Posted By CCSII on 04/04/2008 5:24 PM
Here I am approaching two thirds of a century old and I didn't realize that blind drivers were prototypical!
Are our models accurate (Connie - two blind drivers etc.?) What did the real RR's do?
The real railroads had the same problems. The Baltimore & Ohio had some particularly tight curves - which is what happens when you're the first guy on the block to get a train and you don't realise just how big them locos are going to get.

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If you visit the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore (highly recommended) you'll find a 4-6-0, "Thatcher Perkins" which looks like this (click on the second thumbnail of the 4-6-0):
http://www.toytrains1.com/museum-bo.htm
If you look really closely, you'll see the tires on the front two drivers look a bit thicker than the one on the back. That's because this loco had blind drivers on the front two axles. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/w00t.gif" border=0>" border=0>
Unlike most 4-6-0 types, the front pilot truck has a rigid pivot and that keeps the drivers over the rails. (Most 4-6-0s have a pilot that can move from side to side, as the drivers have flanges.)
You will also find the 4-4-0, "William Mason", which looks like this:
(Here disguised as 'Wanderer' for the Wild Wild West movie.) It also is missing the flanges on the front drivers.