N scale trucks wheel & coupler upgrades

[Anonymous]

I have recently made two discoveries that are probably old news to many people here on the forum. Old style couplers and wheels with oversized flanges are junk.

I take it that Micro-Trains couplers are the N scale standard? What tools am I going to need to convert my cars? Do all cars take the same coupler or do they very by manufacturer of the car? Is there a reliable on line source of infomation on this?

Are all freight car wheels standard a standard size? On 6 cars by two different manufacturers I found four different style wheels. Only one of the styles worked on my Atlas code55 track without growling across the ties. Who makes acceptable N scale wheels?

[retsignalmtr]

microtrains (mt) has about the best trucks, plastic wheels and the best couplers. nwsl probably makes the metal wheels you would want to change to. mt makes almost any type truck from archbar to modern. i've changed all the rapido couplers on my cars to mt's truck coupler sets. i'll be dumping the accumates that are on some of my locos and cars as well as they do not work as well as mt's accumates take more force to couple and since i uncouple with a rix pic it is harder to uncouple the accumates. body mounting the couplers is in the future also. if you change to truck coupler sets you will only need a small screwdriver to pry out the truck pins. mt's come with several different pins for different cars. try mt's web site for more info.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info. After looking at the MT site and it looks like the only sell the couplers as part of the truck assemblies and the tools etc. are for repair only? I am not fond of the plastic wheels. My biggest complaint with the trucks now on my layout is the oversized flanges on my Atlas code 55 track. nwsl.com is a bit of a mess. I looked but I have no idea what there wheels cost. Atlas does make metal wheels. I might ask to see them on code 55 track the next time I am at the LHS.

[Wdlgln005]

The tools can be used to assemble couplers for the Bachmann, Lifelike, & ConCor lines of cars/locos Most of these are the older truck mounted style. Even old Atlas/Kato locos (1980 era) had a Lionel type buck tooth look to them. THe MTL conversion filled in the gap & put a screw into the frame of the loco.

For some cars, you need 3 hands to hold the car, the coupler & guide the thing into the coupler box without missing the tiny spring or something. Most freight cars use a plastic pin to mount their trucks. sometimes, you can break the pin & leave a stub in the hole. It helps to be able to remove the carbody or use a drill to clear out the pin. Concor cars had a bigger hole. MTL sells a plastic bushing that goes into the hole to make it smaller. Bachmann uses their own screw mount system on older trucks. You have to make the MTL hole bigger to get it to fit.

MTL is the Nscale standard, and has been for years. Atlas Accumates make the only other automated choice. Red Caboose Unimates make good non-operating couplers. THey are good to bring down the co$t of converting a large freight car fleet. They are best used for situations where you don't couple too often, such as unit trains, ore cars, some passenger cars, or between AB units.

Using Atlas Code 55 track, you have discovered the ills of pizza cutter wheels. The flanges are too large, and hit the ties. You need low profile wheels. I'd have to check if the wheel is a bit larger. You will have fun getting them to fit into Nscale wheel dimples in the truck sideframes. Hope you have a good place to work with plenty of light & a soft catch area for all the flying parts. You should set up a test track to be sure everything works properly before transporting to the layout. Have fun Nscaling!!

For us old Nscalers, that's why we stick with Code 80 track. It's enough work to convert to MTL without worrying about wheels. Too many old models to convert, don't want to let them go.

[retsignalmtr]

microtrains does make kits to put couplers into the rapido pockets without having to change the trucks which would be a cheaper alternative. but you have to wear safety glasses to protect your eyes from the flying springs.