new rolling stock trucks

[cwclark]

hi guys,
OK..so last night i finished up my yard tracks and got into my box of rolling stock that haven't been out of the box (some cars for over 12 -17 years.) I then noticed that i have a lot of old tyco and bachman trucks on a lot of my rolling stock...I really need to replace the trucks on a lot of them but never did it before and would like some advice on what kind of trucks to purchase, and any mounting instruction tid bits, I want to use either screws or bolts with nuts but trying to find ones small enough to do the job is becoming a chore in itself...most hardware stores don't carry anything that small...any advice would be appreciated...Chuck[:D]

[dano99a]

I personally like the kadee trucks but they are pricy but real nice detail, made of metal with real springs.

There are these tiny colored washers you can get that are almost as thin as paper that I use to make all my rolling stock the same height (mainly for adjusting coupler height). I stack them between the frame and the truck to the correct height needed. then paint them black to hide them.

As for the tiny screws, good luck, I found a hardware store locally that had some but that was after I had given up and came accross them when looking for something else (which is usually how it happens, right?) Sorry but I don't remember the size of them either. I bought one took it home and tried it out then went back and bought as many as I could afford at the time.

my 2 cents

[orsonroy]

Old, toy train quality rolling stock usually have talgo trucks with snap-in bolster pins, all of which need to be replaced for truly good tracking. Use Evergreen or Plastruct styrene (not PVC) tubing or rod to fill the bolster pin hole. Use lots of liquid plastic cement to really weld the rod in there, and drill it out to accept 2-56 screws.

Ace Hardware carries 2-56 screws in all sorts of lengths, and I think True Value does as well. As at one of the 'home centers" like Home Depot or Lowes, and they'll just give you a funny look. You can also get 2-56 screws from Walthers, but it'll cost more (I'm paying $.06 per screw from Ace. I do sometimes have to have them special order a box of 100 for me though!)

As for couplers, body mount them. Add plastic sheeting to the underframes until the couplers are atthe right height. Move the coupler, NOT the body! IN other words, don't use spacer washers under the trucks! They'll move the car body up, making it too high and funny looking. Mount the couplers with more 2-56 screws.

One note about screws. Most articles will tell you to drill and TAP for 2-56 screws. Don't bother. Plastic is soft enough that any metal screw will become a self-tapping screw in it, meaning there's no point in bothering to tap the hole. I body mount all my couplers and have self-tapped hundreds of screws into plastic carbodies. I think I've messed up ONE.

[Anonymous]

I with orsonroy all the way with the exception of the "self-tapped" holes. My advice is to pick up the Kadee tap set that comes with the drill bit and tap, and actually tap the holes per their instructions. I tried the self tap method and it never seemed to work for me. The extra couple of minutes of work with the tap and die make the operation go a little easier, and guarnateed to work every time.

[cwclark]

did that with the kadee couplers..all my couplers are body mount...even on some of the old toy train stuff...(I cut off the bolsters in those days so they could mount to the body's) ....i have a lot of rolling stock and it's time to replace all the old plastic trucks with better ones and start detailing them...i'm even going to remove all the plastic grab irons and replace them with brass rod ...I purchased a lot of the old cars when i was in my early twenty's and now it's time to get them as prototype as possible...picked up a lot of new tricks since then ...I even found my oldest car the other day..it was a tyco HO 40' flatcar that came with my little brother's train set ..circa 1967 and it's still running strong..just needs a major facelift...Chuck[:D]

[cacole]

Something else that has to be considered before trying to modify these old Tyco cars -- are they worth the cost of replacement trucks and couplers, and all of the effort required to modify them? Trucks and couplers could wind up costing more than the original price of the rolling stock. I have several old Tyco, Bachmann, ATT, Life Like, Model Power, and other brands that are not worth the cost of modification.

[cwclark]

they are worth it because i've spent the time and effort to modify them.. a lot of them have been painted & decaled over from their orginal markings (and weathered) over the past years..the way i figure it, if it can run on rails it's worth saving...Chuck[:D][:D]

[Anonymous]

All good advice. I'm not fond of Kadee or other sprung trucks because I find they don't reset after a shift in elevation causing derailments in rough track work. In other words they will move out of plumb for a hump and then don't settle back square on the rails. This holds a wheel off of the track until it catches and derails on a frog, turn or another bump. I always end up using CA on these trucks to freeze the springs and turn them into rigid side trucks. I know there are those out there who swear by them, but I thought I would present another opinion.

I prefer P2K and some of the newer MDC trucks with metal wheels. Both of these truck brands are a good value (especially the MDC). They are not as detailed as the Kadees but not as expensive or problematic. I still will use Kadees when I need a type of older truck that no one else makes.

My two cents worth,

Guy

[Anonymous]

Chuck
Northwest Short Line, Kadee, Woodland Scenics and Walthers Turned Detail make small size screws, bolts and nuts. See Walthers search for screws.

[cwclark]

I bought some trucks from Kato...they are 70 ton trucks...anybody ever use these particular trucks before?...how do they appeal to you?..any problems?

P.S. Gary, I bought 100 2-56 bolts in 1/2 and 1/4 lengths yesterday at a small hardware store in my area...they are going to order me some more too..i have about 75 cars to do eventually...I'm going to leave on the Athearn trucks I put on a lot of the rolling stock years ago but remount them with the styrene tubing method...my original mounting was to glue a dowel rod into the truck and put them in the rolling stock truck mounting hole..it worked well until a derailment..then i had to go looking for the truck if it fell from the car...the rest of the rolling stock needs new trucks period....they are the toy train plastic kind and need replacing...time is not good to a lot of plastics they made the trucks out of back then...Chuck[:D]