I am wanting to put Jay Bee nickel-silver wheelsets on my Athearn BB locomotives I am repowering. Problem is, Jay Bee lists three different sizes…" Metal Wheelsets & Axles For Athearn Diesels – 40" Solid Nickel Silver Wheels w/1/2 Axle," “Metal Wheelsets & Axles For Athearn Diesels – 42” Solid Nickel Silver Wheels w/1/2 Axle," and " Metal Wheelsets & Axles For Athearn Diesels – 45" Solid Nickel Silver Wheels w/1/2 Axle"…and I’m clueless! There are several locomotives I am repowering, such as two or three GP38 and 40-2’s, an SD40-2, and an SW1500. Of course, I will be giving them a quiet motor, DCC decoder, and detail parts. I was told by a fellow model railroader to check out Jay Bee wheelsets, but he has disappeared for a while. Does anyone know what size I’ll need? I’m wanting to get on this project fairly quickly.
Matt
Matt,
I think you are going to need 40" wheels for all of them.
Bob Hayes
Most makers such as Kato, Atlas, etc, use the 40" size on the engines you mentioned. This is also the size the prototype uses.
For some strange reason, Athearn uses 42" wheels. Some modelers, myself included replace the stock metal 42" with the 40" wheels. This explains why companies like Jaybee and NWSL offer both sizes.
You can use either one but the 40" looks a little more like the real thing. The 45" is for the later model engines.
So far I have swapped the wheels on 2 Athearn’s, a GP35 and F45. I used NWSL 40" with no problems.
Jim
The locomotives you mentioned came from EMD stock with 40" wheels, 42" wheels were optional on the GP and SD units you mentioned. Some railroads choose 42" wheels.
As mentioned above, Athearn models generally come with 42" wheels. If you change to 40" wheels, you may have to adjust your coupler hieghts, especially if you are using scale size couplers such as the Kadee #58.
You did not mention it, but various suppliers also have choices of tread width: .110", .088" and .064" Standard Athearn is .110". .064" is fine scale, and requires true to scale track work. .088" is semi scale, a compromise that will work fine on layouts with very well done standard track.
45" wheels would be for SD-80s & 90s.
Hi Matt,
While it’s true that most first- second-generation B-B diesels had 40"-diameter wheels, Athearn’s HO models generally have 42"-diameter wheels. If you want to use the smaller replacement wheels to be more prototypical that’s fine, but you may wish to check things like coupler height and gearbox clearance after you make the conversion.
Good luck,
Andy
All my Athearn BB engines came with 42" wheels. My guess is so have yours.
Athearn ‘sintered iron’ wheels were all 42" - regardless what the prototype used - and were an Athearn low-cost 'one-size-fits-all standard. Athearn BB kits were famous for ‘fudging’ dimensions (or perhaps the word “compromised”) - no matter - as long as they were cheap.
What you want are Jay Bee’s 42’’ Half axle replacements - N.S. plated brass or solid N.S. Your engines will ‘crawl’ better immediately.
40" wheels will drop engine down so front scrapes track and couplers mis-align, creating new problems. Avoid.