Courtesy of Atlas Forum, David Harrison Author.
David,
Since you brought up the locomotive on the MSI layout, I’m curious to know how much wear & tear do the freight & passenger cars recieve? Do they recieve any modifications, such as metal wheelsets & Kadee couplers, before anything is pressed into service?
D.Harrison
Posted - 05/05/2005 : 01:09:19 Show Profile Email Poster Reply with Quote
Car and coach modifications at MSI can be talked about with two words…InterMountain and Kadee. The InterMountain wheelsets are bought by the hundreds. If a new car already has metal wheels, they will be used. Plastic wheels are trashed immediately.
Kadee #5s go on all equipment. If a problem develops and nothing else works, an overset or underset Kadee might be used.
Last weekend I put into service an Athearn RTR flat and since the wannabe coupler had coiled knuckle springs, I thought I’d give 'em a try. Car separated today and upon close examination, the plastic wannabe is bent. If someone would make the wannabe’s out of metal, they’d have a winner.
The InterMountain wheelsets replace anything out on the road that looks like trouble. Neat thing is we never measure IM’s; just pop 'em in. Guess you could call that confidence.
The rolling stock at MSI is determined mainly by the types of trains on the three main lines. The “A” line is usually hosting three Amtrak trains: two long distance trains of SuperLiners and a shorter one with single level coaches.
Walthers almost has a monoply here. Only the Metra coaches use the metal sideframes and we wear out original Walthers wheels within a week. Those trucks get the IM roller bearing wheelsets, as even the regular IM’s will wear out in those Walthers trucks.
On the freight side, there are six trains including a loaded and an empty unit coal train; an intermodal of stacks and trailers; plus a mixed manifest, a multilevel, and a t