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DGezzere

New Member
Getting back from a 40 year lay off. The difference is just mind blowing. Will start slow and hope to have something going in a couple of months.
HO scale and only starting with 4x8.
Have 2 used switcher and 5 athren bb kits, missing parts. This what I want so I can rebuild and fix what I need to run.
One quick question. One boscar did have a sprung truck, just wondering what is the current best brand of trucks for these units and is kay dee couplers still the best.
Thank you in advance for the input.
 
Welcome back to the World's greatest hobby!
I'm in sort of the same boat as you. No "real" modeling in a long while, and mainly just an armchair modeler.
YES, K'Dee the best couplers. Going to have to ask someone else to advise on the trucks, but again - from my viewpoint- can't beat Kadee's.
 
DGezzere said:
Getting back from a 40 year lay off. The difference is just mind blowing. Will start slow and hope to have something going in a couple of months.
HO scale and only starting with 4x8.
Have 2 used switcher and 5 athren bb kits, missing parts. This what I want so I can rebuild and fix what I need to run.
One quick question. One boscar did have a sprung truck, just wondering what is the current best brand of trucks for these units and is kay dee couplers still the best.
Thank you in advance for the input.
Click to expand...
What Athearn blue box parts are you looking for?
 
While sprung trucks would appear to be the most prototypical, they don't always perform the best in HO scale size. There are a number of brands with solid frames and simulated springs that will work just as well, and often better. Plus if a spring pops out, you don't have to crawl around on the floor with a magnifying glass to try to find the blasted thing! The next thing to look to with trucks is the wheels. While plastic wheels with metal axles that often come with the plastic sideframes would appear to be okay, you are usually better off replacing the wheel/axle set with ones that have metal wheels. The only thing to watch is whether the replacement wheel/axles roll freely in the plastic sideframes. If not, MicroMart sells a reamer that will deepen and correctly angle the insides of the frame holes. May NOT be necessary, but if so, there is the solution. The other thing is how you attach the trucks to the car. Best is to screw one truck in so that it swings freely from side-to-side, and the other loose enough that there is some lateral play.
While many of the new cars and locomotives come with EZ-Mate couplers (which are compatable with Kaydee's, I prefer the Kaydee's. Plus, Kaydee has a bunch of different styles of draftgear for things like four- and six-wheel passenger trucks on AHM/Rivarrosi cars. With the new whisker springs on the stems of some of them you can avoid the use of the brass inserts (although the Athearn bluebox cars may work best with the good ol' #5's.

Welcome back to the hobby. Be sure your heart is in good shape when you see the prices nowadays! :eek: o_O;)
 
trailrider said:
While sprung trucks would appear to be the most prototypical, they don't always perform the best in HO scale size. There are a number of brands with solid frames and simulated springs that will work just as well, and often better. Plus if a spring pops out, you don't have to crawl around on the floor with a magnifying glass to try to find the blasted thing! The next thing to look to with trucks is the wheels. While plastic wheels with metal axles that often come with the plastic sideframes would appear to be okay, you are usually better off replacing the wheel/axle set with ones that have metal wheels. The only thing to watch is whether the replacement wheel/axles roll freely in the plastic sideframes. If not, MicroMart sells a reamer that will deepen and correctly angle the insides of the frame holes. May NOT be necessary, but if so, there is the solution. The other thing is how you attach the trucks to the car. Best is to screw one truck in so that it swings freely from side-to-side, and the other loose enough that there is some lateral play.
While many of the new cars and locomotives come with EZ-Mate couplers (which are compatable with Kaydee's, I prefer the Kaydee's. Plus, Kaydee has a bunch of different styles of draftgear for things like four- and six-wheel passenger trucks on AHM/Rivarrosi cars. With the new whisker springs on the stems of some of them you can avoid the use of the brass inserts (although the Athearn bluebox cars may work best with the good ol' #5's.

Welcome back to the hobby. Be sure your heart is in good shape when you see the prices nowadays! :eek: o_O;)
Click to expand...
Always avoided HO sprung trucks. Never had any luck with them.
 
I try to use nothing but metal sprung trucks dont have any issues as long as you use good switches ( Shinohara or MK I Atlas) and good trackwork . You can find what ever you need ebay or Kadee . Kadee has sprung trucks but I would recommend using Bowser wheelsets ( haven't tried Intermountains ) with metal trucks rather Kadee they'll roll much better . If they're straight hole instead of taper ,you can reline the with taper bearings (Tichy) . Kadee will sell you truck springs by the bucket load. Stick with .110 wheels.
 
