mark s posted:Ed - Think the Great Northern truss rod cars were rebuilt with steel underframes, which allowed them to remain in service. The Great Northern ran a perpetual "chop shop", rebuilding equipment continuosly, such as their O8 Mikados which were rebuilt from early 2-6-8-0's.
I'm curious. If the under frames were replaced with steel, wouldn't that eliminate the need for truss rods? The truss rods are to compensate for body sag, correct?