I want to change all of my N scale couplers from old style to the new . Some have metal wheels some plastic . When i checked on replacing trucks and couplers it would be easyer and cheaper to put on trucks whith plastic wheels. would it be worth it to put on metal wheels or does it matter?
Hi, Rob!
You will probably get many responses to this. Most will suggest using the metal wheels. Some will say the plastic works just fine. If you have some track down, I would suggest trying some of each and see what happens. The metal wheel crowd will say the plastic gets dirty faster than the metal. Metal wheels also roll much easier. This is good and bad. You can handle longer trains with a given engine if you are using metal wheels. However, some of that benefit only occurs if you take the time to "tune up the truck holding the wheels. On the other hand, easy rolling wheels require that any place you spot a car needs to be very flat. Otherwise the car will roll away.
I use metal wheels and really like them. They sound much cooler than the plastic. In the long run, the discussion will be between you and your budget. Which ever way you decide, good luck.
Tom
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The plastic wheels pick up quite a bit of dirt. Go with the metal. When I ran N Scale back in the 80's all my rolling stock that had plastic wheels had to have the wheels cleaned several times a month whereas the stock with metal wheels required it only a couple of times a year, if that.
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I use plastic wheels on my N Scale cars..There doesn't seem to be any great concern about dirt build up...On the other hand NS wheels add weight on the rail.
In HO I use about 50/50 and I can't see any real difference(other then added cost) since both wheel styles picks up dirt.Again one advantage is NS wheels add weight on the rail.
If you doubt that then think of this..Your locomotives use NS wheels and they get dirty.Any side bets your NS freight car wheels won't get dirty?
As far as metal wheels keeping track clean..If that was the case why so many topics and MR articles on cleaning track? Plastic isn't the evil track dirtier as many think..There's far more at work dirtying our track.
Larry
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rob -
I've played with both plastic and metal on N scale and for me plastic wins by a mile. The roll potential is only marginally different, and with decent plastics (I use 33" Atlas MT replacement axles for freight) they are always to NMRA spec (nothing to adjust). They are also quieter and don't have that toy train metal on metal sound, if that's a factor for you. Also, the slightly thicker flanges seem to handle less than perfect turn outs better than (even spec'd) metal wheels. I have yet to find a dirt build up problem in N scale.
Last and to some of us, not least, at $15 / 100 axles they are fairly cheap.(Remember, you don't have to change the trucks, just the axles.)
Bottom line, it's you layout and has to be your call. Try both and see what works best for you.
Archer
AT the Boothbay Railway Village HO scale layout, we have converted all our running rolling stock to metal wheels. When the museum is open we run trains for 6 to 8 hours a day, so we run many more hours per week than the typical modeler. When we had cars with plastic wheels, we had to do a lot more cleaning including removing buildup on wheels. With metal wheels we do not have to clean as often, and there is less gunk laid down on the rails at areas like turnout frogs and points. Also, metal wheels make a nice clickety-clack noise on turnouts and track joints.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
BRAKIE ...In HO I use about 50/50 and I can't see any real difference(other then added cost) since both wheel styles picks up dirt.Again one advantage is NS wheels add weight on the rail.
...In HO I use about 50/50 and I can't see any real difference(other then added cost) since both wheel styles picks up dirt.Again one advantage is NS wheels add weight on the rail.
I believe plastic wheels attract/create gunk that's deposited on rails which then is picked up by both metal and plastic wheels. The solution to reduce dirty wheels is to eliminate all plastic wheels.
Mark
My experience has been that plastic MTL wheels roll much better than the FVM metal wheels; I have been converting to Fox Valley Models wheelsets but the trains have gotten shorter. This is on code 80 N scale track. I also had to discard a couple of turnouts where the metal wheels would derail, but not the plastic. That said, I like the metal wheels and will probably continue to change over to them. Sound has not been a noticeable factor, nor has track cleaning.
markpierce BRAKIE ...In HO I use about 50/50 and I can't see any real difference(other then added cost) since both wheel styles picks up dirt.Again one advantage is NS wheels add weight on the rail. I believe plastic wheels attract/create gunk that's deposited on rails which then is picked up by both metal and plastic wheels. The solution to reduce dirty wheels is to eliminate all plastic wheels. Mark
Mark,It goes beyond plastic wheels..Again its a combination of electrical residual,skin flakes,human and pet dandruff,dust mites,bug droppings,house hold dust etc.
