just curioius as to the quality of the trucks that come with Accurails freight car kits what do folks think of the crispness of the detail and are they an improvement over say the old Athearn a
nd MDC trucks of yeas ago,of course i sure their not in the same league as KADEE sprung trucks but pricewise was wondering how they compare on relatively smooth track.
My Accurail covered hopper runs great on 18" radius curves. I really don’t see any problems. If you run long trains you might have to use a truck tuner, but then you have to be careful how your track is laid or you might have a few cars rolling on their own.
If you have a problem with a truck when you buy the kit, just email Accurail, and they will fix it. I haven’t had any problems with the trucks, just a missing wheelset once. Accurail’s costumer service the best.
A vast improvement over most older trucks, and they’re more realistic than Kadee’s sprung trucks with their see-through two-spring set-up, which is not especially prototypical. If I’m not mistaken, though, Kadee is now offering some of their trucks in non-sprung, but fully equalised versions.
In my opinion, the appearance of Accurail’s Andrews truck is the equal of Tahoe’s version (although some prefer the latter’s metal wheelsets).
A modified Accurail car with Accurail Andrews trucks:
A modified Train Miniature car with Tahoe Andrews trucks:
Wayne
The Ann Arbor boxcar is an Accurail model. I’ve painted and weathered the trucks with powders, used the Micro Mark Truck Tuner, and upgraded to Intermountain metal wheels. (Click on the picture for a larger image.)
I’ve got a number of Accurail kits, and I’m always happy with them. I always replace plastic wheels, though, regardless of who made the model and what trucks they come with.
I have tons of Accurail kits, never felt the need to repalce the trucks. They are well formed and pretty detailed for one piece castings. Weather then like the good doctor, or even just spraying them with grimy black like I do kills the shine and pops the detail. I DO replace the plastic wheelsets with metal wheels, I won;t run plastic wheels on my layout. Proto 2000 wheelsets fit perfectly. Use The Tool from Micro-Mark to make sure there is no flash in the bearing area, and they roll as good as anything.
–Randy
Many of Intermountain’s boxcar kits are also packaged with Accurail trucks.
I find nothing wrong with them, although I will replace the plastic wheels with metal wheelsets.
The trucks themselves are fine, but I usually change the wheelsets for metal (but I’m converting to semi-scale wheels so would change them anyway). At least some of the older models used a friction pin to hold the trucks on. That doesn’t always work great, but you can substitute a 2-56 screw pretty easily.
I have quite a few cars with Accurail trucks. None retain the stock one-piece plastic wheelsets that wobble and otherwise don’t perform especially well. ExactRail and Intermountain machined metal wheels fit and roll nicely. With the wheelsets replaced performance is on par with anything else.
Detail is similar or somewhat below equivalent Athearn or MDC trucks. Tooling isn’t very crisp at all, and the roller bearing versions especially are not what I’d consider to be well executed.
The above image is from Accurail’s site. The springs, bolster, and roller bearing caps are quite poorly rendered.
By way of comparison, here’s Kadee’s version of the same truck (the all-plastic variety with cast-in springs). Every aspect of the tooling is crisper than Accurail’s. I have a few of these, and they roll extremely well, much better than the Kadee metal trucks.
Above is ExactRail’s model of an ASF 100-ton truck. Again compare to Accurail. These come with machined wheelsets and work great.
Decide for yourself what you think of the compromises between detail and cost. I haven’t been replacing Accurail trucks under my cars that came with them unless dictated by other concerns (e.g. the car doesn’t work with them, changing solid bearing for roller bearing). As noted above, I consider Accurail’s plastic wheels to be unacceptable, but you can buy the trucks in bulk without wheels and add your own.
I’ve never felt the need to replace Accurail truck, either. I do replace the wheel sets with Proto 2000 wheel sets. I feel Accurail trucks roll freely and fit the wheel sets I use very well.
One of the great things about Accurail is that it is great quality for an affordable price. It is like comparing a base model Chevy to a Cadillac, yes the Cadillac is nicer and better, but the Chevy is still going to get you around, and is still great. I use the plastic wheelsets with no problem, they work well with the trucks. I think the trucks are great an they work well. I might upgrade those wheelsets to metal ones, but I current am saving for more rolling stock and some structures. My advice, if your on a tight budget, and it works, don’t fix it.
Wish to thank all for their positive input, All my trucks either already have or will be equipped with Intermountain wheel sets as they are mandated within our club,Seeing as our layout is a fair size affair 20x50 with 40-42 inch radius corves and a 1 1/2% ruling grade the metal wheels give us the opportunity to run 80 to 100 car trains on rare occasions
Here are a few pictures taken quite some time ago,pleased to say we’ve come quite a ways since these shots were taken. such as theres now a large SP style roundhouse and backshop complex in the finishing stages to complement the pictured Diamond Scale Turntable and all the mountain scenery has been finished.
