Bill and Others:
If you are referring to Frank Krummel, the Second Trick Zephyr Pit Foreman
in the seventies, I have bad news. I lost contact with Frank about 1979 and
learned that he quite unexpectedly and prematurely passed away in the early
eighties.
You are correct about the trucks, Bill. As I compare the Q truck to the
others in a RTA diagram book, I see that many carriers used Commonwealth
trucks with I beam equalizers and Inside swing hangers, but in addition to
the bolster roll stabilizers note that the Q trucks had more springs than
other. In the case of the Milw Road, Q cars had twice the number of bolster
and equalizer springs. All springs are not equal either, the springs on the
700 were of a Q design.
Would the more rapid truck wear on control cars be due to the additional
work the truck does? As the first truck of the eastbound train, those trucks
lead into each curve, turnout, and even guide the following trucks on
tangents. Located closest to the automatic brake valve during eastbound
movements, that truck would also be the first to set up and therefore,
intially carry handle braking energy. Makes sense to me.
Ed DeRouin
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