Most of the cars I got today are horn hook and a handful are knuckle couplers. I plan on switching them all to knuckle couplers by kadee. I am thinking of switching out the trucks to newer ones or at least to metal wheels. Which would be a better move money and time wise? The wheels to metal or all new trucks? The cars are all Various manufacturer brands.
Sean, the unknown train travler,
If they are already body mount couplers, metal wheelsets and a truck tuner.
https://www.micromark.com/HO-Truck-Tuner_2
All but very few cars will work extremely well with this set up. Most trucks, once tuned correctly, are extremely free rolling with added metal wheelsets.
Way bigger bang for your buck that way too.
If the couplers are truck mounted, it gets trickier.... But still doable.
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Welcome back.
I am assuming that most of the cars have truck mounted couplers. It seems that body mounted couplers are preferred by most serious modelers. You can cut the couplers off the trucks or replace the trucks and put on body mount couplers.
You will find that some trucks are held on with a screw, others with a pin pushed in, yet others have a split pin that is part of the truck. To change the ones with screws usually change fairly easily, the others may require filling the hole and drilling and tapping a new screw hole. I think many folks use the original trucks and change to metal wheelsets, reaming the old trucks with a truck tuner (Micro-Mark) to improve performance. Be sure to check the location where the coupler box will go, it may require some trimming. I usuzlly use the old trucks withh new wheelsets, never have tried to redrill holes.
I know one fellow who changes all trucks to Atlas and swears by them, others use the old trucks with new wheelsets. It can get expensive fast, so check your cars and see what method will be best for you.
Good luck,
Richard
I think the couplers and the trucks are separate. Payday after next I'll get the tuner from mucromark. I'm waiting for the catalog to show up.
Now what's a good brand of metal wheels and where to purchase?
Intermountain, Kadee, Proto 2000, and Tangent all make excellent metal wheelsets. Each one is slightly different in width so it depends on what truck you will be installing them into. They also come shiny or blackened.
I've been quite happy with Kadee and Proto 2000. Others swear by Intermountain. Tangent would be an excellent choice, as they make quality stuff. I generally install ribbed wheelsets on my rolling stock so I use Kadee 33", since Walthers has discontinued producing their ribbed wheelsets in bulk.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
cowman I think many folks use the original trucks and change to metal wheelsets, reaming the old trucks with a truck tuner (Micro-Mark) to improve performance. Richard
I think many folks use the original trucks and change to metal wheelsets, reaming the old trucks with a truck tuner (Micro-Mark) to improve performance.
This is what was crossing my mind. Just use the truck tuner on the trucks and replace the plastic wheels to metal and replace the body mounted couplers. The metal wheels will add a small amount of weight which I know is needed.
I had a lot of old rolling stock from layout of the 50s and 60s. I first replaced all the couplers with Kadees, cutting the coupler mounts from any Talgo trucks I found. Some time later, I replaced all the old plastic wheelsets with Intermountains. For most, I was able to use the original trucks. A few could.not be replaced, so I got Tichy plastic trucks, painted and weather them and added my metal wheelsets.
The difference in performance was quite noticable.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Before you spend much money on upgrading rolling stock, make sure you really want it. I did some upgrading of my 70s vintage Tyco cars when I got back in the hobby in the early 2000s. After starting to purchace some new rolling stock, I began to notice that the new cars looked much more realistic than my older stuff. At this point, I am very picky about what I purchase and look for very specific high quality cars that meet my prototype and era.
Modeling the B&M Railroad during the transition era in Lowell, MA
Our club/museum mandates metal wheels but we don't specify plastic or metal trucks -- the plastic ones work fine, in fact they reduce the chances of a car shorting out so it's a happier situation for DCC. I know one club that bans sprung metal trucks for this reason.
We generally use Intermountain wheels which we buy in bulk and resell to club members at cost. Our standards dictate that a car must roll unaided down a 2% grade. This can be tricky with Kadee plastic axles, but with metal axles and plastic trucks there is almost never a problem.
We have found scale-width wheels to be a little tricky, so we try to avoid them.
As for couplers -- Metal knuckles all the way, Kadee or compatible. If you've been away a while, there's a new "whisker" coupler with metal whisker centering springs on the coupler itself -- #148 replaces the trusty old #5. There's no need for a seperate "spring plate" so the couplers are much less likely to stop centering. We find the 5s need to be replaced after a few years (or decades) but the whiskers are a more permanent solution.
Aaron
In my opinion, the coupler replacement should be your first priority. It will allow you to run any of your cars together once the couplers are all compatible.
While I have a fair number of cars with metal wheels, (most came with the cars that have them) I much prefer plastic.I don't see it as often nowadays, but when the shift to using replacement metal wheels began, all I remember seeing was nicely weathered rolling stock, almost all of it with bright shiney wheels...to each their own, I guess, but it just looked toy-like to me.I paint my wheels, plastic or metal, on both the outside faces, but also the back of the wheels and the axles, too.I don't worry too much about rolling qualities, either...most of my trains are only 20 cars or less, and if I need an additional locomotive to move that train, or a much longer one, I have plenty of locos that can take care of it.
While some metal wheels may have better rolling qualities, I find the racket they make is very dissimilar from that of the prototype, and not at all something I'd like to hear continually.
WilmJuncBefore you spend much money on upgrading rolling stock, make sure you really want it. I did some upgrading of my 70s vintage Tyco cars when I got back in the hobby in the early 2000s. After starting to purchace some new rolling stock, I began to notice that the new cars looked much more realistic than my older stuff. At this point, I am very picky about what I purchase and look for very specific high quality cars that meet my prototype and era.
