Metal Wheels


Maxandy

New Member
Greetings - I purchased a set of metal wheels from Kadee(33 inch/Ribbed). I installed on one of my freight cars and noticed that the car did not move freely. Upon close inspection I saw a definite difference in size on the small pin that connects the wheel to the truck. The metal wheels had a slightly larger size than the plastic. Do I need to carve out additional space on the plastic truck to reduce the friction? Everything else appears to be in spec. This may be a very stupid question but I'm kind of new to the hobby. Any help is greatly appreciated. Regards....
 
Maxandy: Not to be a purist, but what era are you modeling? Ribbed wheels were outlawed in 1958 for Interchange service and slowly disappeared from the railroading scene.

The truck tuner that James recommended does work and I have one in my tool chest.

Welcome to the Forum and I'm sure you'll enjoy the comments and advise the membership provides.

Greg
 
not wanting to a nitpicker, but ....
ribbed back wheels went by the wayside in the late 50's, if you model an era later than that, you should be using smooth back wheels ..
secondly, those wheels are made of sintered and pressed metal if i'm not mistaken, other wheels [such as intermountain], are machined, so they are smoother and seem to stay cleaner ..
 
here is what you need...
Thank you. I'll give it a try
not wanting to a nitpicker, but ....
ribbed back wheels went by the wayside in the late 50's, if you model an era later than that, you should be using smooth back wheels ..
secondly, those wheels are made of sintered and pressed metal if i'm not mistaken, other wheels [such as intermountain], are machined, so they are smoother and seem to stay cleaner ..
Please be a nit picker and thank you. The 50s is what i was shooting for.
 
Maxandy: Not to be a purist, but what era are you modeling? Ribbed wheels were outlawed in 1958 for Interchange service and slowly disappeared from the railroading scene.

The truck tuner that James recommended does work and I have one in my tool chest.

Welcome to the Forum and I'm sure you'll enjoy the comments and advise the membership provides.

Greg
Thanks Greg. 50s is the era
 
Maxandy: Not to be a purist, but what era are you modeling? Ribbed wheels were outlawed in 1958 for Interchange service and slowly disappeared from the railroading scene.

The truck tuner that James recommended does work and I have one in my tool chest.

Welcome to the Forum and I'm sure you'll enjoy the comments and advise the membership provides.

Greg
Thanks Greg - why were they ribbed in the first place?
 
not wanting to a nitpicker, but ....
ribbed back wheels went by the wayside in the late 50's, if you model an era later than that, you should be using smooth back wheels ..
secondly, those wheels are made of sintered and pressed metal if i'm not mistaken, other wheels [such as intermountain], are machined, so they are smoother and seem to stay cleaner ..

Speaking of Intermountain wheels.... I am searching and researching wheels as I am just about out of my o'l Proto Wheels sets. I think they are now Walthers wheel sets? Anyhow I was thinking of going to Intermountain. I am just a little leery in buying in bulk when they are in bags and worry about the axels being curved or bent. Your thoughts or anyone's input would appreciated. Or other recommendations ...
 
Speaking of Intermountain wheels.... I am searching and researching wheels as I am just about out of my o'l Proto Wheels sets. I think they are now Walthers wheel sets? Anyhow I was thinking of going to Intermountain. I am just a little leery in buying in bulk when they are in bags and worry about the axels being curved or bent. Your thoughts or anyone's input would appreciated. Or other recommendations ...
I have been buying Walthers bulk packs and have had no problems at all. I have gotten three packs so far.
 
