Posted by
John Greenly on
Apr 23, 2020; 5:47am
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/Type-C-UP-trucks-tp15497p15540.html
well, I think I can help some with the truck dimensions.
There is significant perspective distortion in the photo of coal car 4637 and flat car 1049. This can be a problem in photos done with the cameras used back then where the lens board may have been set not parallel to the film plane. I can see why Ron Rudnick has puzzled over this, it's really a tough one. In this case it makes the UP truck on the left look longer than it really is. Unfotunately I can't see the entire wheels well enough to do a complete unraveling of this. My best estimate is that the UP truck wheelbase is about 51-53", assuming 26" wheels. The Litchfield truck definitely has smaller wheels, 24" (assuming the UP is 26"), and wheelbase probably 48". Michael, is this maybe why you found the Kaydee wheelsets to be too big for your Litchfield truck? Did you mean the wheel diameter is too big? I just measured one and it is 26" diameter.
The flanger photo is actually a difficult one. The camera was fairly close to the subject, but above and to the left of a straight-on view. You can measure the wheels and see that they are not round in this perspective, and use the measurements to determine the camera angle. A first-order correction, based on 26" wheels, gives a wheelbase of no more than 52".
But, Jim, I'm baffled by your number. What did you measure? Forgetting about perspective correction and just measuring straight off the photo, using the smaller righthand wheel as the reference I get about 53" wheelbase, and using the bigger left wheel gives me 48" wheelbase.
The photo Todd Hackett put up is actually somewhat useable, you can see half of each wheel from center out to the brake shoe, and the perspective is quite simple. This gives about 52" wheelbase with 26" wheels assumed.
So, at present I think that 52" is the best estimate I can make for the UP truck wheelbase. I'm confident that it's larger than 4 ft, really no less than 50", and I don't think it's as big as 54". But I'd like to know how Jim measured for his result.
Gotcha both beat, I'm 71.
John
John Greenly
Lansing, NY