I like KD couplers, accurail trucks and intermountain wheelsets.
Welcome back to the hobby, and yes much to catch up on!
 
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GeeTee said:
I try to use nothing but metal sprung trucks dont have any issues as long as you use good switches ( Shinohara or MK I Atlas) and good trackwork . You can find what ever you need ebay or Kadee . Kadee has sprung trucks but I would recommend using Bowser wheelsets ( haven't tried Intermountains ) with metal trucks rather Kadee they'll roll much better . If they're straight hole instead of taper ,you can reline the with taper bearings (Tichy) . Kadee will sell you truck springs by the bucket load. Stick with .110 wheels.
Click to expand...

Generally, I use Intermountain semi-scale code 88 wheels in whatever truck the car came with. I have some really bad, temporary-for-the-last-10-years track and they all work fine. The only trouble with semi-scale wheels was a set of Athearn trucks was just narrow enough to drop into one particular switch. I adjusted the wheelset's gauge and it's all good now.

I don't doubt your experience but I thought part of the reason for using sprung trucks was because they could navigate poor trackwork better. You seem to be saying the opposite so wondering why use them? I like the idea that they work like a real truck but the springs look far too light so I think solid frame trucks look better.
 
kjd said:
I don't doubt your experience but I thought part of the reason for using sprung trucks was because they could navigate poor trackwork better. You seem to be saying the opposite so wondering why use them? I like the idea that they work like a real truck but the springs look far too light so I think solid frame trucks look better.
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Plastic fixed trucks tend to navigate later certain MK model Atlas switches better because of guage issues but they will also derail just less often . Using code 88 instead of 110 will exacerbate the issue and you can't just re-guage without causing other issues. Atlas Snaps actually have less issues. Older Atlas (pre MKII) only need to have the guard throats opened slightly and they are excellent .

Sprung trucks (metal) lower the center of gravity of the car making it less likely to roll , increasing stability , and allowing you to run longer trains.

What sprung trucks wont tolerate is track over gauge. If the track over gauge for even 1/4 of an inch they will drop a wheel , code 88 wheels makes it more likely to happen. Rigid trucks won't drop a wheel ...most of the time , whether or not they do depends on various factors , coupler tension ,wheel width ect.

What rigid trucks wont tolerate is rail head height deviations of one rail to the other , if there's a sudden dip in the outside rail relative to the inside rail , they will derail( this usually happens at rail joints or somebody swung a hammer at a track nail an missed ) .Sprung trucks on the other hand will float and hug the rails .

Some rigid trucks have larger cones and will allow some floating of the wheels making them less likely to derail from rail head height variations , BUT increases the likelyhood of derailment due to over-gauge.
 
DGezzere said:
Have 2 used switcher and 5 athren bb kits, missing parts. This what I want so I can rebuild and fix what I need to run.
Click to expand...
One can find some parts still from Athearn - http://www.athearn.com/Search/Default.aspx?CatId=THC
Or one can go to ebay, or swap meets. Depending on the parts you need, it might be cheaper to buy a second car and cannibalize the parts from it.

One boscar did have a sprung truck, just wondering what is the current best brand of trucks for these units and is kay dee couplers still the best.
Click to expand...
There is no best, as in best looking, best rolling, best tracking, etc in my opinion one only needs good for a generic purpose. Personally since my early years in the hobby (1960s), I had bad luck with the sprung truck type. Too mushy, too tight, too twisty, so I abandon them for the molded plastic type. Personally I would stick with the Athearn standard truck. You know those will properly mount on the BB cars. Others can have have mounting holes that are too large or too small that require modification to the bolster. Many trucks are available on that Athearn web site I posted above. Or once again ebay. I think this is the most common generic Athearn freight truck used on 90% of the 40 year old models.
www.ebay.com

Athearn # 90400 Truck Bettendorf. 33" Metal Wheels (2) HO SCALE MIB | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Athearn # 90400 Truck Bettendorf. 33" Metal Wheels (2) HO SCALE MIB at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com

Finally, Yes, Kadee is still the standard by which all other couplers are measured. Better looking and prototypically operating there are the sergents - but that is a different story.
 
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