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+--- Thread: changing or upgrading to metal wheels (/showthread.php?tid=470)
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changing or upgrading to metal wheels - stuart_canada - 01-06-2009
i want to start the upgrade of the box car fleet.
all the kit cars i have are the basic athearn,walthers,roundhouse , accurrail, and maybe a few stewart kits, so what size metal wheel sets do i need to start making the change over?
what brands are better for changing over to?
i will being them in sets maybe to do 5 cars at a time. trying to do this on a budget, the leasing company is earning its keep lol
Re: changing or upgrading to metal wheels - Trucklover - 01-06-2009
Hi Stuart, I to will be switching to all metal wheels soon hopefully. I will be using Branchline Code 88 wheels. As for the size, it depends on what is on the cars already, weather they are 33" or 36".... maybe get a few packs of each and compare the wheels that are already on your rolling stock and match them with the new Branchline ones. Chances are, if there anything older then about a year, there 33" wheels. Most of the companies have only recently started doing prototypical wheel sizes with there rolling stock, and usually 36" wheels are used on the larger stock that carry more weight.
Re: changing or upgrading to metal wheels - nachoman - 01-06-2009
In addition to what has already been said, I will note that there are slight differences in axle length between brands. Sometimes it makes no difference, but I am told some brands of wheels will fit too tight in some brands of trucks. I havent run into this, but if this happens, you can either try a different brand of wheels, or buy one of those reamers to ream out the journals on the trucks. Most hobby shops and micro mark sell them.
Plastic wheels have a worse rap than they probably deserve. Start replacing the wheels that are causing you problems now. Some people actually prefer plastic wheels because they are less noisy and non-conductive. To each his own, i guess. I replace any derailment prone wheelsets with metal, but the ones that work fine, I leave as they are.
Re: changing or upgrading to metal wheels - ocalicreek - 01-07-2009
IMSMR, I recall an article in either MR or RMC within the last couple years about various replacement wheelsets....mebbe by Lionel Strang? Check the Model Train Magazine Index and perhaps it will turn up.
Personally, I highly recommend 'The Tool' for most replacement wheel situations. It's basically a little reamer that you place where the wheelset would go, then you spin it between your fingers to clean out the cup where the axle points go. You'd be amazed at the crud and bits of plastic that come out. It leaves a nice, smooth and clean receptacle for the needle point axles.
I too am gradually switching over to metal wheelsets for cleanliness sake. Just keep at it and eventually it'll be all done. I remember when I'd go down to the hobby shop and buy a shake-the-box Athearn or MDC/Roundhouse kit with allowance money. I don't remember exactly when, but at some point I began buying a pack of Kadee #5's with each new kit. I'd use two couplers on the new kit, and replace two horn hooks on an older car with the remaining two couplers. Pretty soon I reached a point where I had to buy whole trucks, or begin body mounting coupler boxes, so I needed to buy shim washers, styrene rod and tube for plugging holes, etc.
Now, when I do purchase the odd kit here or there, I try to bring home a pack of Kadees AND a pack of wheelsets, unless of course they are included. What next...eye bolts and wire for coupler cut levers? :geek: I still need to replace several sets...
Galen
Re: changing or upgrading to metal wheels - MasonJar - 01-07-2009
I have had good luck using Proto2000 33" ribbed back (~pre-WW2) wheel sets for replacements on Athearn and Accurail cars (the bulk of my "fleet"). I second the recommendation for "The Tool" reamer that cleans the journals. Can make a surprising difference, even if re-installing the same old plastic wheels too.
Andrew
Re: changing or upgrading to metal wheels - tetters - 01-07-2009
I'll have to get me one of them thar tools. As for wheels I usually swap out for Kadee's or P2K. I usually pick up a 12 pair pack of wheels and # 5 couplers whenever I pop into the LHS. That way as I buy rolling stock, I can swap out the wheels and change the couplers before the new addition even hits the rails.
Re: changing or upgrading to metal wheels - csiguy68 - 01-08-2009
glad you gentleman started this thread . i to am planning on replacing all of my couplers and wheel sets in all of my rolling stock . im planning on usng 36 inch metal wheel sets. the question i have is what brand of metal wheel sets do you recommend? i was looking at the proto 2000 wheelsets today, but wasnt sure if there was anything out that is better than the protos. thanks very much for the help.
todd
Re: changing or upgrading to metal wheels - MasonJar - 01-08-2009
The P2K wheels are good. However, as noted above, there are different diameters and different axle lengths, so the true answer is there may be something that is better for your particular application. For example, I am curious to know why you say:
Quote:im planning on usng 36 inch metal wheel setsI would assume from that statement that you are intending to replace plastic 36" wheels, but that may not be the case. If you can tell us a bit more about your particular requirement, someone may be able to make a better recommendation.
Hope that helps.
