FWD running gear in Idaho

[Gustaf]

Here are a couple of photos of an FWD running gear we have at our local museum in Idaho, it was converted to a trailer at one time, sadly, there is nothing more than the frame, front and real axel (rear axel is missint the pinion shaft) one tyre is missing but theothers seem to be fairly sound, but worn.

Best

Gus

[Old Bill]

It is amazing what is still out there 90 years later! Thanks for posting, Gus.

 

Steve

[Great War truck]

Thats interesting. I see that it is not just the UK that converts old trucks into trailers.

 

Thanks for posting

 

Tim

[Tony B]

One question, does the metal on the chassis and frames become brittle over time? Something I heard and wonderd about. As for chassis to trailers. There was an old farmer near me had chopped an old truck, welded a tow bar on the front. And left the gear box and back diff in. He then fitted a PTO shaft to the input of the gearbox and attached it to the PTO of the tractor. Made an intresting drive.

[Old Bill]

No, the metal won't change over time. Well, not in these conditions anyway. Up until 1900 or so, it was thought that steel 'crystallised' with age and became brittle leading to unexpected failures. This was actually a symptom of what we now know as 'fatigue' where an item will first crack and then fracture due to a repeated loading with a force which is not actually big enough to cause it to yield. Fatigue cracks start at discontinuities such as holes, welds or sharp corners. Temperature can also have an effect. Steel has a 'Glass Transition Temperature' where it becomes brittle as the temperature drops. Depending on the mix, this can be as high as 0°C. Some 'Liberty' ships were lost during the war due to a combination of the steel type, square hatch corners and being used in the very cold North Atlantic. The hulls suffered brittle fracture and just broke up.

 

Hope this is of interest!

 

Steve

[Tony B]

Thanks Steve, wasn't a cold steel solution proposed for Titanic at one stage? I was wondering , given the other thread on Dennis Springs whether it was part of grease springs argument.

[4x4Founder]

Looks like military paint and has the spoked wheels, which could indicate a license built truck. If these trucks could only talk.....