i read where they quit providing the low profile wheels with new cars. what are they thinking here? isnt that kind of backwards thinking? deep flanges are a thing of the past. i’ll keep buying mt’s, but i just dont understand their reason for this. changing wheels is not a big deal, but it has to be done if we have real track…any ideas?
I don’t bother looking at N gauge stuff much, but I was checking out the MT site a few days ago. I was shocked at how ridiculas those wheels looked!
I can understand why, in the interest of profit, MicroTrains might cease including an alternate set of wheels with each car. They probably have concluded that, since they are going to have to continue manufacturing both items, there is a bigger market for their low profile wheels and therefore they will be able to maximize aftermarket sales. You may indeed be unhappy with that decision but your post
gives credence to this idea.
This could well be a marketing gaff by MicroTrains; although there is a market for the higher profile wheels I, like you, prefer the low profile ones. I have not compared prices on some of the other low profile wheels on the market but I do know that the Fox Valley ones get very high marks.
Not backwards…I only know of 4 guys at the N Scale club that uses LPs.Some cuss LPs as being derailment prone.
Many feel the same way I do…
Why worry about wheels when the couplers are still truck mounted?
That would be a great improvement.
truck mounted couplers dont bother me. the flanges are too deep for code 55. i have some ho stuff, new athern gp 40s, and some new and old athearn cars. all body mounted. i can tell it would take alot of time to make them all mate true. even the new stuff dont match. im currently pulling 50 cars with a pair of microtrain ft’s with no derailments on atlas 55 rail thats just laid on foam loose. i pushed the same train around the 9 x 10 shelf with no problems except a low trip pin on one car on a switch.
Now that I feel really, really, really stupid I am going to go home and examine the extra wheels that came with my micro-trains cars to see if they are these. They don’t tell ya, just kinda put them in…
they are…nothing to feel stupid about. they only did it for a short period of time, not sure when or how long…
It’s wierd, but MT’s regular flanges are too big, and their Lo Pros are too small. They went for a close to scale appearance, so they flattened the tread too, rather than leave it slightly conical. The result is that MT LP’s are more derailment prone than other designs. Personally, I’ve been replacing mine with Atlas or Fox Valley wheels. MT’s not getting my after-market money, or my before either. Their cars are notoriously out of date and inaccurate when compared with recent offerings by Intermountain, Atlas and a few others. The last big wad I spent on them was for some open auto racks, and most of them I bought second hand off of Ebay.
The pizza cutters appease the collector crowd so their 2008 Happy Birthday car looks the same as the 1987 Pepsi gondola. Personally, all of that is crap, and clearly where they want to focus their energy, since scale models are no longer their cup of tea.
Lee
THis topic has been beat to death on this & many forums. A lot of modelers are switching to mid flange metal wheels. Provides a bit more weight than the plastic ones.
maybe i’ll do a search from now on when i need a little info or help with something. no problems with mt’s low profiles derailing, but i also dont like having to pay extra for them.
When I started building a new layout three years ago, I switched to Atlas code 55 track and low profile metal wheels. I’ve had virtually no problems with derailments except for the operator caused ones. I actually had more trouble with the pizza cutters on the old code 80 track.
I’ve left a 50 car train running around my layout while working on scenery for an hour before one minor derailment occured. I’ve also backed a 30 car train around my mainline (about 50 feet) with no problem. I think the short comings of low profile wheels are greatly exaggerated.
As far as MT goes, I don’t miss their LP wheels since I would be changing to metal anyway, but I don’t very often buy their products because of their limited offerings and especially not their high sitting boxcars that look silly beside other boxcars that sit at a more prototypical height.
my last buy was an atlas mkt caboose with mt trucks and couplers. it is very nice, not like the older atlas i bought years ago with rapido couplers. even those older cars, with mt’s trucks and couplers installed, have better spacing than mt’s…
Lee,I have some MT cars that look fairly decent when in a train consit of Atlas,Blue Caboose,IM,Athearn and the Roundhouse cars.
I am am getting tired of the to deep MT flange but,won’t go with their LPS either.As it stands now I am thinking about going the Atlas 33" Metal Wheel with body mount couplers.That should eliminate the old MT slinky affect and improve the look of the cars.
The Atlas metal wheelsets are nice, and by far the most economical upgrade for metal… But the axles are steel, and they play havoc with magnetic uncoupling, if you’re into that.
The biggest problem with Micro Trains cars is the ride height. I guess that’s why they claim to be “head and shoulders” above the rest![:D]
Here’s a side by side comparison of two MT cars. The one on the left is stock, the one on the right was lowered to a more prototypical appearance. I first filed down the bolsters, then cut the floor out of the gondola and lowered the whole shell. As you can see, it dropped about an 1/8".
On boxcars, they play a little optical illusion by keeping the roof at the proper height, but the body is shortened at the bottom. The thing is, they do this to allow the floor to clear… you guessed it… their super large pizza cutter flanges!
Compare the photo of an MT car above with the MDC/Roundhouse car below and you can see what I mean…
Lee
wow! huge difference. nice job, lee. do the newer atlas cars come with low pro’s, or do you have to buy them separately?
The new Atlas cars do come with low profile wheels.
Micro Trains is the only manufacturer (save for the cheapie Model Power cars) that do not come with lo-pro wheels installed.
This remains a mystery, since they claim to be the creme de la creme… This is a major shortcoming, particular in light of the wide popularity of track with more scale appearances, and therefore operating issues with oversize flanges.
MT wheel sets do not conform with NMRA recommended practices, either, while all the Code 55 track now available, including Atlas, does.
Lee
yep…love my atlas 55 rail. its odd because my wife picked up 3 sticks of atlas flex at a small hobbyshop not too far from home. i never dreamed they would even have it, and i had never actually seen it. well, thats what she brought home and i imediately sold all my code 80 on ebay and made the change.i went back to the hobbyshop where she got it, and they really didnt know exactly what i was talking about. freak deal i guess. im going to buy some new atlas cars now, hopefully accumate couplers will mate better with microtrains than kato’s do. thanks to all…
thats what i wanted to hear!!![8D]
This discussion makes me feel fortunate I am not into N scale.
Mark