Sideway motion of metal wheels in HO trucks.

[tr1]

What is the acceptable sideway motion 1/16",1/32"? or it does not matter?
Thank you for your response.

 

[Smudge617]

I have to be honest, I've never thought about it, it'll be interesting to hear what other members think.

 

[santafewillie]

I am not sure that it matters as long as the wheels are in gauge with each other. I think that they would self-center regardless of the side play. Too little side play will cause binding. The axle endpoints should not be touching the inside point of the side frame. Use a truck tuner on plastic side frames if you think that they are too tight. In reality, only a tiny arc on top of the axle end is actually making contact with the side frame.

 

[747flier]

I would guess less than 1 mm. Too much play will allow wheels to not properly "track" which could cause issues at curves and turnouts.

 

[tr1]

Thank you sir for your response.

I am not sure that it matters as long as the wheels are in gauge with each other. I think that they would self-center regardless of the side play. Too little side play will cause binding. The axle endpoints should not be touching the inside point of the side frame. Use a truck tuner on plastic side frames if you think that they are too tight. In reality, only a tiny arc on top of the axle end is actually making contact with the side frame.

 

[tr1]

Thank you for your reply!

 

[D&J RailRoad]

The other concern is wheel contact with the truck side frame. If the truck is metal and is in full contact with one of the rails, the other side of the truck will short out against the face of the wheel if contact is made. Of course, the axels would have to be plastic or non-conductive.