metal vs plastic wheel sets


oplholik

oplholik

Member
Just wondering what your preferences are. I understand that Fox Valley makes good ones. I think I would like a little more clacktity-clack. Which size is best, 28", 33", or 36"? I would think the smaller you could go would be better for a lower center of gravity. What are the actual diameters of these sizes. Maybe I could measure the ones I have on my rolling stock to see what they are. If all this has been discussed before on this forum, please point me to it. Thanks.
 
metal metal metal metal more reliable operation cleaner track and the sizes depend on the car hope it helps
 
Test it you self by rolling 2 bare trucks on the rail, 1st a plastic and then a metal set..Might want to roll the metal one first metal beacuse its going to roll much farther!. Then try a box car. You'll be amazed the differance. I can pull alot more car with same engine if the whole train is metal. Our club trains can be a 1/3 longer.
 
In the process of switching everything over to metal. Not a cheap option but well worth the expense. As far as sizes, like Big-D said, it all depends on car type and era. Most models come with 33" as a standard middle of the road size. I had a lsit awhile back that showed what cars came with what sizes and I'll see if I ca find it again. Some of the intermodal sets have 36" wheels on the ends and 33" on the middle trucks,
 
I have switched to all metal. The track doesnt have to be cleaned as much. Rolls smoother and longer trains. Size depends on the application.
 
What way do most people go? Just buy wheelsets in bulk and put in their existing trucks or replace the entire truck?

Herman
 
Herman Green said:
What way do most people go? Just buy wheelsets in bulk and put in their existing trucks or replace the entire truck?

Herman
Click to expand...
Most just buy bulk wheelsets and use the existing trucks. Many also recommend you get a truck tuner while you're at it to ream out the axle holes. I haven't tried it but many swear by it.
Also keep in mind that you should use the same size wheels as came with the car so that you don't mess the coupler height up.
 
I bought all new proto trucks with metal wheels and changed all to box mounted kadee couplers.

If you go with wheel sets most definately use the truck tuner.
 
buy a bulk set of metal wheels from intermountain. 100 wheels for around $60 shipped on ebay or have your LHS order them for you if you are not in a hurry. Start now so when you have over 100 freight cars its not a huge dent in your pocket all at once!.

33" was common for late steam era/diesel transision 36" is more common on modern cars. however wheel size varys on car size and its intended use not just years the car was made...
 
Modern cars may still have 33 inch wheels even though they have 100-ton trucks. If you are unsure which side to use, try them both. If the wheels are the wrong size, the coupler height will be incorrect.
 
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