Hello everybody,
I was using the axle reamer on Athearn RTR, P2K, Walthers, Atlas and Intermountain cars. The goal was to improve the rolling qualities of the different freight cars from the modern era. Unfortunately it did not work well on some cars. It seemed that if the plastic molding in which the metal axles where held felt a little rubbery the use of the reboxx axle reamer made things worse. So on my visit to a hobby shop this subject was broached. The knowledgeable owner of the store had some advice. He suggested to file down the needle points of the metal axles. The axles he said are too wide and push against the plastic preventing free rolling stock.
So went home and tried it. To my surprise it worked rather well. As a result if the axle reamer makes the car run worse, then simply file the needle points down a little reducing the force of the metal axle against the plastic trucks. I could not believe that this actually works.
Hope it helps others.
Frank
"If you need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm."
I don't!
.
I use Kadee's super powerful "under the track" uncoupling magnets, and cars that roll too freely will uncouple unintended.
I actually need to make a few cars less free-rolling.
I am sure this is not the answer that you wanted, and it is not an April Fools gag. I just want you to know that if you plan to use magnetic uncoupling you might be intriducing an unintended consequence.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Frank,
I'm just curious: What kind of wheelsets are you using on your rolling stock? Plastic or metal? If the later, are they Proto 2000? Intermountain? ExactRail? Tangent?
All wheelsets are NOT created equally. Some are slightly shorter; others are longer. So, some wheelsets work better with some brands than they do with others.
Case in point: I recently assembled a Branchline boxcar. The Proto 2000 wheel sets (my preferred brand) didn't work very well with the plastic trucks - even after reaming out the truck journals. I decided to use the metal wheelsets that came with the kit and they worked great.
Personally, I would not recommend filing the points and choose to use a shorter wheelset to correct the issue. A sharper point means less friction.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
First it is my policy to follow "if it ain't broke don't fix it" rule that works quite well with today's freight cars.
My older Athearn BB,Accurail and Roundhouse cars is equipped with either P2K or Intermountain wheelsets.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
After extensive testing:
Most of my freight car fleet is equiped with Kadee sprung/equalized metal trucks that have been refitted with Intermountain wheel sets.
And, contrary to popular opinion, I use the smallest drop of light oil on the journals.
Very free rolling, very smooth tracking, lower center of gravity......I pull long trains, 35 to 50 cars is typical, sometimes more.
Despite the wisdom of some "experts", this formula works.
Sheldon
Some technical facts you might all want to understand about trucks.
The weight does not ride on the point of the axle. With even what feels like little or no play, the top of the axle "cone" rests on the top of the journal "cone".
The contact area is very small, and with rigid frame trucks, the less side to side play the better.
But with sprung or equalized trucks, some extra play is needed to allow for the flexing of the side frames.
Sprung/equalized trucks ensure that all wheels are making contact with the rail ar all times and are loaded with a similar amount of weight. Not possible with rigid trucks.
I find I can leave car weights lighter, and pull longer trains with most cars having my hybrid trucks installed.
Hello Everyone,
thank you for all the great responses. It is greatly appreciated.
Tstage, I am using only metal wheel sets. They are either Proto 2000 or Intermountain wheel sets, the Intermountain ones are preferred. There are no plastic wheel sets on my equipment anymore. A lot of my cars came with metal wheels from the Manufacturer, like Athearn RTR, Atlas, Intermountain and Walthers cars. The ones that roll the absolute best bar none are the Kato well cars.
Brakie, I have come to the same conclusion when it comes to the wheel sets and the rolling characteristics from the cars unless they are truly awful. In this case I will also try the suggestions from Sheldon regarding a drop of light oil on the journals.
I like the suggestions from Sheldon, but not sure if I will replace the trucks on over 200 freight cars. That would be quite costly but it certainly sounds like a great method to resolve the free rolling issues. It must be quite a sight to see 35 to 50 car freights.
Again thank you for the replies.
For plastic trucks: I have never used nor needed to use any oil or graphite between the points and the truck journals. Most of the time I don't need to do anything to the trucks because the Proto 2000 wheelsets work just fine, as is. The few times when the wheels don't spin freely though the issue is quickly resolved with just a few turns of the truck tuner.
I generally use a 5-second spin test to determine if the journals need trued or not. If the wheels spin for 5-second or > with a quick flick of each wheelset; they're good to go and I don't do anything else to them. If the wheelsets stop in < than 5 second, I true them with the truck tuner until they spin 5 seconds or >.
I'm not keen on lubricating trucks points because it's just another point of contamination for the wheels and track. The plastic trucks are pretty much "self-lubricating". I can see though in Sheldon's case with metal trucks where a little oil or lubrication would be necessary. A "little" is the key though.
Just to be clear, a very small drop of Labelle light oil soaks into the metal of the trucks and has never caused any issues.
I do have some plastic trucks, I do not lube them.
Frank, yes my truck solution is a little pricey, but it was born out of a desire to make a large existing fleet of Kadee trucks more free rolling. It worked so well, and I have always prefered sprung/equalized trucks, I have just carried on with it.
About 800 freight cars now.......