I was curious if anyone knows the axle sizes for both Lionel and MTH diesle engines? I have a Lionel Mopac SD-70ACe but would like lower profile wheels with smaller flanges. I know MTH makes scale wheels for their heritage units and was curious if I could adapt the MTH wheelsets to the Lionel engine. I don’t expect to just be able to bolt them in and I don’t expect the gearing to be the same. What I’d like to do if possible is to press the Lionel wheels off of the axles and do the same with the MTH wheels and then press the MTH wheels on the Lionel axles. If they have the same size axle then this shouldn’t be much of an issue. If they aren’t the same size, the hope would be that the Lionel axles would be thicker so I could enlarge the MTH holes to match. Does anyone know if this is possible?
MTH’s “Proto-Scale 3-2”( trade mark) conversion kit ($29.95) is for there power trucks on locomotives that are set up for it. It’s designed for scale, 2 rail operation.
Quote page 138 of the Volume One, 2009 Catalog, (includes exploded view)
“Each kit contains enough wheel sets for (2) power trucks. Wheels are polished, turned metal with scale treads and flange heights. Premounted on metal axles with one insulated side for use on 2 rail O scale track systems. Two wheel sets in each kit contains premounted drive gears.”
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I know exactly what they are. What I’m wondering is can I press the wheels off of the axles and then install them on the Lionel axles after I press those wheels off? I don’t want to try to fit the whole assembly into the Lionel engine. I just want to use the wheels only. This way the axle mounts and gears stay the same.
I guess since no one seems to know how hard it would be to do, I’ll just buy a set and see if I can adapt them somehow. If I can figure it out, I’ll take pictures and write a “how to” for anyone interested.