Four-wheel / six-wheel trucks & kingpin holes

On most model 6-wheel trucks, the kingpin is offset from the center (i.e. not in line with the middle axle) to allow accessfor a screwdriver or other tool, whereas no offset is needed for 4-wheel trucks so the kingpin is almost always centered.

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All pictures of prototype 4 and 6 wheel passenger car trucks I have seen have the kingpin centered with respect to the axles. Gary Q

Thanks, that makes perfect sense.

That makes sense, too. The prototypes would probably have their support points at the same location regardless of how many wheels it rose on.

Not always. Older 6-wheel trucks have an H-shaped bolster, with four radial bearers, whereas 4-wheel trucks usually only have two.

6-wheel trucks usually had longer wheelbases than 4-wheel trucks, so sometimes the bolster/kingpin could NOT be physically mounted as close to the ends of the cars.

Normally the prototype bolster will be in the center of the truck as others have stated. On models with 6-wheel trucks it's often off-center on the truck (which likewise then affects the bolster location). This could be to allow access to the kingpin for truck removal, or to alter the 'swing' characteristics of the trucks for clearance reasons on sharp curves. Usually the kingpin, if offset, will be offset toward the outer ends of the car. This causes the outer ends of the truck to swing sideways less when the truck pivots (and the inner ends to swing more). This may reduce interference with end steps or other details, depending on their location.

Dan Mitchell ==========

Mark Mathu wrote:

6 wheel trucks are longer so the centres would be moved in towards the center of the vehicle if you want to retain end steps. The pivot pin of the 4 wheel truck can be (and should be) at the center of the truck, but the 6 wheel truck is going to have an axle there.

In addition, getting the truck to the proper end of the car means that the 4 wheel truck, being shorter, needs the kingpin closer to the end of the car. The 6 wheel truck should rotate about the center of the truck but many manufacturers make the truck's kingpin offset for many reasons, not the least of which is to be able to easily put the kingpin in as the center wheelset is directly under the proper position of the kingpin.

-- Bob May Losing weight is easy! If you ever want to lose weight, eat and drink less. Works every time it is tried!

Mark,what has the above got to do with king pin location being off centre ?

Mark Mathu wrote, "prototypes would probably have their support points at the same location regardless of how many wheels it rode on". Carbodies are supported by more than just the bogie centres. Radial bearers also support the carbody. The location and number of radial bearers can differ between four and six- wheel bogies.