Buying wheels in bulk?


NYSW F45

NYSW F45

Active Member
Anyone ever purchase wheelsets in bulk? I need 33" and 36" wheels but dont want to keep buy the small packages, adds up quick. I remember seeing on ebay somone selling intermountain wheelsets in bulk. But now they're not listed anymore.

Is intermountain the only company that sells wheels in bulk? And if so what is the cost for a box of wheels?
 
Buying wheels in bulk

Bulk is the best way to go, price wise. I've bought intermountain 33" and 36" metal wheels from ModelTrainStuff. They go for around $60 for 100. I like the inter mountain wheels very much. Not sure if Kadee, Proto, etc come in quantities of 100.

Dave
 
I have seen bulk packages of 50/100/500 from Greenway Products in Legioner, PA at the Amherst Show in Springfield,MA. I think they are JayBee. Sorry but I don't remember the prices. They advertise in RMC or MR.
 
Branchline used to sell wheels in bulk, 12/100/300, but I think they're merging wheel production with Intermountain. :( I've used up about 400 Branchline 36" semi-scale wheels, and I've been ordering Reboxx recently because the Branchlines were to wide for Athearn.
 
I was checking out some wheels for myself when I found these sample sets.
On Model Train Stuff. I've bought a few diff. mfg.'s of wheels & for some reason they don't always fit the diff. trucks.
here's a few pics of what shows on their web site. Think I'll get a cpl. sets of these. Sure would save a lot of money.:rolleyes:
 
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I use intermountain wheels on everything. Tom's Trains in Connecticut has the bulk packs for $50 a box.

My LHS has the blister packs of 12 for $8 (28, 33, 36, both code 110 and semi scale), and the other LHS sells packs of Intermountain 33s, 10 for $6.

I've never actually had the need to buy a bulk pack of wheels as I only change out wheels if the cars come with plastic, or Walthers/Proto wheels. Atlas and Athearn wheels roll fine.

As for axle lengths, Branchline wheels are slightly longer than Intermountain. I've found that Intermountain basically fits all. For cars that have NEM standard trucks (European short axle) Bachmann metal wheels and Reboxx wheels are what I use. Some Athearn and Walthers cars come with such trucks. In the rare event that I get a flimsy Athearn truck that is too wide for Intermountain wheels, I just chuck the trucks and replace them with better ones.
 
Intermountain wheels fit too loose in Walthers Trucks, the Branchlines fit. Reboxx makes the solution, Larry posted the axle test pack. You start small there and work up until you find one that fits. OR just use their charts on their site.
http://www.reboxx.com/
 
Intermountain bulk is my choice. 100 equals 25 4-axle pieces of rolling stock. They go quickly if you at all addicted to buying stuff.

Same answer for bulk ourchases of kadee couplers (whiskers!).
 
jbaakko said:
Intermountain wheels fit too loose in Walthers Trucks, the Branchlines fit. Reboxx makes the solution, Larry posted the axle test pack. You start small there and work up until you find one that fits. OR just use their charts on their site.
http://www.reboxx.com/
Click to expand...

Actually, it depends on the rolling stock. I have a 4-unit well car that came with plastic wheels. (It was in Walthers' standard line, not a kit) It did not take the Proto 2000 wheels (which was what I was using at the time due to them being cheap) and did not take the Intermountains. I jammed the Intermountains in there and ran the car around until the wheels reamed in the trucks. They run fine now. (too cheap to buy a truck reaming tool :D)

If the wheels are a bit loose in the truck, thats not a problem unless the wheels have too much side to side motion as that can cause them to pick switches.

The only problem I've ever had with the Intermountains being too short is with some Athearn blue box trucks.
 
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i'll have to see if i can pick up a box of wheels. I have a bunch of athearn blue box spine car kits I just put together that have plastic wheels, walthers intermodal 5 car set and a aline gunderson husky stack kit, all have plastic wheels.

Do they take 33 or 36 inch wheels?
 
It depends on how they are articulated. If the trucks are shared between the sections, the shared trucks would have 36s, and the ends would have 33s, although Athearn may not have tooled them that way. Same deal with the Walthers. If the cars are held together by a drawbar, then 33 for everything. If it's a single unit car, then it is 33"
 
Steve if you can check out hudson shores model train depot in Blauvelt, NY, right over the NJ border. We might be able to order you in a box, give us a call 1(845) 398-2407 or stop by.
 
I've used hundreds and hundreds of the Intermoutain wheelsets on my cars, both 33" and 36" where appropriate. They fit well in well in virtually all the cars that I've tried them in. They are a perfect fit in Walthers trucks, and I just did several of those this past week. Not sure what the other guys is talking about. With intermoutain wheelsets you get cars that roll more freely, fewer derailments, and less dirt buildup on the tracks and wheels. The one real downside to metal wheels is that they are noisy. A long train rolling at speed will make a lot of noise!
 
diburning, the spine sets and well cars all have trucks between cars. No drawbars.

irongrave, you work at hudson shores? Hows the older gentleman, husband of the women who works there?
 
I'm helping out during the week in the afternoons for 1-4ish. Bob is doing alright some days are better then others depending on how wound up his wife is.
 
I use intermountian on all my cars. I buy the 100 packs for around $50-$60. Buy a rust pen and paint them all before you put them in! The P2K metal wheels have plastic axels that add drag so I dont like them.

fyi. Athearn spine cars use 28" wheels.
 
i thought i read somewhere the newer versions of the athearn spines use 28'' and the old blue box use what was mentioned above?
 
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