Old Athearn F Units

[Anonymous]

I have a number of old Athearn F Units which I have detailed and love to run in the background on through trains while I switch the local, etc. No matter how clean I keep the track and the wheels on these F's, they soon start to spark. I read somewhere that this is called "arching" and that these sparks pit both the wheels and the track. Is this true? I don't want to pit the track and make it harder to keep clean, but I love the old F Units. The sparking doesn't otherwise bother me.

[dharmon]

The wheels on older Athearn models..sintered metal I believe its called, is notorious for this. I stlill have the older wheels on some of mine, but with the exception of sparking occasionally, they run fine, even on DCC. You can replace the wheel sets with NWSL or JayBee nickel silver sets, which will probably improve pick up also. I just keep my older wheel sets clean as I can. Other folks may have differing opionions and experiences.

[dknelson]

Do the engines have the old Athearn one-piece metal side frames, or the plastic sideframes with separate brake cylinders? You might simply replace what you have with new Athearn parts -- maybe improve the looks at the same time -- and I suspect you'd get years of good service before the sintered metal creates problems again. Some of us have never had problems with our old Athearn wheels.
Dave Nelson

[Don Gibson]

IT'S THE WHEELS.

Replace those with JayBee or NWSL brass half axle's as DHarmon suggested

[darth9x9]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Don Gibson

IT'S THE WHEELS.

Replace those with JayBee or NWSL brass half axle's as DHarmon suggested

[#ditto][#ditto][#ditto]
I couldn't have said it better myself.

[Anonymous]

I had the same problem, replaced the wheels with NWSL, no more problems

[Anonymous]

Could you guys tell me which wheels to order (i.e. catalogue no.) The NWSL on line catalogue is confusing. Thanks.

[MRTerry]

It depends on which trucks your diesels have, the diameter you want, and the tread width you want. The Walthers catalog has a fairly clear listing. If you want the traditional RP25 tread width, look for .110 wheels (the .088 wheels are the newer, narrower profile). For the older style trucks with metal sideframes, order "outside frame." If you have the newer style with inboard bearings and plastic sideframes, you want "inside frame." Once you've decided which width and which type, then look for the scale diameter you want.
Hope this helps!
Terry

[Don Gibson]

QUOTE: Originally posted by NPoggioli

Could you guys tell me which wheels to order (i.e. catalogue no.) The NWSL on line catalogue is confusing. Thanks.

IF you are talking about 'Blue Box Athearn's they all had 42" wheels. That's what you want.. Changing to another wheel size causes problems - such as coupler height and plow scraping.
NWSL's wheels come in regular, finelinefor the hand-lay boys, and shiny nickle silver Jay Bee's wheelsets are less confusing. You will want 42" half-axles in all-nickle or nickle-plated brass, and choice of axle ends - flat, or stub to match your original.

I like weathered, because engines have dirty wheels except for the treads - which will become so after running. By the way, Brass wheels conduct electriciiy better than nickle-silver.

JayBee comes 8 to a pkg (GP's)and NWSL 12 (SD's).

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Don Gibson

[I like weathered, because engines have dirty wheels except for the treads - which will become so after running. By the way, Brass wheels conduct electriciiy better than nickle-silver.

Huh [%-)] [?]
Brass track oxidizes and the oxidation does not conduct current,
Nickle Silver track oxidizes but the oxidation DOES conduct current.
This is supposedly why brass track fell out of favor.
So please explain to me how brass wheels conduct electricity better, but please
not so loudly that my 1st run P2K stuff hears you. I replaced thier brass wheels with NS and they have never run better!

[Anonymous]

keep the old Athearn F units. I have many of them. I love them and run them all the time.

[Don Gibson]

QUOTE: Originally posted by kbfcsme

QUOTE: Originally posted by Don Gibson

[I like weathered, because engines have dirty wheels except for the treads - which will become so after running. By the way, Brass wheels conduct electriciiy better than nickle-silver.

Huh [%-)] [?]
Brass track oxidizes and the oxidation does not conduct current,
Nickle Silver track oxidizes but the oxidation DOES conduct current. (WRONG! ) andis is supposedly why brass track fell out of favor.
So please explain to me how brass wheels conduct electricity better, but please
not so loudly that my 1st run P2K stuff hears you. I replaced thier brass wheels with NS and they have never run better!

BRASS does conduct electricity better than Nickel Silver, however it is subject to surface oxidation. THAT's why it fell out of favor. Nickel was added to brass to prevent oxidation. OXIDE of SILVER conducts electricity. There is NO SILVER in 'Nickel Silver' - it's a nickel / brass / copper alloy.

HOWEVER: all Metal wheels have a 'polishing' effect on brass when you run trains.
That's the key. If you run trains enough, wheel treads remain polished - and so will brass track. Unfortunately unused brass track doesn't stay polished, and there are other contaminent's (dust,dirt, oil, cigarette smoke) that collect on rail - be it brass OR nickel-silver.

JAYBEE and NWSL wheels have nickel plated brass or solid N.S. (extra $$). If you let your trains set for months at a time, I'd use solid N.S. wheelsets, but if you run them the nickle-silver plated brass wheels do just fine - and like I said, I prefer the weathered ones.