ALthough my RTR stock and the two Athern kit cars I have built run ok on my small relatively flat layout, I have come to the conclusion I should aquire two things.
One is a coupler guage. Although they are not all exactly at the same height, the couplers do fine for me. Only one car sometimes comes uncoupled, in various places for no apparent reason other than it may be just off enough to come uncoupled. I only have a 1" 2% grade variation from the foam prarie. I understand shiming, I think. Where to insert it can be a question. Taking away can be another question.
The second thing I should have is the wheel/track guage thingy. I can replace a section of track not in guage, or maybe bend the rails? ANd the wheels, I see that people check them, find them out of guage and “adjust” them for “trouble free” operation.
My DUMB question(s) is : HOW? Aren’t plastic wheels and the axles molded together? DO the wheels (plastic and metal) then just slide back and forth on the axles for adjustment? If I slide them back and forth to adjust them, is there another tool for this so I can be sure I have moved the entire wheel evenly and do not creat a new wobble in the wheel itself? I may not be good a fine adjustments, if only a millimeter or fraction thereof is needed, how do I avoid overadjusting and constant readjusting? What about the drive wheels on a loco, should I find them out of guage, how do I adjust those? Do I have to adjust the frame then too? Does the sun always shine on your railroad?
Thank you in advance for all answers, correcting advice, information and experience with these matters.
A coupler gauge is one of the best things you can have. Even if your couplers all seem to work fine, tuning them up a bit is still a good idea. In particular, if you are using magnets for uncoupling, then getting them all set up properly will allow magnetic uncoupling to work when you want it to, and not happen when you don’t. Kadee makes a tool called “trip pin pliers” for adjusting the hanging “hose” which actually activates the couplers magnetically.
To lower a coupler, you would typically add a shim (just a thin piece of styrene, usually) between the car frame and the coupler pocket. To raise a coupler, add a thin washer between the truck and its supporting bolster.
Yes, some all-plastic wheelsets are molded together as a single piece. If they are out of gauge, take them out of service, paint them rusty and use them for a gondola load. Most wheels will slide along the axles a bit with a great deal of careful prodding, though.
Most of my kits (Athearn,Accurail,Walthers) all have metal axles with plastic wheels and are adjustable. Where you run into problems is plastic/plastic wheels sets. I think even my cheap Bachman RTR are adjustable.
Do yourself a favor and invest in the gauges. It makes trouble shooting much easier.
Okay, can we go on to the metal wheels on locomotives, such as steamers and tender, and how about the metal wheels on BLI coal hoppers? I have found one or two that pick a particular point…yup, just the one tip where all others pass by without a hitch. Do you think I can stretch the axle or get those wheels to move apart? Not on your nelly. Is there a tool that I should have? Will that tool break axles potentially since it seems that I came close to doing that before my fingers gave out?
Some replacement wheel sets, such as P2K, are easily manipulated. Them BLI ones are killers!
The NWSL wheel puller is just exactly what you need if you are going to get serious about gauging wheelsets. It is precision enough to make a 0.002" change (that is small). And yes, it works in both directions. The ONLY way to address any steam loco driver issue.
Most plastic wheels are ‘pressed’ onto metal axles. Adjustments need to be equal to both ends. Sometimes wheels can be rotated and adjusted by hand, Better to use A NWSL wheel press.
One learns to avoid manufacturers that sell out-of gage wheelsets (or learn to fix them). NWSL sells wheelsets for older Athearn Dieels. Replacing Steam is far more difficult due to siderods.
Cheaper prefab track is generally wide - using wheel width to stay on track. Hand spiking is preferred to Bending for correcting gauge.
KNUCKLE COUPLERS require a good ‘handshake’ to work well - gather and ‘hang on’ - so matching heights is important. A Kadee Couper gauge is highly recommended.
Get the Kadee coupler gauge. The newer ones assemble easily – Screw the no. 5 or no 58 coupler to the gauge. If you use the scale-size couplers, get a gauge with the 58 coupler installed, and make sure equipment matches it exactly. The knuckles are smaller, less room for error.
The NMRA gauge is necessary. If you have a problem spot, check it out with the gauges. Check the cars too. Many of the Athearn-MDC axles with plastic wheels can be adjusted. Get a pair of latex or nitrile gloves. These will give enough grip to adjust the wheels on the axle by hand. The wheels are an interference fit on the axles, so small movements are easy enough, with moving too far. I usually replace with IM wheels, haven’t had problems with them.