Metal wheels get dirty just like plastic from all that gook...Look at your locomotive wheels after a few laps.Better,take a clean white cloth and run it over your rails.
Oddly in N Scale Kato's Unitrack needs little or no cleaning after weeks of operation...I am still scratching my head over that and I use MT plastic wheels.Maybe its the plating Kato uses-I don't know.
I would go with metal. I have had better luck with metal wheels rolling better.
Will
I used to have a mix of plastic/metal, depending on what the car or kit came with. I began replacing the plastic with metal, now all of the over 1400 freight cars have metal wheels and the railroad just keeps rolling along, very well in fact. Will stay with metal.
Bob
Plastic wheels DO NOT create dirt. They are made of slippery engineering plastics and have virtually no wear, as opposed to metal wheels on metal track that wears constantly - look at some old plated brass wheels and you can see where the plating has worn away.
The dirt on locomotive wheels is mostly carbon created by the micro arcing as the loco picks up electricity rolling down the track. The carbon is combined with dust in the air and moisture (humidity) and falls on the track to be pick up by the wheels. Metal wheels drop the dirt off because of their constant wearing, whereas under certain conditions the plastic wheels can retain the dirt as buildup (usually with higher humidity).
The real solution is to keep the train room as dust free as possible and maintain low humidity. Another aide is to condition the track in some way so that it doesn't add to the problem, there are a couple of different options here; one is to gleam the track (a process of polishing the track (do a search for "gleam") or use a track cleaner that doesn't attract dirt, (I use CRC 2-26 electronics cleaner which conditions the rail to repell dirt rather than attracting it.
As far as rolling characteristics, that is more of a function of the axle and journal not so much the wheels themselves. Using the "truck Tool" or "The Tool" to ream out the journals will makle a ton of difference for all trucks.
My train room has a finished ceiling and walls and is very dry (I'm lucky I don't need a dehumidifier). I only have to clean the track once every six to nine months. I do clean loco wheels every 10-15 actual hours of running time, (you'd be surprised how much cleaner all the other wheels stay when you clean your loco wheels regularly)..
I have about 400 cars on my layout of which only about 20% have metal wheels (they came with them). I have yet to clean any of the plastic wheels, (or the metal ones for that matter).
Just my 2 cents based on 40 years in the hobby. Jay.
Jay
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I have been switching over to metal wheels.
My reason for the switch is because I am using Atlas code 55 track in N Scale. Pizza cutters don't work well with this track.
I also have non-pizza cutter plastic wheels on quite a few cars and the cars that I switched over to the metal wheels roll better than the ones with plastic wheels.
On cars that don't roll well, with either plastic or metal wheels, I ream out the journal in the truck and rolling improves.
I also like the added weight that metal wheels provide. They have helped my under weight cars track better.
I have not tried the Fox Valley wheel sets yet but they look real nice and once I get everything converted to Microtrains couplers and get decoders in all my engines I will give them a try.
Craig
Jay -
Thanks for that.
I've been reading this and other forums for a while and sorta got conned into going to metal axles a while back. No benefit was seen, only a couple of headaches. When I spoke to the guys at Atlas and my even my LHS (the big banner ad to the right) about switching to metal both "sorta" laughed. Yes, both places sell plastic and metal axles, so that wasn't a factor.
When problems arise with rolling stock, one of the first things I do is switch back to plastic axles. That usually does it.
For the poster who mentioned N code 55 track, the Atlas 33" (MT) replacement axles are low profile and shouldn't have any issues there.
Thanks again.
modelmaker51 I have about 400 cars on my layout of which only about 20% have metal wheels (they came with them). I have yet to clean any of the plastic wheels, (or the metal ones for that matter). Just my 2 cents based on 40 years in the hobby. Jay.
Jay,I can't agree more with keeping the dust away from the layout..
I also base my thoughts on 55 years of modeling experience and a rather lengthy discussion we had on this forum several years ago plus the excellent article that appeared in MR(RMC?) that explained what the dirt on our track consisted of..
Also it came to light that the cracks that bright boys supposedly leaves had to be magnified to 10,000x to see 'em.IMHO that is insufficient evidence that bright boys causes cracks due to the fact the cracks could be cause by manufacturing of the rail..
I tried to run a search for that topic but,was unsuccessful.
I have no opinion on the dirt issue. I use both plastic and metal. HOWEVER I have replaced several wheel sets because they were out of gage or wobbled when spun. They were all plastic. I have never had to replace a metal wheel set.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow