I purchased 5 amtrack 85’ lighted budd cars off ebay for an amazing deal…I am still stoked… however… they roll like lead logs with square wheels… no engine I have can pull them… at most I can pull two cars but it looks terrible. Does anyone else have or have had this issue? I notice the truck/wheels are special for this type of car … any ideas or suggestions? Even the brand new car …one out of the 5 cars was bran new…rolls sluggish and rough.
Who made the cars? Is this manufacturer still in business? Since your handle is “N Scale Florida” I will assume your cars are N scale. More info would be helpful.
I would look into replacing the trucks with better trucks as replacing wheels in bad trucks will not help. Since I’m HO and not N, I don’t know what is available in N scale.
bachmann brand…and yes they are the amtrak cars… i thought about considering replacing the trucks, but even the trucks/wheels on the new car are sluggish. Is that just how these cars are? Is that why I got such a great deal on them? lol… everyone else new not to bid… lol.
If the trucks are similar to the ones on the HO cars, me thinks a tiny puff of powdered graphite (the kind locksmiths use) may be useful.
I suppose it is not unusual for new product to need a little wearing in as it were. IIRC there may be a brass strip that holds the wheel axles from falling out and of course also provide electrical pickup. If so perhaps a little spray of a lubricating circuit cleaner may be in order.
Also look for burs on the truck castings. You may need to remove the wheel sets and adjust the holes with a file (again if they are like the HO variety). I would not go overboard with that since you cannot undo it. I guess I would prefer to let an hour of track time wear it in instead.
Are the cars heavy enough. Maybe they are not heavy enough to overcome the friction imposed by the plastic truck, and the wheels are in fact dragging.
ROAR
Kadee Greas-Em is the same powdered graphite, ask at your hobby shop
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/380-231
I meant to say N scale, not Amtrak Cars. No, don’t replace with the same Bachmann trucks, as from what you say, it appears the Bachmann trucks ARE the problem!
I’m HO, where after market trucks and wheels are readily available. I would invest in the Walther’s N Scale Catalog to see if after market trucks are avalable.
I have found over the many years I’ve been in this hobby that Bachmann equipment can be pretty "Hit and Miss, as far as quality is concerned, especially their older offerings.
Sounds like you need to speak to N Scalers about this very common problem…
This may be a breech of forum etiquette but,IMHO you need specialized help.
http://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=22c24b81aa400df58ab3109cc2cbb4ff&board=1.0
I have a half dozen of the older Bachmann Amfleet cars and they too roll with great reluctance. Graphite in the bearings has not improved things much. What I have not tried is that tool meant to reem out the bearing in the truck and smooth it out. I do not know if there is anything comparable for N scale but a very small Phillips screwdriver might do the trick.
I only bought them because for reasons I no longer recall I purchased an early version of the Proto 2000 F40PH and thought a train of Amfleet cars would look nice behind them, so I really am not inclined to purchase the better looking and rolling Walthers cars since everything Amtrak is way out of my real era.
Dave Nelson
The MIcro-Mark truck tuner is what you need. Simple and effective, it’s one of those tools everyone should have.
My only suggestion beyond “get one” is to have a well-defined place to put it when you’re done with it. It’s a small tool and easily misplaced on your bench.
Mr. B,
Is the Truck Tuner available for N gauge now? The original was HO. I’m not paying attention to N, because I’m good, but just don’t recall if they ever came out with N or not.
Another possibility on these trucks…Maybe someone used a non-plastic compatible lube on them? Although it seems like the OP is not the only one who has noticed an issue with these cars.
The truck tuner is made for HO. But, the only thing that makes it HO is the length. If you can dismantle an N-scale truck, you can still use the tuner, although you must be careful to keep it aligned with the truck face since you don’t have the other side of the truck to hold it in place properly.
If the OP is talking about Bachmann’s Amfleet cars, the trucks are models of inside bearing trucks, so the usual needle-point axles - and the associated tuning tips - won’t work.
I have the HO cars from years ago and they are quite sluggish, but the old American GK E60CP I have can haul four or five of them without too much trouble.
Other than making sure all bearing surfaces are as smooth as possible, there isn’t much to do for them.
And I don’t know of anyone making aftermarket models of these trucks.
Maybe something could be done with bearings designed for steam locos …
Eric
I just went to Caboose Hobbies to see what they offered in passenger car trucks in N Scale. I found quite a few passenger car trucks available, both in 4 and 6 wheel styles. They may not be the ones used on the Amfleet cars and I guess if you must remain true to scale and can’t use a different truck, then your stuck with what Bachmann provided you. If you can live with different trucks and understand the of the 1,000 people who visit your layout only 1/2 of a person will know that you have the wrong trucks on your cars and it’s my understanding that he/she doesn’t talk to the other 1/2 a person, so I still think your good.
Do these trucks I found roll better than what you have? There comes a time (even on the internet) where a person has to do some of the research on their own!
Your welcome!
If the OP would like to be further discouraged, read what others have to say about these poor rolling cars.
http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=11375
It seems that nothing can be done to truly improve the performance of these poorly designed cars and trucks.
Rich
Maybe but,I’m from the old school and fully believe there’s nothing that can’t be fixed by some old fashion Yankee engineering and kimchi rigging…[:O]
You’re right Eric, I forgot that - I have not even glanced at those cars in years and years. In fact I just went looking for them to examine the inside bearing surface (probably that somewhat soft plastic Bachmann used for truck sideframes back then) and they’re gone. I must have unloaded them on some lucky purchaser at a swap meet. There is no better place than a swap meet to see the “greater fool” theory at work.
Dave Nelson
I am also an HO person, but I agree with NP2626
I am sure there are things that I do or have done …as far as trucks, wheels, etc… with my models that are not “exactly correct”, but I enjoy running trains…and if “wrong” makes them run better, then so be it
I have to agree, remove the trucks and replace them. There is always a way. They will either roll better or not. Other wise they will just sit around and not get used.
OK, here’s the deal:
Amfleets do indeed use inside-bearing trucks, which are effectively impossible to model without resulting in more axle friction than outside-bearing trucks. Even the nice trucks on Kato’s terrific Amfleet 2s have more friction than most cars using outside-bearing trucks. The Bachmann trucks are worse than the Katos, in part because they also serve to power the car lights (though I thought that the newest ones released a couple of years ago had improved trucks).
I know you can order Kato Amfleet wheelsets from Kato USA, but I don’t think you can get complete Amfleet trucks. Even if you could, it is unlikely that the Kato truck would fit the Bachmann car without major alterations to one or both.
Assuming the Amfleets at issue are the older ones, you might want to look into whether Bachmann has newer (presumably better) trucks for their Amfleets available for sale. Otherwise I think you might just want to work with the Bachmann trucks to see if you can get any improvement.
Juan
There certainly seems to be two mindsets, here: One feels nothing can be done; or, you have to stick with what the OEM has provided. The other is that there is nothing made, that can’t be improved upon with a little re-thinking and re-engineering! This second mindset likely comes from years of experience in this hobby; or, the hobby of building models and coming from a time when alomost everything available was available in kit form and had to be built. There is also the clear understanding of the rewards found from doing so.
I am thankfully from this second group. Those in the first group can surely send those of us in the second group you problem equipment and we will repair for you, for a price.