Does anyone know of a good 4 wheel passenger car truck to put under a Branchline 80' single window coach? I am looking for both outside roller bearing and friction bearing trucks.
Boston and Maine
Bethelehem Car Works has a pretty good selection:
http://bethlehemcarworks.com/Products/Kit_Bits/index.html
I don't see any marked as B&M, but maybe there's something close enuf?
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I have one of their RTR cars that came with white metal trucks. It no longer has them. The side frames wore down after 2 train shows and the wheel sets were able to slide back and forth, dead shorting the layout every time the car went over a turnout or around a corner. Note: per my standards all rolling stock will be equiped with Metal wheels.
OK, did not know MCW produced RTR stuff. Makes me wonder if the trucks were lubed from the factory on a RTR item. Obviously, if built, you would do that.
I prefer brass, die-cast or plastic, but some trucks are only available in white metal as the method is one that requires considerably less investment in tooling.
Walthers migtht have something, but they tend toward later prototypes than yours in what they produce nowadays:
http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?category=CPLRS+TRKS&scale=H&manu=Walthers&item=&keywords=passenger+truck&words=restrict&instock=Q&split=30&Submit=Search
mlehman OK, did not know MCW produced RTR stuff. Makes me wonder if the trucks were lubed from the factory on a RTR item. Obviously, if built, you would do that. I prefer brass, die-cast or plastic, but some trucks are only available in white metal as the method is one that requires considerably less investment in tooling. Walthers migtht have something, but they tend toward later prototypes than yours in what they produce nowadays: http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?category=CPLRS+TRKS&scale=H&manu=Walthers&item=&keywords=passenger+truck&words=restrict&instock=Q&split=30&Submit=Search
I also would recommend the Walther's trucks. Some slight mods may be needed for the bolster attachment/ screws.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
I assume these are non insulated wheel sets, you might try slipping a red or gray kadee disc made for adjusting truck height on the axle ends to keep the wheel back from shorting against the side frame.
Burlington Steam I assume these are non insulated wheel sets, you might try slipping a red or gray kadee disc made for adjusting truck height on the axle ends to keep the wheel back from shorting against the side frame.
Thats a good thought. I could even glue it to the inside of the side frame to see if that works. Ill let guys know.
The RTR was a past tense thing, they dont do that anymore from what I can tell. It was a Pb5n coach. It is currently riding on some old roundhouse rollerbearing trucks I picked up from an estate sale.
What is the best method/practice for modifying walthers trucks? I bought a set of 920-2124 Pullman 8' wheelbase trucks (friction bearing). They came with 2 different combination spring/bolster mounting point pieces. I put in the one that stuck up the most, but it misses the branchline bolster by about 1/8" The issue here is I dont want the cars looking like they are on stilts with couplers hanging off of large extensions.
Some appropriately sized Evergreen or Plastruct tubing cut to the proper length is what I'd do about the bolster, not having seen it.
mlehman Some appropriately sized Evergreen or Plastruct tubing cut to the proper length is what I'd do about the bolster, not having seen it.
I think I may be at the point if I shim the body up the car will be unacceptable from an appearance standpoint, plus I will have to shim the couplers down.
Yeah, don't go there. I was just suggesting enough additional to fill the gap that the Walthers adapters fail to reach.
I've run into this problem with some older narrowgauge cars. Plus there's like a 100 different variations on what the truck/bolster interface offers in the way of the hole for the screws or other attaching hardware. Sometimes it's a matter of modifying the bolster by removing material, then building a new interface between it and the trucks so that everything stays in relation heightwise.
mlehman Yeah, don't go there. I was just suggesting enough additional to fill the gap that the Walthers adapters fail to reach. I've run into this problem with some older narrowgauge cars. Plus there's like a 100 different variations on what the truck/bolster interface offers in the way of the hole for the screws or other attaching hardware. Sometimes it's a matter of modifying the bolster by removing material, then building a new interface between it and the trucks so that everything stays in relation heightwise.
You would think there would be an industry standard or recommended practice for a method of attaching truck to body of rolling stock...
I think "a screw" is as close as it gets...and sometimes it's a pin, snap, or what have you.
The main issue with that is there are so many different materials and potential model renderings of various prototype which can have very different underframes. Then there is a deep pile of legacy trucks. In my case in narrowgauge, I like to swap trucks from brass cars onto plastic ones and vice versa. Works wonders on easily eliminating shorts, but some mods may be necessary.
mlehmanI think "a screw" is as close as it gets...and sometimes it's a pin, snap, or what have you.
