that juncture to the four broad
gauge rHilways of the Argentine.
Standardisation having become a matter of profound
study, the standard wagon to suit the needs and working
conditions of these four railways had to be designed and
the experience of all the railways co-ordinated in an endea-
vour to produce the most suitable wagon.
A s a help in this search an event happened on January
18th, 1937. The “ common user ” system was put into
operation on that date.
Each of the four railway companies interested in the
wagon pool possessed wagon stock whose design was
evolved to suit the class of traffic offering on their several
systems.
’The \Vestern Railway, formerly considered by some
as the model Argentine Railway, did not possess any two-
axle wagons. That railway preferred bogie wagon stock.
The traffic handled was mainly cereals in bags and hence
timber was largely used in its wagon construction.
As the Southern Railway had to transport quarry pro-
ducts, it appeared early t o have adopted steel in its wagon
construction. That railway adopted two-axle wagons as
well a s bogie wagons as standard, though the carriage of
cereals formed a large proportion of its traffic.
Probably on account of the fact that wine, carried a t
one time mainly in barrels, formed an important part of
the Pacific Railway’s traffic, that railway formerly favoured
timber in its wagon construction and adopted two-axle and
bogie type wagons a s standard.
The Central Argentine Railway (the result of the
amalgamation of several railways), was hampered in the
past by a great variety of wagon types, but was well
advised in replacing those wagons by the two-axle and
bogie type of steel construction. Though cereals formed
the bulk of its traffic, yet bulk cargoes of wood fuel, char-
coal and quick lime, which damaged stock, had to be
handled and special features in design were adopted in the
railway’s modern steel stock to minimise the ill effects of
cargoes carried.
Into the Argentine wagon pool each of those railways
put a certain portion of its rolling stock and the resulting
experience obtained, over a period of two and a half years
was valuable to the wagon designer in pointing out what
materials he should specify in construction, what details
it was best to embody, and what wagon types to adopt for
the standard wagon of the future.
262 JOURNAI, OF T H E I N S T . O F LOCO. E N G I X E E R S .

Good wagon design must blend sound theory with good

practice, but it was by the results of trials over long periods
of time under working conditions that suitable design could
be recognised and embodied in new stock to be acquired.
T h e Central Argentine Railway could point to several
types of wagons in its service which had given strikingly
good results under service conditions, and he understood
that the Author had those types for your inspectioil that
afternoon in the C. and W. workships in Rosario.
H e mentioned four of these types:-
( I ) The p t o n capacity bogie all-steel covered wagon
in service now for 1 2 years.
( 2 ) The so-ton capacity bogie all-steel open magon in
service now for 10 years.
(3) The 20-to11 capacity two-axle all-steel covered wagon
in service now for 10 years.
(4) The 20-ton capacity two-axle all-steel low-sided
wagon in service now for 10 years.
One of those magon types had been found outstanding
in suitability in every way for the work of bulk grain
carrying, and the design of that wagon had been followed
in the recent requisitions made for all-steel bogie covered
wagons. r h a t wagon had now been in continuous and
strenuous service for 1 2 years and it might be said that it
had only shown one weak point in its design, one which
could be corrected readily.
The following features were mentioned which gave that
wagon special merit :-
( I ) The method of fastening roof to body which had
secured a leak-proof wagon.
( 2 ) T h e door of the flap type which was self-relieving
if cargo shifts against it in transit. 'Ihat door
could not be jammed in the closed position.
(3) The non-continuous drawgear fitted had proved a
success and had demonstrated that continuous
drawgear was not a necessity in the future standard
wagon.
(4) The double stroke buffer fitted with rubber springs
supported on the headstocks by a steel plate
covering the whole depth of the headstock.
That wagon was fitted with diamond frame bogies, but
when the design was repeated in future examples, it was
proposed to embody bogies oi" cast steel with axleboxes
cast in one piece with the side frames.
A second type of covered wagqn which had also stood
up well t o the test of ten years of service on the C.A.
 DESIGN O F WAGONS FOR BROAD GAUGE RAILWAYS. 263

system was the ao-ton all-steel, two-axle covered wagon.