Speaking of Intermountain wheels.... I am just a little leery in buying in bulk when they are in bags and worry about the axels being curved or bent. Your thoughts or anyone's input would appreciated. Or other recommendations ...
I have bought three 100 count wheelset bags so far . i -think- one had a bent axle, the rest were good .. they were about 84 canadian per bag a few years ago
 
James, did you want to stay with Proto or use something else? Of course I don't know how much axle exchanging you do. I looked at several places just now that sell Proto, looked like there are a lot out there, anyway, I was looking, trying to find the length of the axle, (I don't have any of them). I buy by length. I don't do a huge amount of wheel change out, but I want to give the trucks all the advantage I can in good performance, so found that I've needed different length axles. I got a fishing organizer box and assembled a variety of axles to use, I was lucky enough to acquire some Reboxx's some time ago before they basically disappeared. ( Intermountians are top center rt) I measured four Inter. axles and came up with 0.96 to 0.98 for length. I've used axles up to 1.06 inches before in redoing trucks.
IMG_20201122_081932887.jpg
 
Greetings - I purchased a set of metal wheels from Kadee(33 inch/Ribbed). I installed on one of my freight cars and noticed that the car did not move freely. Upon close inspection I saw a definite difference in size on the small pin that connects the wheel to the truck. The metal wheels had a slightly larger size than the plastic. Do I need to carve out additional space on the plastic truck to reduce the friction? Everything else appears to be in spec. This may be a very stupid question but I'm kind of new to the hobby. Any help is greatly appreciated. Regards....
Maxandy - First of all, welcome to the forum. Secondly, not all wheelsets are equal. Kadee for example are 1.015" tip to tip, a bit wider than many others. Intermountain are 1.005", Atlas are .930 or 1.015", and the original P2K are 1.010". The current Proto line which is now owned by Walther's is not the same as the P2K, the axle length is 1.015". Athearns are all over the place depending the freight car parentage of their models, Roundhouse, Details West etc. I have not bought any Athearns specifically, just measured what came in some of their RTR freight cars. After buying Athearn, Horizon Hobbies bought a few other kit manufacturers and now market everything as Athearn RTR.
The truck tuner that several have recommended is a must for any serious modeler. It isn't really meant to gouge out sideframes, but to merely smooth out and remove flash from what is already there. I have never used Jaybee's but they are smaller at .970". Best bet is to measure what came out and match as closely as possible. Undersized is better than oversize. In reality, the sideframe journal only rides on a small portion of the pointed axle end.
Other lengths may be available from the manufacturers that I have listed. There are also other manufacturers that I haven't used like Bowser, Rapido, Reboxx and Northwest.
 
Maxandy - First of all, welcome to the forum. Secondly, not all wheelsets are equal. Kadee for example are 1.015" tip to tip, a bit wider than many others. Intermountain are 1.005", Atlas are .930 or 1.015", and the original P2K are 1.010". The current Proto line which is now owned by Walther's is not the same as the P2K, the axle length is 1.015". Athearns are all over the place depending the freight car parentage of their models, Roundhouse, Details West etc. I have not bought any Athearns specifically, just measured what came in some of their RTR freight cars. After buying Athearn, Horizon Hobbies bought a few other kit manufacturers and now market everything as Athearn RTR.
The truck tuner that several have recommended is a must for any serious modeler. It isn't really meant to gouge out sideframes, but to merely smooth out and remove flash from what is already there. I have never used Jaybee's but they are smaller at .970". Best bet is to measure what came out and match as closely as possible. Undersized is better than oversize. In reality, the sideframe journal only rides on a small portion of the pointed axle end.
Other lengths may be available from the manufacturers that I have listed. There are also other manufacturers that I haven't used like Bowser, Rapido, Reboxx and Northwest.
Willie - Thank you for your detailed reply. I have purchased the truck turner and I'm playing around with that. Kind Regards...
 
Jerry: I have a plastic divider, compartment organizer like the one you showed in your photograph in the Forum. I also keep a collection of various sized screws and nuts, and mini bolts in one section. It sure comes in handy to keep different couplers, wheels and small parts.

I handle the container very carefully hoping not to drop the entire collection on the layout room floor.

I been purchasing Walthers replacement wheel sets since the axles are non-magnetic for easy running over KD uncoupler magnets.

Greg
 



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