Metal wheel set replacement

[Anonymous]

I am returning to the hobby after several years and I read a lot about the advantages of metal wheels over plastic. My question is, how do you know which are correct for a certain car? For instance, my freight car fleet consists of about fifteen Athearn and Accurail 40' steam era and wooden boxcars. Will any wheel set fit, or do the manufacturers of wheel sets designate them somehow?

I would appreciate any help on this.

Thanks,
Mike

[Anonymous]

One more question...What are good suppliers of metal wheels?

[BentnoseWillie]

For the cars you describe, I think you need 33" diameter wheels, as opposed to the more modern 36" wheels. Metal wheels are made by Proto 2000 (Life-Like), Kadee, Jay-Bee, Reboxx, Intermountain, and Northwest Short Line, to name a few.

I generally use Proto 2000 wheels, as they're economical. In some cases I use Reboxx wheels for their various axle lengths (they print a conversion chart for most cars). These cost more, so I reserve them for cases where Proto 2000 axles are too long and bind, or too short and prevent the car from riding level.

[nfmisso]

Mike;

On Athearn and Accurail, the main thing you have to worry about is axle length if you stick with the brands B-D listed. Reboxx offer dozens of axle lenghts, NWSL offers three. I have measure P2K at 1.008", Intermountain at 1.013" and Kadee at 1.018". I use which every fits best.

You may also want to get a "The Tool" or similar. See: http://www.reboxx.com/Tools.htm They are available from several sources.

The other can of worms is wheel tread width. NMRA RP25 for HO is .110" wide treads. Actually scale for HO is .064". "semi-scale" is .088". NWSL and others offer these. I find that the .088" operate fine. The .064" are too narrow to operate properly on NMRA complaint track - there is too much slop in the NMRA RP's. The closer to scale width wheels look really good on caboose, tank cars, hoppers, etc. on box cars, it is much hard to see the difference.

The final item (that I'll bring up) is flat back, versus ribbed back. The ribbed wheels represent cast iron, which were used since the '50s (with some exceptions). The flat back represent steel wheels which started to show up before WWII. The N&W was an early adopter for thier hopper fleet.

SO go get a 12 pack of P2K 33" wheels, and try them out.

[nfmisso]

Mike;

Kadee may work better in the Athearn trucks. P2K is the way to go for the Accurail trucks.

[Anonymous]

Metal wheels roll more freely, but must be adjusted correctly. Slop in wheels
or bolster screw causes derailments on my lousy track!

[Anonymous]

Note the Ribbed wheels stopped being used in the 50's. flat-back wheels are correct for most cars from 1950 on.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to everyone for their responses. I found a wheel application chart on the Reboxx web site and it is extremely helpful.