Andrew
Re: changing or upgrading to metal wheels - csiguy68 - 01-08-2009
well my thoughts are that since im modeling modern day conrail and csx, most of my rolling stock should have 36 inch wheels, but maybe i am wrong. almost all of my cars coal cars that i have now have platic wheels on them and i think they are 36 inches . the rolling stock i run is almost all bowser 100 ton hoppers and a lot of the lbf bethgon coal hoppers.
i also planning on replacing the couplers to with kaddee #5's. but lately i have heard from a few other friends that the kadee #148 are just as good as the #5's. so again im not sure what would work the best. couplers and wheel sets are two areas that i have little knowledge of or expiernce with. so any help or guidance i can get, would be greatly appreciated. thanks very much.
todd
Re: changing or upgrading to metal wheels - Russ Bellinis - 01-08-2009
The size of the wheel sets will depend on the weight the car is designed to carry. A 100 ton hopper will have 36 inch wheels, but a 70 ton hopper will only have 33. Passenger cars will have 36 inch wheels because they are designed for higher speeds. Most boxcars will have 33 inch wheels sets. On intermodal cars, it is a totally mixed bag. Husky stacks cars will have the 36 inch wheel sets, but standard 5 platform sets will have 36 inch wheels on the 2 end platforms with 33 inchers in the center units if I remember correctly, but I may have it backwards.
I haven't seen any difference between any of the metal wheel sets. I've never noticed a difference in axle lengths my self, but that doesn't mean there isn't a difference. I usually buy a 12 pack of whichever wheels sets are less expensive. If you have both 70 ton and 100 ton cars so that you need both 33" & 36" wheel sets, buy a pack of each and match up the replacement wheel sets with the original wheel sets. I also like the tool, and have found it to be an excellent tool for tuning up my rolling stock.
Re: changing or upgrading to metal wheels - Empirebuilder - 01-08-2009
I've had really good luck using either the Kadee or Intermountain 33' & 36" metal wheel sets, no axle length or bearing end problems, If a problem arose it was the need to block cars from rolling away they being that free wheeling.
Re: changing or upgrading to metal wheels - csiguy68 - 01-08-2009
mostly my fleet consists of a lot of 100 ton coal cars, gons and coil cars. i am running a few cement hoppers, 23k tank cars and a few box cars as well . im not running any passenger cars at all. i saw a 12 pack of proto wheels today at my lhs, for $8.75. is that a good price? also what type of couplers do you guys think i shold go to. again i know little about this area.
todd
Re: changing or upgrading to metal wheels - FiatFan - 01-08-2009
I am converting all my rolling stock and engines to the new #148 Kadee couplers. I never could get the old #5 with the #%#@&**$%# brass spring to work consistently for me. The new 148 with the wire whiskers work great and are easy to install. Just make sure you have a coupler height gauge to make sure they are all at the same height. The 148 is closer to scale in appearance but will work well with the #5 Kadees, McHenry (palstic), and other brands of knuckle coupler.
As for wheels, I use the Intermountain 33" for just about all freight cars. My era is the '60s so that is an appropriate size. Most are the standard with but I have tried several pairs of the .088 tread. They look much better and track as well as the standard size. The drawback is that they are a little pricier and don't come in the bulk pack like the standard size does.
You may want to try buying a few sets of each brand and see which you like best.
Tom
Re: changing or upgrading to metal wheels - doctorwayne - 01-09-2009
nachoman Wrote:In addition to what has already been said, I will note that there are slight differences in axle length between brands. Sometimes it makes no difference, but I am told some brands of wheels will fit too tight in some brands of trucks. I havent run into this, but if this happens, you can either try a different brand of wheels, or buy one of those reamers to ream out the journals on the trucks. Most hobby shops and micro mark sell them.
Plastic wheels have a worse rap than they probably deserve. Start replacing the wheels that are causing you problems now. Some people actually prefer plastic wheels because they are less noisy and non-conductive. To each his own, i guess. I replace any derailment prone wheelsets with metal, but the ones that work fine, I leave as they are.
I agree with Kevin: the "Truck Tuner" reamer is a great little tool that will improve the rolling qualities of most trucks.
And plastic wheels, for some reason, do get a bad rap. Granted, there were some bad ones out there, with out-of-round wheels or wheels not concentric on the axle, but, for the most part, I've had few problems with them, and most of my rolling stock is still fitted with them. If I have problem wheels, I replace them with either metal or plastic ones, whichever I have on hand, but I wouldn't spend the money just for the sake of changing them if they perform well.
Wayne
Re: changing or upgrading to metal wheels - Russ Bellinis - 01-09-2009
The biggest problem I have had with the plastic wheels was not with the wheels. I had a model railroad in the garage and the dampness even in our dry climate in So Cal resulted in the axles of MDC and Athearn cars all rusting. Start getting rust on steel axles at the point that serves as a bearing and it doesn't matter what you do with the "tool", they start rolling bad!