What brand of wheelsets do you use?

[Anonymous]

I guess now since I have decided to use Kadees after all, I'll put them on the poll, CB&Q Guy.

[CBQ_Guy]

I hate these incomplete polls!

Where's Kadee and Reboxx, for example?

[mondotrains]

I'm just curious as to why you don't like the Kadees.

Mondo

QUOTE: Originally posted by cjm89

I was using Kadees, but I am now trying to find a better wheelset. That is why I don't have Kadee listed if that is what you wanted to vote for.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mondotrains

Hey cmj89,
I really wish you'd take the time to read my thoughtful and rather lengthy response to your thread. You may notice I mentioned the Reboxx tool. I was hoping I could help you make a decision.

Mondo

QUOTE: Originally posted by cjm89

Have you ever tried using the ReBoxx trucK Tuner? I ahve one and it does make your wheelsets more free-rolling.

I certainly do and it's worth printing a copy for subsequent referrals.

[nfmisso]

I use the metal wheels that fir the trucks best. I have cars that I installed P2K, IM and Kadee wheels. Form the manufacturer, also add Atlas, and Athearn Genesis.

Some of my cars have .088" treads (semi scale) they seem fine on well laid track. If you track is not up to NMRA standards, they are more likely to have problems than .110" treads.

[mondotrains]

Hey cmj89,
I really wish you'd take the time to read my thoughtful and rather lengthy response to your thread. You may notice I mentioned the Reboxx tool. I was hoping I could help you make a decision.

Mondo

QUOTE: Originally posted by cjm89

Have you ever tried using the ReBoxx trucK Tuner? I ahve one and it does make your wheelsets more free-rolling.

[Anonymous]

Have you ever tried using the ReBoxx trucK Tuner? I ahve one and it does make your wheelsets more free-rolling.

[mondotrains]

Hi cjm89,
You may want to reconsider and continue using Kadee wheelsets.

I posted a question about replacement metal wheelsets several weeks ago. While I liked the fit of the Kadees and the clickity-clack sound they make, I had noticed that they were dirtying my track because of the plating on them and thought that some other brand, without the black plating, might be an answer. Based on over 50 responses, the Intermountain wheels seemed to be the way to go. They were touted as the most free-rolling and didn't have the black plating of the Kadees. However, after installing 100 Intermountain wheelsets, I noticed that they are so free-rolling that I was having problems with cars rolling when I didn't want them to.

When I built my benchwork, I did my best to level it, including using refrigerator leveling feet on all the legs. However, even the slightest grade...and I mean slightest....will cause a single car with Intermountain wheels to roll, sometimes out of a yard track and fouling a turnout. My buddies and I decided that while the slickness of the IM wheels is great, switching with them would be a problem. We didn't want to be backing away from a spotted car just to have it roll forward and recouple to an engine. We also realized that it would be next to impossible to "fix" the track and make the mainline and all the sidings perfectly flat. One guy had suggested that I could use a pin set under the wheels to keep a car from rolling but that is not a good answer because of the reach in some places. Maybe he thought I had grades on my layout, but I don't.

Believe it or not, we've decided to use Kadee wheels. I know it sounds crazy, but I'm using a wire brush in a Dremel to clean off the black plating from the wheel treads and flange of the Kadees. It takes about a minute per wheelset, but I think it's worth it because then I don't have the plating dirtying my track and the shiny appearance of the tread and flange is better. Another reason I'm using the Kadees is because the axle is a little longer than IM and Protos (as mentioned in one of the responses to your thread) and therefore they fit better. I think some of the guys who reponded to my thread that Kadees didn't fit the trucks well may not have used the Reboxx tool which is used to hone out the journal on trucks. Having used the tool myself, I get all the Kadee wheels spinning very freely. I think it's better to hone out the trucks to make the Kadees fit than to buy Protos or IM with shorter axles which then are a little "sloppy" in the truck. By the way, I tried the Proto wheelsets and they are also too slick for slight unlevel areas of my track.

I guess it's like anything else, including buying a car. Some people swear by certain manufacturers and others wouldn't touch them.

All in all, the Kadees are slick enough and the metal wheels keep my track cleaner and stay in gauge better than plastic wheels. Certainly I can run pretty long trains with the Kadees without putting a strain on my engines. If I go to much longer trains, I will double-head them anyway. I'll take a little less slickness from the Kadees rather than deal with the "rolling" problem with the IM's and Protos. Please understand that I did not include cost as a factor. If the IM wheels suited me, I would gladly have spent the extra money for them.

Hope this helps.
Mondo

[Anonymous]

Originally posted by Railroading_Brit

I'm using Proto metal wheels - they seem a pretty good fit for Athearn cars though they're a bit looser than I'd like.


Here some variables furnished by Master Modeler Nigel from this forum.
P2K axle lengths-1.008, Intermountain - 1.013. KD -1.018 and the list goes on.

I understand from an Atlas forum member that the Atlas caboose wheels fit Athearn cars perfectly.

When I bot my freight cars I bot better quality and didn't have to go thru all this crap
but it was one hell of a learning lesson on passenger cars.

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