The following inquiry was today received from Bruno Sanches, a good friend living in Brazil. Bruno is very involved with ABPF, the Brazilian equivalent of NRHS here in USA.

If you or someone you know is willing and able to reply to this question, please reply. Please PM me for Bruno's email address.
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TRS

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Bruno Sanches - ABPF
To: TRS
Sent: Sunday, June 12, 2022 at 08:10:56 AM PDT
Subject: Passenger car wood trucks (bogies)

Hi TRS,

some ABPF passenger cars still use wood trucks (bogies) frame. Do you know any railroad in USA (or Europe) that still has this in operation?

If yes, do you have contacts there with the maintenance people? We are having a hard time here trying to prove that they are still safe under controlled conditions...

Thank you
Bruno Sanches
Cruzeiro - SP, Brazil
========================
ABPF Cruzeiro (Portuguese): https://www.abpf.com.br/cruzeiro/

Back in the dark ages when I was at Georgetown Loop we got some wood framed LA&RB trucks from the WP&Y - they decided to replace them with steel on their cars. Perhaps the critical condition was the difference between being federally regulated and insular? In any case they gave me no problem apart from compressing the springs without the right tools. In Savannah we got an old C of G business car with wood framed trucks which had been in use for a long while before coming into a private collection in Alabama. Wood framed trucks under wood framed light weight cars had a long and productive history. I wonder if John Hankey's excellent volumes might have some more technical information? I'll dig through my old cyclopedias when I get a chance as well. Maybe the Carter Bros guys or Colorado RR Museum can chime in as well........ both have built them new.

We have some coaches in Denmark that were built with wooden bogie frames (truck frames), as late as after WW2. Some are preserved in serviceable condition. They are "Litra CL".

There are no special rules. Everything is grandfathered, and all our rules state that if the vehicle was in service before 1996, it is accepted into traffic as heritage equipment.

https://www.jernbanen.dk/dsb_pvognfotos.php?Aar=1941&litra=CL&typenr=

The Strasburg Rail Road has at least two pieces of equipment with wooden trucks. The East Broad Top also has equipment with wooden trucks.