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wheels rubbing on truck frames

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  • Member since
    September 2002
  • From: North Carolina
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Posted by csxns on Friday, March 27, 2020 9:35 AM

I have some old MDC bulkheads and one flat and i did cut some on the underframe because they rubbed now i checked the new Athern RTR ones and i did not have to do this and the Athearns have bigger wheels why what is the difference they look the same.

Russell

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    October 2001
  • From: OH
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Posted by BRAKIE on Friday, March 27, 2020 4:00 AM

doctorwayne
While it's not totally clear in the original post, it seems to me that the rubbing of the wheels is against the trucks' sideframes, not against the car's underframe.

And this is why a NMRA gauge comes in handy.. One can easily put those wheels in their proper gauge by using it. 

 

Larry

Conductor.

Summerset Ry.


"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt  Safety First!"

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  • From: Canada, eh?
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Posted by doctorwayne on Thursday, March 26, 2020 8:17 AM

While it's not totally clear in the original post, it seems to me that the rubbing of the wheels is against the trucks' sideframes, not against the car's underframe.  If this is indeed the case, the wheels need only be repositioned on their axles, then properly gauged.

Wayne

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    February 2005
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Posted by davidmurray on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 9:42 PM

Medina1128
Medina1128 wrote the following post 18 hours ago: The cars that I've purchased that ALL have this problem are Walthers caboose. I've had to trim the inside corner of the stairs.

Yes I had this problem with new in the box cabooses from Walthers.  Had to file all four sets stairs.  And I run 22" curves.

 

David Murray from Oshawa, Ontario Canada
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Posted by doctorwayne on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 5:17 PM

A better, and only slightly more involved solution, is to cut the underframe just behind the coupler boxes and also cut the frame at a point (not sure of the measurement without the car on-hand) inboard of the frame's bolsters, then simply rotate the cut-out bolster segments and cement them back in place. 

The cuts made inboard of the bolsters need to leave a slightly longer portion of the centresill with the bolsters than the length of that between the bolsters and the coupler boxes.  Basically, you're simply moving the truck-mounting points slightly inboard of their original position.

If you need an exact measurement, I'll ask the friend for whom I did this to send me a photo of the underbody.

Wayne

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  • From: North Carolina
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Posted by csxns on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 9:51 AM

Medina1128
Walthers caboose.

Is this RTR or a kit i have a old Walthers caboose kit and it has no problems.

Russell

  • Member since
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  • From: Clinton, MO, US
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Posted by Medina1128 on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 2:44 AM

The cars that I've purchased that ALL have this problem are Walthers caboose. I've had to trim the inside corner of the stairs.

  • Member since
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  • From: Milwaukee WI (Fox Point)
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Posted by dknelson on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 2:59 PM

Llenroc fan

I'm trying to resurrect old cars, etc. that I have and a couple of them have wheels that are rubbing on the frames.  I've determined the problem is the wheels are offset to one side on the axles but i can't figure out how to adjust them.  Is there a way to slide the wheel on the offending side toward the center of the axle?Simply pressing, wiggling, etc. has done nothing. 

Without seeing the cars I may be wrong here, but in my experience when older cars have this problem it is pretty common for the actual problem to be that the bearings in the truck side frame have become worn (or the ends of the axles have become worn) and thus the wheels are no longer being held far enough away from the side frame by the axle ends in the bearings.  This was especially common in the old pot metal truck castings of the very early days of the hobby, but for cars which have been really run a lot, it can also happen with plastic and metal trucks and axles, and can be made worse if ballast dust and other grit has gotten into the sideframe bearing openings, perhaps held in place by remnants of lubricant.

Dave Nelson

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  • From: Bedford, MA, USA
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Posted by MisterBeasley on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 1:06 PM

I have resurrected older rolling stock from the fifties and sixties.  If it's only a few cars, sometimes it makes more sense to just replace the wheelsets and sometimes the trucks with new ones, and save your time for better things.

I keep bulk stock of metal Intermountain wheelsets and Tichy trucks.  With a bit of paint, these look great, and the free-rolling performance makes it more than worthwhile.

It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse. 

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Posted by doctorwayne on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 12:19 PM

If you have plastic wheels on metal axles, simply grasp the axle using pliers, then twist the wheel to be moved while at the same time pushing it in the appropriate direction.
You'll also need an NMRA wheel gauge to ensure that the relocated wheels are properly in-gauge.

I'm sure that many will suggest that you convert to metal wheelsets, but the plastic ones work just fine - I've been using them for decades, without issue.  I have a bunch of cars which came with metal wheels, and while they work fine, are a lot noisier.

If you do opt for metal ones, be sure to paint the wheel faces appropriately, and the wheel backs and axles in a rust-like colour.   I paint the plastic ones, too...some shade of black for the wheel-faces of trucks which represent ones having solid bearings, and a rust colour for wheels in roller bearing trucks.

Wayne

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    April 2019
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Posted by Remeyer53 on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 11:09 AM
Assuming that they are designed to move and/or they are not glued in place, you could try and use a small gear or wheel puller on them. Once you have pulled them out a bit they may be able to be pushed back to the spot you want them.
  • Member since
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wheels rubbing on truck frames
Posted by Llenroc fan on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 10:29 AM

I'm trying to resurrect old cars, etc. that I have and a couple of them have wheels that are rubbing on the frames.  I've determined the problem is the wheels are offset to one side on the axles but i can't figure out how to adjust them.  Is there a way to slide the wheel on the offending side toward the center of the axle?Simply pressing, wiggling, etc. has done nothing.

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