MT Bettendorf caboose truck bolster surface height from top of rail

[Lemosteam]

TRW hive: 

Looking for the top surface of the bolster plane on the subject MT truck from the top of rail. If anybody could provide, that would be great.

Thanks in advance!

[chessie system fan]

Wouldn't it be the same as any other MT truck?

(I don't own any to confirm, but MT sometimes uses those interchangeably with their friction-bearing trucks.)

[bbussey]

It is the same as the other legacy truck frames.

[Lemosteam]

I don't have any Bettendorf caboose trucks to measure, and I have found that not all trucks have the same height off the rail.

[bbussey]

If you have the standard Bettendorf 1000 truck, it's the same as that.  These legacy truck frames share the same bolster arms:

• Allied Full Cushion
• Andrews
• Archbar
• Barber RB 70t
• Bettendorf
• BX Express
• Coil Elliptic
• Dalman
• National B-1
• Swing Motion Leaf Spring RB, with axle generator
• Swing Motion Leaf Spring RB, without axle generator
• Symington Ride Control RB

The tooling allows for different sideframes to be swapped in and out with the various bolster arms:

• Without coupler, offset bolster hole
• With short (standard) length coupler, offset bolster hole
• With medium extended length coupler, centered bolster hole
• With long extended length coupler, offset bolster hole

That is how the ESM G26 gondolas have MTL Dalman and National B-1 trucks without couplers, which are not commercially-available standard items – MTL special-runs the truck frames for ESM.

[mark.hinds]

If this is the truck which comes with the MT wood-sheathed caboose, I could measure one for you.  Not clear what exactly you want measured, however.  Mine have trucks with no coupler pockets, and the original "pizza cutter" wheels.  The latter might affect the measured height.

EDIT:  Not easy for me to measure, given the complex shape.  However, assuming you want the height of the top (mating surface) of the truck bolster assembly to the top of the railhead.  I measured .932" caboose height with trucks (from roofwalk to rail head), minus .750" caboose height without trucks (from roofwalk to bolster surface on bottom of the caboose frame), equals .182" (which should be truck bolster surface to rail head).  The rail is 1980s Peco  code 70, and the trucks are 1980s-era Micro-Trains caboose trucks with "pizza cutters".  Numerous possible variables here obviously, including the contact point between the tire of the wheel and the rail, and the big one which is that neither measurement was a full-pressure contact measurement with the dial calipers. 

MH

[Lemosteam]

If this is the truck which comes with the MT wood-sheathed caboose, I could measure one for you.  Not clear what exactly you want measured, however.  Mine have trucks with no coupler pockets, and the original "pizza cutter" wheels.  The latter might affect the measured height.

EDIT:  Not easy for me to measure, given the complex shape.  However, assuming you want the height of the top (mating surface) of the truck bolster assembly to the top of the railhead.  I measured .932" caboose height with trucks (from roofwalk to rail head), minus .750" caboose height without trucks (from roofwalk to bolster surface on bottom of the caboose frame), equals .182" (which should be truck bolster surface to rail head).  The rail is 1980s Peco  code 70, and the trucks are 1980s-era Micro-Trains caboose trucks with "pizza cutters".  Numerous possible variables here obviously, including the contact point between the tire of the wheel and the rail, and the big one which is that neither measurement was a full-pressure contact measurement with the dial calipers. 

MH

Mark your assumptions are correct. and the 0.182" number will be close enough.  Thanks very much.  What I typically do with a truck removed is place a brass strip across the rails and between the wheels, measure down through the bolster pin hole using the height gage with the caliper end on top of the bolster down to the strip. Then I measure the strip thickness and add it to the measured number.