As it was used for the transport of bulk charcoal, wood
fuel and quick lime, the feature of the flap door, which was
self-relieving when cargoes shifted against it, had proved
a success.
Among the problems of interest which faced the wagon
designer in the Argentine was that of transporting fresh
vegetables long distances through a warm, dry and dusty
atmosphere without causing damage to such a delicate
cargo.
On the system of the Central Argentine Railway, vege-
tables were grown on the slopes of the foot hills of the
'lucuman mountain ranges during the winter season and
were transported to Buenos Aires, I , 175 kilometres, having
to pass through the Province of Santiago del Estero in
which a dry, dusty and sometimes warm atmosphere was
met with in the winter time.
One of the wagons on view in the Rosario works
showed a n attempt had been made to solve that problem
by fitting collapsible shelving inside a wooden bodied ven-
tilated wagon.
That could not be accepted a s a n entire solution a s it
was felt to be essential that, considering the very long haul,
they required a good load to tare ratio by loading the
wagon, if possible from floor to roof.
As another way of solving that problem, containers of
different types were manufactured, fitted with shelves, and
mounted on a flat wagon in groups. During a season of an
abundant tomato harvest in Tucuman, those containers
transported tomatoes from Tucuman to Buenos Aires,
which arrived in good condition. Those containers were on
view in Rosario that afternoon.
Considerable difference of opinion existed among
designers as to the type of end door which it was best to
adopt in cattle wagons, the guillotine type, or the folding
type with vertical hinges.
The guillotine type of door had much to be said for it,
especially since the C.A. Railway modified it so as to make
it impossible to let the door fall suddenly on animals' backs
-a method used t o goad cattle into a wagon by cattle
loaders who did not pause to think of the injury they were
doing to the most valuable part of the carcass.
Mr. W. L. Topham asked : First.-Whether the cattle
wagons and fruit wagons were provided with the same bogie
a s the big heavy grain capacity wagons, and if so, whether
that bogie was provided with the same diameter journal
on its axles, and whether it was justified considering the
264 JOURKAL O F THE INST. O F L O C O . ENGINEERS.

lighter weight which was carried in cattle wagons and fruit

wagons?
Second.-’The great desirability of eliminating two-axle
wagdns largely from the point of view of their unsuitability
in curves and sidings and liability to derailment when
coupled up between bogie wagons which were heavily
loaded.
Third .-With the adoption of the single link coupling,
has anyone tried to use the shunting pole? He was con-
vinced it could be used out there.
Fourth.-If split pin should be 0.4, and you take a
z in. pin, it seemed incredible t o use a split pin of 0.8
diameter t o fit it.
Mr. Falconer said that with regard to the shunting pole
in that country, it had generally been considered that the
wider spacing of the buffers made it unpopular, but while
investigating the matter in connection with hump shunting
he found that the trouble was due to coupling links
becoming distorted and jammed on the hook. With the
links perfectly free, the shunting pole could be used without
difficulty.

COMMUNICATION FROM MR. A. E. BRIGHT.

