HO: steel wheels or plastic on the trucks


BigE

BigE

Active Member
I have oft wondered about why the difference... until last night.
I put one of my old cabooses (or is that cabeese as I once heard someone else post) on the track. It sounded like it was half-way derailed.
Forgot my reading glasses so I grabbed my magnifier helmet. Everything was on the rails.
Figured that was just crud built up over the years.
(remember I just got all my stuff back after almost 40 years)
With the helmet still on thinking I was going to clean them up, nah that wasn't going to help.
All kinds of dents and dings and dimples in these plastic ones.

Now I understand.
Just thought I'd share that observation.
Eric.
 
The other problem with the plastic wheels, is the axle hole is not always centred. A cause of wobbly wagons.
 
With all that said.... where is a good place to a get bunch of steel wheels?
And couplers for that matter.
I don't need packs of 2 or 4. I'll need a bag of like 50.
Some of my stuff needs whole trucks but that's another matter for now.

Which brings me back to couplers. I have yet find a page showing the differences with a detailed picture that I can see. I think most of my stock is the old timey cheapy horn-hook type.
My new engines, 3 Bachman and 1 Atlas, [again] I think are the Kaydee knuckle type.
I don't mind the work or the tediousness. I have plenty of time and patience.

I have about 50 cars and about 10 engines. Do they sell this stuff, wheels and couplers, in bulk for major conversions like this. I much prefer to NOT have to buy a few pairs at a time.
Some of the cars are going to need full trucks as well - but no rush about that. Right now I have about 15-20 cars that are track ready except for the couplers - and wheels would be nice but not a show stopper right now.
E.
 
Intermountain sells wheels in bulk packages, and their wheels are just about the finest on the market. Kadee also sells couplers in bulk packages.
 
Great! Got any links handy without me doing some searching. :)
I'm up and down stairs all day tinkering.
 
Not sure where my club orders them from but their around $60 a box now that's for 100 axles ....10 bags of 10 axles thats enough for 25 freight cars,also keep in mind they come in either 33" or 36" the latter most used on passenger cars.
You can try Intermountain or your LHS may be able to order them for you.
 
I've bought a few packs of Kadee 148 couplers and have been happy with them. If you search around on eBay and other places on the internet you should be able to find them at a reasonable price.
 
I don't run anything without metal wheels, with one exception, a pair of older Riverossi passenger cars. There's no way to replace them without replacing the entire truck due to the way they manufactured the truck assembly. Oversize flanges too, not good for my code 70 rail. When I first started building my rolling stock either the entire truck was replaced with Kadee sprung trucks or at least their metal wheels. In recent years I have also been using the Intermountail wheels which are also excellent.

The cars rolleasier with the metal wheels and the overall quality of the metal wheels is so much better. Probably one of the best things you can do.
 
Don't get Kadee wheels: they have a black coating that will wear off onto your track. The Intermountain wheels are just metal.
 
Does anyone do a better price than this for #158 couplers? http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Kadee-HO-Scale-Whisker-Couplers-Bulk-Pack-158-p/kad-151.htm (note for BigE. The #151 refers to the stock # for this pack). Also note the warning about metal couplers in metal gear boxes or where the pivot hole may come into direct contact with a metal securing screw. Would be most unlikely to occur on any modern rolling stock or engines but could exist on older kits (diecast chassis).
 
OldGuyHO said:
Don't get Kadee wheels: they have a black coating that will wear off onto your track. The Intermountain wheels are just metal.
Click to expand...

Kadee wheels are fine if the treads are polished. I spin them in the lathe and clean the treads with very fine wet-or-dry abrasive paper. They run better and look great!
 
RE: wheels
What's the difference between short and long axles?
Semi-scale?

It was bad enough trying to find the right couplers for replacing stuff.
And I'm still not certain.
 
i put intermountains on anything that dodes not already come with metal wheels. thats what the nearest train store keeps in stock, when they have them in stock. they also have the proto ones with metal wheels and plastic axles.
 
i think the short and long axle has more to do with the width of the truck. some trucka seem to be thicker, and need a shorter axle. the wheel distance is the same.

semi scale i think has something to do with the wheel not actually being to scale. think they are narrower to look better on the rails, and something about reliability on the rails. might be wrong on that one, or both.
 
wright2626 said:
i think the short and long axle has more to do with the width of the truck. some trucka seem to be thicker, and need a shorter axle. the wheel distance is the same.
Click to expand...

I may have figured that one out. I think it's distance across axle points. I came across some product reviews where someone mentioned 1" vs. 0.9[and change]. I measured some of mine with a micrometer and they are all right at 1.0[and change].
One in particularly good measured right at 1.008+/- so I'll call that cool 1" even for all intents and purposes.

I did order 2 12-packs of Intermountain's a little bit ago from MB Klein. My only problem (albeit minor) will be knowing which ones I've swapped out since they are blackened brass. How will I tell the difference?

Something I thought of later last night is I imagine a string of cars with all metal wheels might sound better crossing the joints and the turnouts. Might be a little more realistic sounding I suppose.
I don't know... just speculating..
E.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top