I have a 12 car set of EC Car Shop Coal Porters. I need to change the wheel sets on them. What would be the best to use. Do I need to change the trucks or can i get by with just changing the wheels set?
Donald
I have a few of the E&C shops Coal Porters, (as well as the later LBF CO Coal porters which are incidently the same tooling) My exprerience with my Coal Porters are that the trucks themselvs need to be replaced. The trucks in my three E&C kits are actually warped. At the time I bought the replacement trucks all I could find were MDC 100 ton Roller Bearing Trucks and I bought a package of Intermountain Wheels to put in them, However since then Athearn Genisis has offered their 100 Ton Roller Bearing Trucks with operating rotating end caps. If I had to do it now, thats what I would use.
James.
I own several hundred of the LBF/E&C coalporter and they are generally good cars. The trucks however need to be replaced in almost every case. Early on, I sanded the inside of the truck frame to prevent the truck frame from rubbing on the wheelface. Another reason that I am looking to raplce the trucks is thee rather crude level of detail and excess casting flash.
As I have time and money, I plan to replace all of the truck with either Walthers or Intermountain Trucks. The Genesis trucks are nice, but they are a bit expensive and the narrow wheel flanges can be chaqllenging if you have any problems in your track work.