Atlas 4 and 2 Bay Hopper Car Truck and Coupler Replacements?


goscrewyourselves

goscrewyourselves

I'm the one
I have just bought 6 Atlas Trainman 4 Bay Covered Hoppers and 6 Atlas Trainman 2 Bay Covered Hoppers as follows:

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What I want to do is the following:

1. Replace the Trucks with top quality trucks
2. Replace the Wheels with Metal wheels
3. Replace the Couplers for top quality ones (presumably truck mounted)

So what I'd like to know is:

1. What are th BEST trucks to buy that will interchange with the Atlas trucks?
2. Is there a "One for One" swap out Top Quality Truck for these cars? In other words, remove the Atlas Trucks and Install the new Top Quality ones with NO mods needed to anything.

I am only mentioning the trucks as I am assuming the couplers will be truck mounted as per the Atlas ones and they will come with Metal Wheels. IF they don't come with Metal Wheels:

1. What size and make of Meal Wheels should I be considering?

Finally, and this is the free for all part:

1. What else can I do, should I do, to improve the appearance of these cars? Anything and Everything is applicable here:)
 
Tony: Rather than replacing the entire truck, why not just replace the wheel sets then not worry about the replacement trucks fitting? KD's for the couplers.

Greg
 
Tony,

I agree with Greg, just replace the wheels with Intermountain or FVM metal wheels.

I know your feelings on graffiti, but that will make them stand out as more modern.
 
Mike,

Will definately be going with metal sets regardless, if only for the smoother running. IF I were to change out the couplers only, then I'd probably go with the MY Magnetic type, and if I do that, I'd probably have to go with the appropriate MT trucks as well.

One of the problems when you know nothing about this side of the hobby, what goes with what and of that, what works best :(
 
I have heard that as well. About the only downside to metal wheels over plastic is they tend to be a little bit noisier than plastic but hey - ever heard a quiet train :)
 
Well, the majority of my rolling stock is MTL so I have decided to change the trucks for MTL trucks with short extensions, these:

Micro-Trains 00310041 - Barber Roller Bearing Trucks With Short Extension Couplers (1035-10)
 
Just received my MT Trucks this morning and have ordered a 60 pack of MT 33" Metal Wheels. Hopefully I will have them sometime this week, fingers crossed.

Received:
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Ordered:
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wombat457 said:
I have just bought 6 Atlas Trainman 4 Bay Covered Hoppers and 6 Atlas Trainman 2 Bay Covered Hoppers

2. Replace the Wheels with Metal wheels
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Are you certain the wheels aren't already metal? Atlas used to make n-scale wheels that had a blackened metal "tire" around an insulating plastic hub.
 
wombat457 said:
Just received my MT Trucks this morning and have ordered a 60 pack of MT 33" Metal Wheels. Hopefully I will have them sometime this week, fingers crossed.
Click to expand...
Ummmm, Ummmm, Aren't those 4 bay hoppers ACF 5250s or I guess more accurately 5250CFs? The ACF 5250 Hoppers had 100 ton trucks with 36" wheels. The trucks you show (003 10 041) are 70 ton trucks. The 100 ton version is 003 02 080, but I don't see a bulk pack of them.

And now that I think about it the ACF-2 cement hoppers also had 100 ton trucks.
 
Horseman, are - okay so what is "actual" difference between the two types of truck - the n scale trucks? The 70 ton version compared to the 100 ton version? Would anyone notice the difference once they were on the cars or from a few feet away?
 
So, the 4 bay hoppers I bought from a guy in Canada arrived this morning, and I am more than happy with them.

My thoughts about repainting them have been changed as they are too nice to mess with, other than swapping out the trucks for the appropriate 70 ton and 100 ton MTL trucks:

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https://vimeo.com/279951390
 
wombat457 said:
Horseman, are - okay so what is "actual" difference between the two types of truck - the n scale trucks? The 70 ton version compared to the 100 ton version? Would anyone notice the difference once they were on the cars or from a few feet away?
Click to expand...
The big visible difference (other than the wheel size) would be the number and placement of the coil springs. Three springs for the 100 ton, and 2 springs for the 70 ton.

In N-scale, I don't know that many people would notice. They are dark colored and hiding in the shadow of the car all the time anyway.
 
Thanks Horseman, I didn't think it would be that much of a visual difference. Regardless of that I have ordered the "proper" 100 ton trucks ... you kinda made me feel guilty :)
 
Those are some nice looking hoppers. I agree that you should leave them in the paint scheme that they came in. You may not see many of them in your backyard, but they were very common in this part of the world. A lot of Midwest grain passed through (and was also grown here) on the way to export from the Texas Gulf ports.
 
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