Re: Brill Radiax trucks

The last Brill Radiax truck built was for the Third Avenue Railway System in the USA.   It went under a Brill “convertible” Master Unit ca. 1930.   The car was not successful as it derailed on anything but the straightest track.  The car was sidelined within a few years.   Some of you may remember the “Pivs” or Pivotal cars in Leeds, England.  The “truck” was two independent wheel assemblies that were linked together with tie rods.  As the car entered a curve, the 10’ truck would pivot using wheel flanges to steer.  Apparently it worked while the cars were relatively new, but as the linkages and wheel flanges wore, the wheels did not pivot into the curve but the flanges cut into the rail head.  Eventually all of them were reworked to eliminate the pivoting mechanism, becoming the “rigids.”   Many of the cars were re-trucked.   

Tony

On Aug 21, 2024, at 3:06 AM, 'Roger Greenwood' via TramsDownUnder <[email protected]> wrote:

The first line of Mal's post says it all:
The Brill Radiax truck does not seem to have been a huge success, but several Australasian tramways gave it a go in the early 20th century.
Additional to the tramways Mal listed, Brill Radiax trucks saw service in both Hobart and Launceston.
The first Hobart double-decker with partially enclosed vestibules, No 28 built in 1912, was equipped with a long wheelbase version of 11ft. But with premature optimism, the manager, Mr Parker informed the Launceston Municipal Tramways of this remarkable new innovation, inviting them to visit Hobart for an inspection. This duly occurred, the Launceston gentlemen returning home with an enthusiasm they would live to regret. About to embark on construction of three new single truck cars, they perceived that use of long wheelbase trucks would allow for longer saloons, deflecting long-standing criticism of earlier single truck designs with limited saloon capacity.
Their three new trams, Nos 18~20, were equipped with Brill Radiax trucks type 8A with an 11ft wheelbase. Completed in 1914, it wasn't long before the Launceston Municipal Tramways joined those before them who had gone down this path.
The Radiax truck of Hobart No 28 was soon replaced with a Brill 21E truck, not seeing any further service.
The Launceston Municipal Tramways fixed the axles of their Radiax trucks into a 'straight ahead' mode but they remained problematical until the system closed in 1952.
Roger Greenwood

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Mal Rowe
Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2024 12:02 PM
To: TramsDownUnder <[email protected]>
Subject: [TramsDownUnder] Brill Radiax trucks

The Brill Radiax truck does not seem to have been a huge success, but several Australasian tramways gave it a go in the early 20th century.

The Melbourne, Brunswick & Coburg Tramways Trust used them in their second tram design - the T class.

Melbourne Electric Supply Co had them in the Pengelley cars.

Christchurch used them in a series of trailers.

Perhaps the most innovative use of the design was in San Francisco where the long wheelbase allowed the construction of a single truck centre entrance car.

The picture is from facebook.

Mal Rowe - always impressed by the SF Radiax cars.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TramsDownUnder" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tramsdownunder/73c66249-5168-4a8f-86e1-58c1ae834012%40gmail.com.

-- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TramsDownUnder" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected].

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tramsdownunder/000601daf398%249fe03320%24dfa09960%24%40bigpond.com.