Good point. I find upgrading older cars to be rather satisfying, but you're right that some of them don't really fit in all that well with some of the newer stuff.I don't generally buy much of the newer stuff...much of it is too modern for my layout, anyway, and some of it, whether a kit or r-t-r, could stand some upgrading itself, too.
This was one of three LifeLike (formerly Varney) reefers that I picked-up, quite a few years ago, off the "used" table at a former hobbyshop - a buck apiece...
I replaced the cast-on ladders and grabirons, and also added new metal sill steps, along with a new paint job and some custom-made dry transfer lettering. I was pretty pleased with them.Later though, the moulded-on ice hatches and associated platforms started to look kinda clunky, so I decided to redo them again.
I pried off the roofs, then scratchbuilt new ones, and also re-did the paint and lettering, and added some brake rigging...
I like the results, and they seem to fit in well with the layout.
Here's a Tyco reefer, part of another group of four el cheapo cars...
...which all had sagging underbodies... I figured that I could fix them, so went to work...
I have lots more, but the point that I'm attempting to illustrate is that if we keep at it, our skills will improve, and allow us to do all sorts of improvements ourself, at a more reasonable cost, if we choose to do so. There's nothing wrong with buying new stuff, but some occasional do-it-yourself can be very satisfying, too.
Wayne
I don't see this mentioned, so I'll add it. While you're making these upgrades to your rolling stock, an NMRA gauge to check wheelsets and track standards would be a good investment, and adding weight to any cars that are too light makes them track better.
NMRA recomended practice is that an HO car weigh 1 ounce, plus 1/2 oz per inch of length. Having sufficient weight will add to the running quality along with your wheelset and coupler upgrades.
Welcome back! Dan
WilmJunc Before you spend much money on upgrading rolling stock, make sure you really want it. I did some upgrading of my 70s vintage Tyco cars when I got back in the hobby in the early 2000s.
Before you spend much money on upgrading rolling stock, make sure you really want it. I did some upgrading of my 70s vintage Tyco cars when I got back in the hobby in the early 2000s.
Counterpoint to that statement: There are certain prototypes out there that haven't been made in higher quality units. The Tyco cabooses with the slopeback cupolas are one example. (I have a whole fleet of them for my protolanced railtoad. With some truck upgrades, body mounted couplers and less garish paint, they make a nice model.) A certain Bachmann caboose is another. (Model matches exactly to cartain CB&Q/BN waycars. I have four of them that I have built for my prototype part of my layout. Again some simple upgrades again with new trucks, body mounted couplers and specific commercial detail parts make them good loking models.) I've even taken Tyco (GP20s) and Bachmann (GP30) engine shells and by mounting them on Athearn BB drives, they have become good engines as well.
By doing that, you can get pieces as budget permits when the other engines might be out of budget. I have also taken other "toy train" models and worked with them to make them more accurate. There have been times where even some of the higher quality models have had lettering errors that I've fixed but that's a whole different story.
It all depends on how much work you want to put into them and if you think the models in question are worth it.
WilmJunc At this point, I am very picky about what I purchase and look for very specific high quality cars that meet my prototype and era.
At this point, I am very picky about what I purchase and look for very specific high quality cars that meet my prototype and era.
I will admit for new cars I am at that point as well. When one gets to over 175 pieces of rolling stock, it takes something special or needed to be added to the collection.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
traintravlerMost of the cars I got today are horn hook and a handful are knuckle couplers. I plan on switching them all to knuckle couplers by kadee. I am thinking of switching out the trucks to newer ones or at least to metal wheels. Which would be a better move money and time wise? The wheels to metal or all new trucks? The cars are all Various manufacturer brands.
This is one of those subjects where we have all found what works for us, but we all do it a little different from one another.
I use all Kadee trucks/wheels/couplers on all of my freight cars and cabooses.
The important thing is that you get everything running right.
I would suggest trying a few different things, and see what satisfies your needs and meets your budget.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Personally, I would determine the degree of prototype fidelity I wish to achieve. To begin with, this would mean which railroad(s) and, timeframe. If prototypical accuracy is important, you probably won't want to run doublestacked container cars behind a wood burning 4-4-0 so, why waste money on one or the other?
Then determine your track, truck, and coupler standards. Those who prefer models that come closer to the prototype generally prefer the semi-scale couplers and wheelsets while others are perfectly fine with the larger sized couplers and wider tread wheelsets. These are things you should decide at the outset while the numbers of modifications are smaller and can be maintained on an as-you-go basis.
As far as track is concerned, many modelers are opting for track with atttached, plastic road bed. Others use individual components on the roadbed of their choosing. This permits the modeler to use a curve radius of his choosing, to fit his space restrictions. The wider, the better for more modern equipment or, larger locomotives. Some modelers go with older, code 100 while code 83 and code 70 rail more closely replicates the real thing. Code 83 is widely available from a number of suppliers but more closely resembles heavier, mainline rail common post World War II. Code 70 is used for yards, industrial trackage and pre-war mainlines.
As noted in other threads, getting to know your prototypes wil also save you money and, disappointnent. Some manufacturers will paint a roadname that sells on cinder blocks, whether that railroad actually owned cinder blocks, or not. Some manufacturers will not. Example: There are models of AAR standard 50 foot, double door boxcars, painted for the New Haven Railroad, available in HO. The New Haven only had fifteen 50 foot, double door boxcars, all from Pullman-Standard. The differences are obvious and if things like this are important to you, why waste $30-$40 on an expensive "foobie"?
In determining YOUR standards, take a look at couplers, try different wheelsets and trucks. Look at different track as well. You are the one who is paying for it so, don't end up with a lot of stuff you won't want.