I am considering replacing the wheels/trucks on my HO cars that do not have steel wheels. Most of these are Accurail kit cars. Is just replacing the wheelsets a good idea or does the whole truck need to be replaced. The price difference here is a bunch. And for those who have done this , what brands have you used and been happy with. And are you happy with the results. Guess I got spoiled with the Athern cars.
Thanks Hal
I normally replace just the wheelsets. Ones I usually use are Bachmann and Athearn but some have Atlas wheels. A couple of old cars I have the 60’s still have their original wheels though the flanges have been filed down. They have brass wheels. I see no reason to change them at this time.
I use Intermountain wheel sets. I just did a few Accurail cars last week. They came out fine and work well with the original plastic trucks and the metal wheels. I used Kadee couplers, too, when I put the kits together.
I painted and weathered the trucks before replacing the wheels. I also used my MicroMark truck tuner to clean out the truck bearings before putting the metal wheels in. It makes them run smoothly so you get the full advantage of the metal wheels.
Hal,
Who makes steel wheelsets? Might be nice for those special weathering projects when you want that real rusty look on the wheels. On the other hand, for someone using magnets for uncoupling, steel wheels are going to be a BIG problem.
I mostly use Jaybee metal wheelsets. I’m not sure what they’re made of, don’t think it’s steel as they’re non-magnetic AFAIK.
“Metal” wheelsets, not “steel”. Most are nickle silver plated brass. some have metal axles (JB ect) which are insulated @ one wheel others like Proto have the plastic axle. Jb w/ the brass axle work well for axle wipers for electrical contact (caboose, car lighting etc)
I like the IM and Proto wheelsets. JB for any project that needs PU.
Most of the metal wheels out there are brass with a n/s plating. I have used Kadee, I-M, P2K, ReBoxx, and Jay Bee wheels. My current ‘standard’ is to use I-M wheels with Kadee #148 ‘whisker’ couplers. These seem to work with Accurail and older ‘BB’ Athearn trucks just fine.
I have a spray paint jig(AMB makes a nice one) for painting/weathering the sides of the wheels. You do not want to get the paint on the tread/flange area of the wheel. I spray mine with Floquil ‘Earth’ or ‘Grime’. A clean-up with lacquer thinner on the needle point of the axle is all that is needed. It really improves the appearance of the model.
BTW, it you are going to replace the wheels in your Accurail cars, get a Micro-Mark ‘Truck Tuner’ and ream out the journal area on the side frames - It really makes a difference in the rolling performance of the cars.
Jim
Thanks , i know they are not really steel , just one of those brain fart thingies. I have done N-scale so long and all the Kadee’s are plastic , and now with HO the metals work so much nicer , well it seems to make sense to make them all metal.
I’m just starting the hobby again and found a number of threads here. Decided that the MicroMark truck tuner is a first priority, but also suggest a micrometer (a bit over $20 from MicroMark) also. As an example, I switched my grandson’s Bachmann HO set freight wheels to Proto 2000 and learned that, while good for some cars, they’re not necessarily a good fit for everything. Some of the Bachmann set cars would not roll much with the P2K, whereas the Intermountain 33", which are a tad shorter axle length, worked great. So, my plan is to use Intermountain and P2K, particularly P2K on older (wood side) freight where I like the idea of the P2K 33" ribbed back (one style available) wheelsets. I use an incline on my layout to check the rollout before and after, plus checking the axle length so I know how tight or loose vs. original axle length I’m trying.
There’s a manufacturer that has a web table of axle length sizes of various original cars, but I don’t recall it and you need to know the difference of the various truck types a manufacturer has used. Edit…here’s the Reboxx site that will list the various truck types and axle lenghts by manufacturer:http://www.reboxx.com/wheelsets.htm
BTW, the Intermountain 33" freight wheelsets run about $0.60 per axle on the web when bought in the 100 pack.