I have recently traded with a local hobby store some Gscale circus cars (2 to be exact), in exchnge for a Walthers Milwaukee Road pasenger car. The new ones that came out in January the Pullman Heavyweights. GREAT LOOKING MODEL if I do say so, but impulse trading has led me to a negative. I do not have the required radius for the car! It requires a 24inch radius! I only have 18! I do not want to park this car in a siding and let it collect dust.
I have realized that the trucks only turn so far and then stop on the side of the car. If I were to lets say cheat by adding a few tiny washers to raise the truck up would that solve my radius problem? If anyone has any suggestions please let me know, otherwise I might see if I can take the car back and get sometihng else.
In the instructions it tells about shaving the frame to gain added clearance for the wheels. 18" is real tight even with the additional swing couplers I don’t know how much material needs to be removed. I would definatly change the knuckles out to #5 they are more reliable especially seing that you are going to put them to test in your turns. If you have any binding at the diaphrams then use a long centerset don’t know the # offhand.
Don’t forget to add a drop of light oil at each axle journal.
Bob K.
I experimented with that idea on the Budd 24" cars. What you have to do is , as you said & raise the trucks thereby improving on the lateral truck swing only.
You could negate your lighting system as I did on the Budds.
Then pu***he car by hand through the curve. If you succeed, then you have greater body lateral swing BUT when you start to couple the cars together you may not have
lateral coupler swing.
Perhaps a longer shank #26 KD coupler may help. If not, then there’s merit to the Kadee #454 swing bracket (without coupler)@ $6.50 per pack for one car. http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page113.htm
Also make sure that your stock set couplers are the right height otherwise that
will lead to another style coupler called over/under sets which come in extended shank
length
It would appear that going to a larger radius exceed’s many person’s talent’s, which too often are limited by a 4 X 8 piece of plywood. No room"? NONSENCE.
4 x 8 takes up much more space. (It won’t fit into a 4 X 8 room). ADDING a 6" plank can allow up to 26"R curves.
If one lack’s those talent’s, then one limit’s themselves to 18"R cars, or end’s up with a 'Yacht 'for their swimming pool.
If you ‘washer’ up the trucks, you might lose electrical contact if later on you decide to put in the Walther’s lighting kit, as the trucks are sliding over a contact on the body. My main concern is that the coupler overhang will be too great on an 18" radius, even with #5 or #26 Kadee replacements. I’m using the Walther’s cars on a 34" radius, and believe me, it looks TIGHT even going around that generous curve (though I know it isn’t). I hate to say it, but unless you can go to a larger radius, that Milwaukee car just might have to end up on a siding.
Tom [:(]
The KD 454 looks to me like a bracket for a locomotive.
Follow Walther’s instruction, and open out the Centersill. If you need more room, contack KD and see what they recomend. I would expect something like the 505 “boom” coupler bracket. Good luck - and let us know what worked!!
The 454 was developed for general applications on many locos,long passenger & freight cars.
Looking at the picture you can see that there’s about a 170 degree extended coupler swing.