The Author stated that on a wagon everything should
be either very tight or very loose, the truth of that will
become evident to anyone making a tour of any railway
traffic yard.
In advocating the use of split pins instead of split
cotters the Author presumably referred to bolts, a s brake
pins with split pins 0 . 4 times diameter would be rather a
risky proposition. The use of castle nuts with split pins
for all bolts would be a n expensive undertaking ; further-
more, these nuts were often left loose by operatives in order
to avoid trouble in entering split pins.
The common spring washer was being extensively used
to entire satisfaction and was much cheaper than the nut
and pin.
In his remarks on axles the Author advocated the
greatest possible distance between centres of journals, and
whilst appreciating his reasons, it should be borne in mind
that the greater the distance from centre of boss t o centre
of journal, the greater the stress a t inside of journal.
W i t h regard to the suggested taking up of end thrust
on the lid of axlebox, it would be interesting to know if
that had been tried out, and if so, what results had been
obtained ?
 DESIGE O F W A G O N S F O R BROAD GAUGE R A I L W A Y S . 265
The perfect dust shield had yet to be evolved, but t h e
common wooden shield combined with the waste roll at
the back of box gave satisfactory results, as although in a
short time there was a g a p between wood and bottom of
axle, the roll prevented dust irom entering the box.
The Author doubted whether the extra expense of cast
steel bogies was justified, but failed to mention that apart
from reduced number of parts, reduced weight and greater
safety, the repair costs were considerably lower than with
the diamond frame type.
The detachable axlebox offered but little advantage t o
shops, but certainly facilitated the speedy removal of wheels
a t outdoor stations in case of necessity.
T h e suggested hooked connection between spring plank
and frame was commendable, small bolts as generally used
were a source of annoyance and delay in stripping and
assembling of bogies. T h e use of thicker spring plates
would result in considerable economy.
An analysis of the stresses in the recommended design
of draw hook would show that tensile far exceeded com-
pressive stress especially after wear had taken place.
Unfortunately the limited dimensions of our couplings
would not permit of the use of a well designed hook.
That the majority of our butlers were not up t o modern
conditions was evident from the large number of damaged
headstocks.
The buffer sholcn in F i g . 19 would be rather stiff OR
curves if used in conjunction with screw couplings, and h e
very much doubted if their most ambitious shunters could
produce the desired stroke of 7 in.
The Author stated that the mistake was often made
of putting castle nuts on buffer spindles, and later points
out, that whilst in service spindles tended to screw them-
selves into their nuts-clearly that was an ideal case for
the castle nut and pin.
The elimination of rebound washers a t tail end of
buffers was not to be recommended, as those rubbers safe-
guarded against broken buffer spindles from rebound shock..
The use of steel floors in covered wagons would b e
economical, though traffic department might object on ac-
count of slipping of loads.
Regarding the use of fluted plates on wagons, con-
siderable inconvenience could be avoided by adoption of a
standard pitch and length of flute, a s on most railways that
was different on the various series of wagons and conse-
quently various types had to be stocked.
266 JOT:RP;AL O F TIIE I N S T . O F LOCO. ENGISEERS.

I n the suggested design of refrigerator wagon the

Author showed no roof ventilation-limited ventilation pro-
vided better circulation of cold air and a drier interior.
Baffle plates in tank wagons were a source of trouble
and expense, and in those cases where it was not possible
to eliminate them, fewer and thicker plates would be
advisable.
H e asked the Author to give some indication a s t o
what life could be expected of lead protection plates for.
cattle wagon underframes.
Mr. J . Cardus said the castle nut and split pin certainly
seemed to be the most effective method of maintaining tight
bolts, and whilst the Author did not recommend them for
buffer spindles because a few turns more or less did not
matter, that meant to say that little respect need be paid
to a standard headstock to buffer face dimension.
Split pins to the proportion of 0.4 times the diameter
of the pin for which they were intended, appeared to be on
the large side, but in many cases such a proportion w a s
justified.
H e agreed with the remarks concerning- rivets.
The Author, he noticed, favoured the separate tyre type
of wheel, which no doubt had g-iven excellent results in the
past, but it was now-, he believed, being rapidly super-
seded by the solid rolled disc wheel, having a minimum
tensile strength on the tread as high as 70 tons per square
inch. Wheels of that description were particularly desir-
.able on power braked stock, as the troubles experienced
with separate tyred wheels were eIiminated.
H e understood th.at the F.C.S. had on trial split dust
shields similar to that outlined by the :\uthor, so it was
possible that there was a member prescnt who could en-
lighten them as to the behaviour of that type of shield.
In addition to the bottom of the axleboxes being madc
flat for the purpose stated by the Author, he considered that
the provision of lugs to be a further improvement in pre-
venting the jacks slipping.
'The diamond frame (or arch bar type) bogie had, no
.doubt, been a very worthy servant, but the time had now
arrived when it would need to be made either in special
steels or unduly heavy sections in order to withstand the
higher loads and the ever-increasing train speeds. The
introduction of the cast steel bogie overcame those diffi-
.culties as it could be more accurately designed with regard
to the distribution of the metal, with the result that a much
..stronger 2nd generally lighter bogie was produced, and
therefore he considered that the extra cost of the cast steeI
 DESIGN O F WAGONS FOR BROAD GAUGE RAILWAYS. 267

