# Bachmann Metal Wheels



## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I just received and installed a batch of Bachmann metal wheels. On average I would have to say that the quality control seems to have been non-existent on these.

In fairness I picked a car at random that had old Bachmann wheels and they did not spin very true either but they were not nearly as out of line as many of the new wheels.

Just guessing I would estimate that about half of the new wheels are OK and the rest are noticeably out of line.

With the current extreme shortage of Bachmann wheels I'll keep them and they were the last the dealer had so there is no opportunity to replace them. Unfortunately there is no way to know how true they will run until you take them out of the packaging, install and run them.

I did not do any detailed checking but the quality seemed to vary by lot number with some lots being significantly better than other lots.

I will keep on buying Bachmann wheels for my LGB freight cars because they closely match the LGB wheels in size etc. and are less than 1/2 the price which is a huge difference in quantities (of course finding either LGB or Bachmann wheels is extremely hard these days).

Hopefully when Bachmann wheels arrive back at the dealers (in September?) the quality control will have improved).

As always we tend to get what we pay for so I am not mad at Bachmann - just somewhat disappointed.

Jerry


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I have had exactly the same experience as you Jerry. Sometimes a "lot" will have only about 10% severe wobble, and I have had "lots" where 50% were junk in my opinion. The plating is also erratic. 

The Aristo wheels are much better but have been going up in price on what seems a monthly basis. 

I recently purchased AML wheels, which scale to exactly 33". They are apparently sintered, and have a rougher finish on the tread, but there is no plating to wear off. 

So at almost half the price, they seem a good deal for me, and it's nice to have a properly scaled wheel. 

I have a comparision page on my site, type wheels into the search box on my site and hit enter. 

Regards, Greg


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

...Hopefully when Bachmann wheels arrive back at the dealers (in September?) the quality control will have improved. 

Thanks, Jerry. I needed the laugh. 

Bachmann's wheels have been a bit "off" pretty much from day 1. I converted completely over to them when I started building my railroad out here, and found that on average, one out of four wheels was completely unusable. For the price, though, I still came out far ahead, and the other 75% have been performing flawlessly ever since. Aside from the wobble issue, they're great wheels. 

Like Greg, I'm looking at the new AML wheels for future use. I haven't bought any yet, because I haven't built any new rolling stock that requires new wheels. In Greg's 1:29 world, the wheels are a perfect 33". In my 1:20.3 world, that scales to right around 24"--which is ideal for me. 

Later, 

K


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry, 

I also discovered the bachmann metal wheels are not particularly flat on the treads, so they actually 'roar' when rolling. I had 13 hoppers and a caboose, all with metal wheels, and indoors the consist was incredibly noisy!


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

The rougher surface of the AML wheels does lead to a little "roar", but I do not find it objectionable. I look forward to NOT agonizing about plating coming off wheels! I've had about all I can stand of Aristo plating coming off wheelsets, especially on the locos, where the underneath is mild steel... rust may look realistic, but it's not nice for track power. 

Regards, Greg


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

I've had pretty good luck with Bachmann's metal wheels but most of my plastic to metal wheels (several years ago) were from USA Trains and they've been quite good. Fit the Bachmann trucks too. I bought enough for 50 cars at one whack and just "did it".


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## pimanjc (Jan 2, 2008)

I have had pretty good luck with Bachman wheels except for three sets [ axles ] that shorted out across the axle, causing a minor fire in some nearby woodmulch and tripped the circuit breaker on the transformer.





















JimC


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Was that the wheels fault, or were these the ones with graphite lube shorting the wheelset? 

Regards, Greg


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## Ward H (Jan 5, 2008)

One of my routine York buys is 10 pr of USA Metal Wheels for $50/pr. That is $10 a car and the wheels look great and are great quality. They are slightly small than Aristo wheels but that is no bigger.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I have a page on my web site that might be of interest, where I have the measurements of various wheelsets, half way down the page:



http://www.elmassian.com/trains-mai...inmenu-106


Regards, Greg


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Several years ago I made some detailed comparison tests of the various metal wheels (not all of them - just the ones I had been buying).

One brand had terrible quality control and I had to send 90% back. The vendor even refunded shipping both ways so I am not going to mention the brand.

As I recall, Aristo wheels were smaller in diameter and lowered the cars slightly which could cause coupler tangs to snag on my LGB track magnets. On the other hand non-Aristo wheels being wider tended to rub the Aristo brakes (I know I could grind the brakes but prefer not to). Aristo has apparently fixed the wheels falling off the hubs but I still have it happen from time to time with older wheels.

As a result I use all Aristo wheels on all my Aristo rolling stock.

USAT wheels tend to have longer axles which can cause binding on non USAT journals and non-USA wheels tend to fall out of some of my USAT rolling stock (especially older ones). As a result I standardize on USAT wheels for my USAT rolling stock.

Bachmann wheels tend to be a perfect match in diameter, axle length and axle diameter to LGB wheels so I have standardized on Bachmann metal wheels for my LGB freight cars. They are noisy but I like the noise because it reminds me of how noisy freight trains used to be.

Hartland cars would probably work better with the longer USAT axles but since they are mine cars and seldom moved I put Bachmann wheels in them also.

I like the looks and other qualities of LGB metal wheels so I use them on all my LGB passenger cars but it has been a long time since I have been able to find any. I have started putting the little wheels from surplus LGB 2-4-0 tenders on my LGB little ore cars where they look great and free up Bachmann wheels for newer rolling stock.

