Tiny metal strip soldered between wheel/axel??

[rrinker]

 My guess is also that they are resistors, for track detection. Not stock, someone would have added those. Or someone throught he wrong wheelsets in the kit box. You normally wouldn;t put resistors on all axles - I do two, one on each truck, so that if a car overhangs into the previous block, it remains marked as occupied

                                     --Randy

 

[Phoebe Vet]

Are they pieces of metal or tiny resistors?

If you have a multimeter, measure from wheel to wheel.

[Santa Fe all the way!]

I purchased an old Tichy crane car. There were tiny pieces of metal soldered between the wheels and axel. Could someone educate me on why this was done?