bogie was justified. The advantage of the cast steel bogie

must be very substantial, judging by the A.R.A. ruling that
arch bar bogies would not be permitted in interchange after
January Ist, 1938.
H e asked if the Author would say what grounds he
had for preferring the separate axleboxes for cast steel
bogies, as that type of bogie had become almost obsolete,
as would be realised from the fact that gg per cent. of the
C.S. bogies built in the U.S.A. in recent years have had
axleboxes cast integral with the frames. This standard
practice is preferable for the following reasons :-
( I ) Lower initial cost.
(2) Elimination of maintenance costs with no small
parts such as bolts, nuts, etc., to become loose and
lost, or to permit movement and wear between
parts.
( 3 ) All brackets for carrying brake work, release
springs, safety loops, etc., should be cast integral
with their corresponding bogie member, and the
pinholes subjected to wear fitted with renewable
bushes.
(4) Reduction in weight.
( 5 ) Greater strength with better distribution of steel for
carrying loads and transmitting all vertical, hori-
zontal and torsional shocks.
For some time the spring plankless bogie had been
steadily gaining popularity in North America and that type
of bogie should be very soon appearing on the British broad
gauge railways of that country.
While the side frame and bolster guides of the Central
Argentine Railway cast steel bogie had been fitted with
renewable steel wearing strips, he was given to understand
that the Pacific Railway had had cast steel bogies in service
for some nine years without those refinements, and the wear
that had taken place was negligible and therefore it ap-
peared that wearing strips were unnecessary.
The wear caused by the ends of laminated bearing
springs could be reduced t o a minimum by the introduction
of a hard steel roller inserted between the surfaces that were
affected by wear.
H e was in agreement with the Author regarding the
various points of the underframe which proved to be weak
under the heavy handling to which stock was subjected to
in that country, and whilst the design of the underframe
he proposed might be satisfactory for normal service, the
splayed longitudinals forming the buffing diagonals were
268 JOURNAL OF THE INST. OF LOCO. ENGINEERS.

certainly not t o be recommended, as those members were

apt to suffer damage and become bent, due to accident or
brusque shunting, and did not offer the same facilities for
repair a s did the separate type diagonal.
The drawbar guide, as the Author stated, should
be provided with a s much bearing area as was reasonably
possible, thus reducing the wear on the shank to a mini-
mum. He could not agree that the drawhook shown in
Fig. 2 5 was~ in keeping with scientific design, as there
appeared t o be an excess of metal on the compressive side,
but in spite of that fact the hook had given good results
in service and compared very favourably with hooks of a
more orthodox design.
In dealing with buffers, the Author advocated that the
stroke should be a s long as possible. Whilst that was
improving the buffing qualities it should not be forgotten
that the greater the buffing stroke the greater was the
possible pluck on the drawgear when a train check had
been released, and he was of the opinion that it was prefer-
able t o sacrifice a little improvement in the buffing gear
rather than increase the risk of broken drawgear.
The trouble of buffer spindles screwing themselves into
their nuts could readily be avoided by using a self-contained
buffer with a floating spindle.
The importance of allowing ample drainage for water
and dirt to escape from buffer should not be lost sight of.
Referring to the remarks on covered wagons, he
definitely agreed that the leg of the tee stanchions should
be arranged inside the wagon. That not only avoided side
swiping, but reduced the air resistance of the vehicle by a
very appreciable amount, and also protected the side sheets
from damage by moving cargo during shunting. The
advantages of a flush finish were very evident in the results
of the dynamometer tests that were recently carried out on
the Pacific Railway, and in designing covered stock every
effort should be made to obtain that and avoid projections
a s much a s possible even on the underframe.
There were various methods of stowing the refrigerant
in refrigerator wagons, and no doubt each had its particular
advantage for the type of service for which it was intended.
The most important point was t o keep the interior of thc
vehicle dry and allow ample circulating space, parricularly
below the products carried. T o ensure a dry wagon it was
preferable t o stow the ice, salt, etc., in tanks of adequate
capacity situated a t the ends of the wagons and protected
from contact with the cargo by bulkheads, space being
provided top and bottom for circulation. Those tanks due
 DESIGN O F WAGONS FOR BROAD GAUGE RAILWAYS. 269

