Model Railroad Hobbyist | September 2016 | #79 GETTING REAL column Tony Thompson Accurate modeling of individual trucks requires knowing the prototype For lots of modelers, trucks are like couplers. They are essential for operation, and as long as they look more or less okay and operate correctly, no further attention is necessary. But in fact trucks are a complicated and interest- ing topic, one that deserves a little examination. I will explore briefly both the prototype and model aspects of the subject in this column. Understanding the design and history of prototype freight car trucks is an entire topic by itself, as Richard Hendrickson mas- terfully showed in his article in the May 2013 issue of Model Railroad Hobbyist, and complementing that article is a parallel work of Richard’s, showing the HO scale equivalents of many of the prototype trucks. The latter is available on Google Drive at this link: XX MODELING REAL RAILROADS AND WHAT THEY DO • INDEX • TABLE OF CONTENTS