Fair enough
BMMECNYC mlehman Yeah, don't go there. I was just suggesting enough additional to fill the gap that the Walthers adapters fail to reach. I've run into this problem with some older narrowgauge cars. Plus there's like a 100 different variations on what the truck/bolster interface offers in the way of the hole for the screws or other attaching hardware. Sometimes it's a matter of modifying the bolster by removing material, then building a new interface between it and the trucks so that everything stays in relation heightwise. You would think there would be an industry standard or recommended practice for a method of attaching truck to body of rolling stock...
Walther's trucks as well as many others are designed for thier bolster arrangement. Walthers trucks also have a larger screw hole (larger pan head screw) and rely on truck stability by the underbody contact strips for the electrical contact (these many times cause interference or improper truck leveling even on the Walther's car itself and sometimes need adjustment). The modifications to the truck fit and bolster are not to raise the body, but to allow for proper attachment and ride of the truck on the chassis.
bogp40The modifications to the truck fit and bolster are not to raise the body, but to allow for proper attachment and ride of the truck on the chassis.
The problem is the car is already too tall (1/16th to 1/8") just resting on the trucks with no modifications. Its noticeable when sitting next to other branchline or walthers cars.
If it's too tall as it sits, then the bolster itself is likely oversize/too tall. Generally, I've found filing or grinding works to lower the car. The key is maintaining clearance for the wheels to turn freely and the truck to pivot without them hitting anything. In a couple of cases, I just went ahead and rebuilt the bolster so it would lower the car. It can get ugly, but what matters is what you can see with it on the tracks and how coupler height comes out, an inter-related issue that is linked closely to bolster ride height.
There really is no wrong way to solve this so long as it works after all is said and done.
Interestingly, I do a lot of conversions of HO to HOn3. Generally, when mounted on the original bolster, the smaller wheels on the narrowgauge trucks lower the ride height the correct amount to put the draft gear at the correct height. There is little need to adjust anything, which is rather amazing considering it just happens most of the time with no prior planning on my part.
I ended up going with this:
http://www.laserkit.com/ldwkwtruck.html
Yeah! I like that, nice, neat solution.
BMMECNYCI ended up going with this:
Did you ever find suitable four-wheel trucks? The old Central Valley trucks can often be found at train shows, sometimes at very good prices.I got these, and a number of other ones for $5.00/pair:
It does sound unusual to me that an 80' heavyweight car would ride on four-wheel trucks....I did a quick search for B&M cars and saw shorter cars on them, but not the long ones. If you're modelling B&M, though, I'd guess that you've got a particular car or series of cars in mind.
Wayne
doctorwayneDid you ever find suitable four-wheel trucks?
Yes I went with the Walthers P-S 8' trucks.
doctorwayneIt does sound unusual to me that an 80' heavyweight car would ride on four-wheel trucks....I did a quick search for B&M cars and saw shorter cars on them, but not the long ones. If you're modelling B&M, though, I'd guess that you've got a particular car or series of cars in mind.
Yep,
Osgood-Bradley Steel Coaches B&M 4500-4580 series (built 1922 and 1923). These had plain bearings (and apparently can be purchased as a kit Bethlehem Car Works). I am also looking to model BM 4581-4584 built 1931 (roller bearings) <-The kit bash car.
Okay, that explains the four-wheel trucks, as the Osgood-Bradley cars were lightweights. Looks like there are roller bearing trucks on the car shown in the detail photos...too bad they're sold out.I was contemplating purchasing a couple of those cars as trailers for my doodlebug, as Toy Train Heaven had a couple for around $20.00 each. Instead, I got a pair of Athearn arched-roof coaches for five bucks at my LHS.
doctorwayne Okay, that explains the four-wheel trucks, as the Osgood-Bradley cars were lightweights. Looks like there are roller bearing trucks on the car shown in the detail photos...too bad they're sold out.I was contemplating purchasing a couple of those cars as trailers for my doodlebug, as Toy Train Heaven had a couple for around $20.00 each. Instead, I got a pair of Athearn arched-roof coaches for five bucks at my LHS. Wayne
Wayne,
Got those already, they are the 1937 "American Flyer" coaches.
The ones I want to model (1922 and 1931) are described here: http://www.faracresfarm.com/jbvb/rr/bmrr/passenger.html
Andrew
Aha! When all one is aware of regarding Osgood-Bradley cars are the easily-recognisable lightweights, it's easy to forget that they were a car builder long before those came along. The tall windows on those earlier cars are an obvious precursor to those on the "American Flyer" cars.