Seems a simple matter to replace a truck. It often is with standard gauge cars.In narrowgauge, where you often have to pick your own truck with at best a suggestion from the kit mfg, it can be a project in itself. The truck, the way it mounts and the relationship between it and coupler mounting height all hvae to be taken account of.
If you do change a truck from what the mfg provides, take into account these physical specs for best rersults when substituting.
Been on a model railroad club and cleaned and fixed a ton of cars and every wheel arrangement out there, replacement is not necessary unless you find serious faults. I have scraped off layers of dirt off of treads where you wondered “why is this derailing?” now see why…8-D Clean dirt out of the axles with alcohol, lube them up, an average truck can run just fine, make sure the hold down screw is just tight enough, one screw can be smei-tightish, the other on the loose side for wobble. Sprung trucks maybe less loose. We had a tester track for car inspection pop one side up a bit for a rolling test, kadee height checkers on each end and a delayed magnet in the middle to check couplers. Everything had to work properly to run on the layout. Your choice of trucks/wheels is a decision how you operate/needs. Long trains really need free rolling wheels unless you have a Bowser big boy.
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I am not familiar with this term. What is an 8-D cleanout?
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-Kevin
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I’m changing wheelsets but not trucks. I want to eventually have all my cars equipped with semi-scale wheels. First priority is changing the older cars that came with plastic wheels, then I’ll replace the wider-wheel metal wheelsets. Only cars I’ve had to change trucks on are the Walthers “Minnesota” ore cars. I replaced them with Proto trucks (starting back when Proto was still Life-Like) as they’re much freer rolling than the Walthers trucks that come with the ore cars.
Or two Hobbytown RS-3s.[:-,] Of course three Atlas RS-3 or GP7s can pull a long train…
My Athearn trucks with plastic wheels was smooth rollers until the gook started to build up.Metal wheels stopped that problem.
Personally I will not use semi scale wheels.
First, they are simply not smooth rolling through most manufactured turnouts or other NMRA standard turnouts/crossings.
Second they leave a big unprotypical gap between the side frame and the wheel. Without narrowing the trucks, you are just trading one out of scale appearance for another.
While oversized, the existing wheel side frame relationship of trucks with 110 wheels is more in proportion.
I don’t use semi scale couplers either, they don’t have enough side to side gathering range for NMRA track/truck side play and they require extra force when coupling to regular Kadee couplers.
Just my view,
Sheldon
I have two cars with semi scale wheels. It will be interesting to see if I have problems with them. I suppose it is possible that since they will almost always be coupled to cars having the more normal NMRA standards wheels that the cars with semi-scale wheels will be pulled through any problem areas and work just fine, whereas an entire layout of semi scale wheeled cars might have more problems. Yet a good buddy has nearly a 50/50 mix of semi scale and NMRA wheels on this layouts and even in his Atlas turnout-equipped staging yard (the rest of the layout is handlaid) he reports few if any problems.
Remember, wheels narrower than NMRA standards have been present ever since the days of brass locomotives, and as Linn Westcott once said in an editorial about wheels, in theory this should be causing all sorts of problems – but is anyone actually having those problems?
Dave Nelson
Agreed,
A derailment is one level of “problem”, cars rocking as they go through turnouts is another level of “problem” …
Sheldon
Well, I have almost from the beginning 55+ years ago replaced my wheelsets with Kadees. I have used some InterMountain sets but prefer Kadee.
My trucks are generally stock. If I do replace them I prefer, DUH, Kadee but I’ve used Tichy, Tahoe, Central Valley and still have quite a few old sprung Varney and Athern. Using a Micro Mark axle tuner helps a lot.
Roger Huber
Deer Creek Locomotive Works
I have only replaced the trucks on one car ever. !http://www.trainweb.org/lonewolfsantafe/up217021.jpgThis McKean center beam had the worst stock wheels ever. I guess they thought that everyone would replace the wheels by default. I just replaced the trucks too while I was at it with Walthers roller bearing trucks w 33 metal wheels 933-1007 which I paid $2.76 in 1990s dollars.
I have several Tyco and other toy brand cars from my first train set turned layout. They still have their original trucks from the 1970s. However the talgo couplers have been cut off and replaced with body mounted Kadee #5 couplers which I mounted on a styrene shim to make the correct height.
Currently I am about to replace the wheels on some freight cars which came with the wrong height wheels. I’m just going to replace the wheels, not the trucks. It’s too expensive. Apparently Walthers center beams have 33” wheels but they are supposed to have 36” wheels, or so I’ve heard. I know the couplers are the wrong height so that makes sense. Also Walther enclosed auto carrier kits have 33” wheels but I think they are supposed to have 28” wheels.
I was using KD to replace plastic wheels, but changed to Intermountain (same as Reboxx, I think) after reading many discussions.
For all resin freightcar kits, and to replace all OEM trucks I didn’t like, I use Tahoe trucks. They have maybe the best variety of correct choices for 1900-1960, and are sized for Intermountain wheel axles. Don’t often seem to need the truck tuner (and never oil) for free-spinning.
Don’t care for metal axles in metal trucks, like Walthers uses for passenger cars; seem to be difficult sometimes to get to run really free, and maybe squeak unless oiled. I replaced Walthers six-wheel trucks with Branchline with way better results and no need for oil.
Hal
I replace all sprung trucks (with actual springs) with non-sprung trucks. I am working on a model of a Boston and Maine commuter coach using a Branchline coach as a starting point, for this I need different trucks (replacing Branchline with Walthers Pullman standard 8’ truck). There is an American Model Builders bolster modification kit that allows you to do this.
My PWRS covered hoppers came with code 88 wheel sets, no issues running over NMRA compliant track.
You can send me your sprung trucks…
Sheldon
I replace all rigid trucks with sprung ones, mainly Kadees. In my experience they provide better tracking.
When I start building my last layout, I’ll be experimenting with narrower wheelsets, which should roll through my Fasttracks turnouts just fine.
I don’t go looking for problem. As long as the factory trucks work they will stay. Now wheelsets and couplers get changed to metal wheels and usually Kadee 148 Coupler.
I model the pre-USRA period, so Roundhouse Old Timer freight cars make up a large portion of my rolling stock. These typically come with plastic arch bar trucks and wheels, and I always replace the plastic wheels with metal, usually Kadee code 110.
As the Pre-USRA period was a time when there were many types of trucks available, usually variations of archbar and fox trucks; for variety, on a few cars, I’ll swap out the Roundhouse trucks with other versions sold by Bethlehem Car Works.
Jim
The Penn Western is a modern era, freight only layout. I change almost all freight car trucks to my standard - Athearn Genesis 70 and 100 ton with 0.088" wheelsets and rotating bearings. Biggest problem is non-standard bolsters. Height is off, bolster pin is too large, or bolster surface is a proprietary shape. Takes a while to do. Chinese engineering? May change the end trucks on a double stack articulated car, but not the intermediate 38" trucks. The narrow wheelsets work just fine on both handlaid and Shinohara code 70 track.
Only if the wheels are bad, out of gauge, or stiff.