Why did my axle break?

[jim galli]

Thanks so much for all the answers. I'm lucky. It happened at home in the driveway, and I have a parts rear end in the back yard that still has it's drums on. When I get it all dis-assembled I'll do some good pics of the break along with whatever other evidence I can see then.

Yes, it's remarkable that we're running around in these almost 100 years later with so few problems. A testament to good engineering and materials.