What is the most common wheel size in N scale – 33" or 36"? I would like to replace the plastic wheels that I have on one of my freight cars, and I’m uncertain of what size to buy.
Thanks for any help you can provide. [:)]
In a search of another forum, I came up with these answers:
“As a rule of thumb, if a car has a capacity near 180,000 lb. or higher, it runs on 36” wheels. Otherwise, lower capacity cars NORMALLY run on 33" wheels. "
“On the real railroads, 36” wheels have been used on passenger cars for a very long time. On freight cars, 33" wheels were standard as long as the capacity of the cars didn’t exceed 50 tons. As a rough rule of thumb, all cars with capacities of 100 tons or more should have 36" wheels. Many cars of 70 tons capacity – which includes most freight cars built since 1960 or so – also have 36" wheels."
I’d say stick with 33" on freight cars to ensure you will not have issues with differing coupler heights. Also be careful of compatibility. I tried to swap my MDC wheels out for some metal Lifelike and they didn’t fit all well (didn’t roll freely). I would think the most compatible trucks would be MT or Atlas.
Thanks for the info!
[:)]