t o the general practice of adding salt with the ice naturally

contain a fairly concentrated brine solution, which was
very detrimental to any part of the vehicle with which it
might come in contact, therefore it was good practice only
t o empty those tanks a t specially appointed parts of the
line. To avoid hindrance t o the circulation of the cold air,
a perforated false floor or removable floor racks should be
provided.
Windows in the ends of brake vans should be of plain
glass and arranged to hinge inwards to provide additional
ventilation and to facilitate cleaning. They should be pro-
tected from the outside by stout wire netting as mentioned
by the Author.
Mr. R. K. Glascodine said the Author gave the capa-
city of the older buffers as approximately 1.5 foot tons, and
it would be interesting if he would let us know how he
achieved that figure. They usually considered that the case
buffer with the three No. 412 springs had the greatest
capacity and that was 1 1 % inch tons. T h e double stroke
buffer they worked a t 35-40 inch tons-each of the big
springs being worth five inch tons and the column 15 to 20.
Another remark of the Author’s was that the work
done by a buffer was proportional t o the length of the
stroke. H e did not think that that could apply in the case
of rubber buffer springs where the curve was not a straight
line, that the work varied as the length of stroke would
be a better description.
In regard to the suggestion that the buffing blow should
be divided equally between the headstock and the trimmer.
It had been proved by triaI and test in America that a
wagon running a t about four miles a n hour delivered a blow
of approximately five times its running weight, and the
pressures mentioned were quite reasonable, but they would
suggest that possibly it might be more satisfactory to take
a greater blow on the end of the longitudinal and not on a
trimmer which might spring the member unless it was much
heavier than it generally was.
In regard to the galvanised parting plates having round
edges, under normal conditions the diameter was fixed by
the space available for the springs and it was usually on the
low side. The function of the rubber was that as it com-
pressed the top and bottom edges were held by the face,
and the vertical face of the spring was distorted. If the
edges were rounded the available amount of flat plate was
reduced and there was a tendency for the rubber t o slip
over the edge, which was always a cause of severe straining.
270 JOURNAL OF THE INST. OF LOCO. ENGINEERS.

Mr. C. Case said a point which was of interest ill

respect to the utilisation of wood as against steel for wagoiI
construction was that of the supply of the two materials.
The bulk of their timber (Oregon and pitch pines) for
years had been obtained from the United States, and it was
becoming increasingly difficult to obtain the necessary
permits from the Exchange Control, and when obtained,
American money had to be purchased on the free market.
011 the other hand, steel was not only easily obtainable from
England, but exchange could be obtained readily a t the
special rate of $16 - to the A;.
A further point in favour of steel was that in case of
war it was obviously more advantageous to have all our
rolling stock in that country steel since that would stand
up better for a longer period with a minimum of repairs.
He noticed that very little had been said in respect t o
the percentage of tare to the carrying capacity of wagons ;
he knew wagon designers were considerably influenced by
traffic who had to give the small loader ao-ton wagons, but
he still thought that if it was realised what the extra
haulage of tare costs some railway companies in fuel, they
would soon have lighter wagons and more of large capacity.
Mr. P. J. Dawes said, re bolts and locking devices, he
knew that generally the hexagon nut was used. Why
should they continue t o use it? The Wagon Works had
done that, a very rough type of labour, and the man bursts
his spanner and bursts the work. He could not see why
they could not go in for square nuts. I t could be locked
better than the hexagon. l h e r e was an American locking
nut, and that was machined or stamped concave on both
surfaces, and the concave part tended t o straighten itself
and that automatically locked the nut on to the bolt. I t
seemed to have a lot of prosperity.
The Author, in reply, said M r . Cleaver seemed to con-
sider that wood was necessary in wagons, and Mr. Dawes
also spoke a s if wood could not be eliminated, but, with the
exception of special wagons such as refrigerator and cattle
wagons, the Central Argentine Railway had employed no
wood whatever in the construction of wagons for the last
1 5 years.
Wooden bodied wagons were only very little cooler
than well ventilated steel wagons.
i v e s s r s . Cleaver, Daules, Pool, Cochrane and BTight
doubted the need for castle nuts and split pins; they sug-
gested that lock nuts of the " Palnut " or " Grover ''
variety were good enough ; he said most definitely that they
were not, and asked what was the practice on motor car
 DESIGN OF WAGONS FOR BROAD GAUGE RAILWAYS. 271

