I was wondering if any preservation group in the UK or US has used steel to
replace wooden pillars, or structural members, in the front or rear ends of
wooden bodied rollingstock. I would be interested in corresponding with any
parties who have done this before, to assist in a heritage restoration
project underway in Australia. I intend to only replace the front and rear
ends with an all steel structure, and any positive or negative experiences
would be great to hear from.
To respond, remove the <remove>, or send to daniel...@hotmail.com
Best regards,
Daniel Nightingale
Sydney, Australia
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What I plan to do is, as the steel is only going to be in the front and rear
of the car (it is a railmotor, or railcar), is to use structural steel,
fabricate and test fit, then get the section hot dipped galvanised. Rust is
a big problem here in Australia, hence most (modern) cars are stainless
steel, aluminium or fibreglass.
> I was wondering if any preservation group in the UK or US has used
> steel to replace wooden pillars, or structural members, in the front
> or rear ends of wooden bodied rollingstock.
In the UK it's very unusual to replace wood with steel in
superstructures, since preserved lines don't have any regulatory demand
placed on them that they should. Renewing what is there is far easier.
What is very frequently done, initially on the narrow-gauge lines and
later by standard-gauge ones where all-wooden coaches are being rescued
from use as houses, is to renew the underframe in steel or to strengthen
the original wooden one with steel. Many of the very pretty coaches
converted to holiday homes on the south coast in the 1920s were
six-wheeler bodies (sold off in good condition because they weren't
suitable for conversion to electric stock) and 1950s six-wheeler parcel
van underframes are much sought after for these.
On visits to Australia I have much admired the vintage trains, which have
survived the years far better than their European equivalents.
____ ~ ~ ~~__
_|OO|__[]_[]___\/0 Dan
\___|_________|_|_ Wilson
'oo "-O=O=O-" oo\
dwi...@cix.compulink.co.uk
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Consider a good coat of Rust-oleum primer and paint afterward. I did some
volunteer work at Illinois Railway Museum (irm.org) and Rust-oleum is the
standard treatment for any exterior or hidden metal that is not part of the car
body. Some of their stuff was painted 50 years ago and looks good still. To be
true, it's been barn-kept for the last 20 or so, but still...
Jay
CNS&M North Shore Line - "First and fastest"