work? W e r e not castle nuts and split pins universal? They

had been fitted to all bolts bolting metal to metal on Central
Argentine Railway wagons for the last 15 years.
Mr. Cleaver considered that a small wagon needed a s
strong buffers as a big one. That was not s o ; the damage
was done between two units and the maximum stress took
place before the stationary wagon had moved 6 in.
A wagon standing at the head of a train could move
10 in. or 1 2 in. before it came hard against the next wagon.
I t obviously required a smaller blow to move the small
wagon than the large one, so wherever one of two wagons
buffed together was a small one, the shock on both wagons
was less than if they were both large wagons.
M r . Dawes and M r . Cardus referred to solid tyreless
wheels as being better than the tyred type. H e agreed that
they were satisfactory, but when the rim was worn too
small, a good deal of expense was necessary to turn it to
receive a tyre; though it might pay to use solid wheels
and scrap them when worn out.
Various m e m b e r s mentioned that separate boxes were
not required on cast steel bogies. But he had still to be
convinced that wheels could be changed a s quickly and
cheaply when the box was an integral part of the side frame.
Also, boxes were occasionally damaged beyond repair, and
separate boxes were far easier to clean.
M r . Dawes’ experience with a train of tanks without
baffle plates was interesting ; but there were many tanks of
different varieties in service without baffle plates and no
complaint was made.
Mr. K y l e and M r . Baillie considered that “ if floor
boards of cattle wagons were made with double grooves
and a separate tongue, the liquid would not g e t through to
the underframe. ”
The moisture which destroyed steel underframes did
not generally flow through between the boards; it soaked
right through them.
In answer to M r . T o p h a m , most cattle wagons had
much smaller bogies and axles than the common four-axle
goods stock, but there were cattle wagons running on stan-
dard bogies because they had power brakes and also for
the sake of standardisation.
M r . Case pointed out that sufficient care was not taken
to keep down the tare of wagons. H e quite agreed the
value of reducing tares was realised when they remembered
that, apart from stopping and starting, every ton needed
half a horse power t o move it a t 3 0 to 40 m.p.h.
272 JOURNAL O F THE I N S T . O F LOCO. ENGIKNEKB.

M r . C a r d u s said that one of the advantages of the cast

steel bogie was its lightness. H e thought that was a fallacy,
and further, that the existing diamond Prame bogies could
be lightened without reducing their strength.
M r . Glascodine said that his figures for the capacity
of the old buffers were too high, and as he was an expert
he thanked him for the correction.
Mr. B r i g h t and o t h e r m e m b e r s considered that the
size of split pins advocated was too large, and Mr. Bright
said, “ The Author presumably referred to bolts.’’ On the
contrary, the split pins referred t o were for pins ; there was
no need for a large split pin in a bolt where the nut did
the work; but in a pin where they were always troubled
by split pins being sheared off, the split pin should be a s
strong as the pin. A brake pin was usuaily I in. diameter
and the split pin should be about 8 in. in diameter.
Mr. Bright said the buffer shown a t Fig. 19 would be
rather stiff on curves. On the contrary, having nine rubbers
in the first nest to be compressed, it was a softer buffer
for the first 3 ; in. of its travel than the old buffers in ser-
vice, which had only eight rubbers.
Many buffers with 7 in. stroke had been in service for
over 30 years.
H e considered that the rebound springs a t the tail of
buffer spindles were necessary t o prevent the spindles
breaking. The spindles were not broken by rebound and
those springs had not been fitted for 16 years by the Central
Argentine Railway, where broken wagon buffer spindles
were almost unknown.
He inferred that castle nuts were necessary on buffer
spindles t o prevent spindles screwing themselves up. If
the spindle was screwed correctly, e.g., no more than the
thickness of the nut beyond the pinhole, there was ob-
viously no object in using a castle nut.
The Author wished t o thank again those of his col-
leagues who had helped with the Paper, specially
Mr. Meadows and the foremen who have assisted with
experiments.