I've even replaced the wheels on my Aristo long steel cabooses with LGB metal and ball bearing wheels because I think it really makes the Aristo cabooses look great.

In most cases (except for LGB coaches and cabooses) I look for the most economical solution.

With some recent closeouts I just bought 31 LGB boxcars & covered hoppers. With the Bachmann the wheels cost $317.44 which was about 25% of the cost of the cars. Any other brand (other than Aristo or USAT) would probably have cost a lot more.

Even though the wheels are wobbly I run the freight trains slowly (and individually infrequently) so I can live with the crooked wheels.

I might add that when I replace plastic wheels with metal wheels I often spin the new wheels at a pretty high speed with a Dremel tool using a soft wheel. This really makes a difference in getting the new wheels to run smoothly. I probably create part of the problem with wheel binding because I do not disassemble the trucks to remove and install wheels (except sometimes with Aristo trucks). By forcing the axles out of the journals I probably distort the journal holes somewhat and spinning the wheels seems to fix the problem.

On the other hand I am always looking for something better as long as it is relatively inexpensive. A major factor with me is that while I have a lot of rolling stock none of it gets run that often or that long. Even with my damp crawl space I have not detected any rust or corrosion with any brand of wheels that I've been using - which surprises me.

If anyone knows of a brand comparable in price to Bachmann and of equal or hopefully better quality I would really like to hear about it.

Thanks,

Jerry


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 29 Jul 2009 08:51 PM 
I have a page on my web site that might be of interest, where I have the measurements of various wheelsets, half way down the page:



http://www.elmassian.com/trains-mai...inmenu-106


Regards, Greg 



Hi Greg,

You have some great information there.

Jerry


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks Jerry, and I've updated it and reorganized it a bit per your emailed info. 

(and I welcome input from anyone else with more info on these or other wheels) 

Regards, Greg


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## Bret W Tesson (Jan 6, 2008)

I use several manufacturer's wheels and found the Bachmann to be the lowest quality. However, they still work fine. I've even had some that were "out of round" but still work. In fact, I like the sound they make on the rails which is very similar to that same sound occasionally heard on the real thing.


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## AZ_Ron (Dec 27, 2007)

Hi all. I'm pretty new to the forums, and new to G-scale. In reading all these posts on metal wheel sets, there seems to be a lack of choices.
I have a friend with a CNC machine shop who's always looking for work, especially these days! I'm wondering if there would be a market for
a new line of metal wheels. What do you all think? Greg has a some great info on his site. Is there a particular brand wheel that would be best

to refine, or a combination? Starting with a clean sheet of paper, pretty much anything is possible. Which material do you guys think would be best?
I had a thought of 6061 or 7075 Aluminum, then having it hard anodized. I know steel is the main metal used. What about brass or bronze?

This topic just got me thinking...  Any/all input is welcome!


Thanks!

Ron


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Aluminum too light...bronze too porous and still needs plating. 

you need brass (then you have to plate it), steel (need plating again, but rust problems), stainless steel (great, but expensive to purchase and machine), nickel silver (probably best all around choice, no plating needed) 

now you need cheap cnc machining and possibly a plating shop. Oh, you have to learn about tapers, fillets, flange depths, and now consider axle length, tip diameter and how to insulate the wheels. 

No one small can compete. The few specialized places that make wheels are VERY expensive, have long lead times, and not enough business. 

Your wheels will have to be made in China. 

My input is think of something else that China cannot seriously underbid you on.... 

(reminds me, NWSL still has not completed my order for NS wheels... drat) 

Regards, Greg


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## AZ_Ron (Dec 27, 2007)

LOL... thanks for the input Greg. I figured you'd be one of the first to respond. I know it's next to impossible for anyone in this country to compete 
with China when labor is a few cents an hour. My buddy has been a machinist for 25 years and understands all the ins and outs. If I can get a print 
worked up for him to look at, I'd at least have an idea if it was even feasible. If you or anyone else would be willing to help me out 
with a blueprint or two, that would be great. If it's decided that it might be worth a shot, I'd send out some sample wheels to those who helped out. 
If it's pure folly, then no harm done. China is great for pricing, but crap when it comes to quality. 
BTW, what's the price range on a set of wheels these days? Bachmann up through whatever...? 

Thanks! 

Ron


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Nickel silver is easier to machine than stainless, and does not seem to oxidize as fast for wheels, and would not need plating, it's hard enough also. 

On the wheels, if you are shooting for freight cars, then I would purchase a set of USAT or AML for a "pattern"... in 1:29 these are the closest to 33" in prototype. 

Then choose your axle material, I would suggest stainless, and then experiment on the axle length and tip diameter to fit... most of the market will be replacing the Aristo plastic wheels, the higher end USAT cars already come with metal wheels. 

I would put insulators on each wheel, but you could get away with only insulating one. (That would also allow some sort of power pickup with eyelets like aristo does on it's HW passenger cars). Make sure the insulator is GOOD plastic that does not shrink or you will have loose wheels. 

Go to a site like www.rldhobbies.com and see the prices of bachmann, aristo, usat, aml wheels and see where you are competing. 

Regards, Greg


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 07 Aug 2009 01:29 PM 

now you need cheap cnc machining and possibly a plating shop. Oh, you have to learn about tapers, fillets, flange depths, and now consider axle length, tip diameter and how to insulate the wheels. 

No one small can compete. The few specialized places that make wheels are VERY expensive, have long lead times, and not enough business. 

Your wheels will have to be made in China. 
I tend to agree with Greg.

There should be a lot of products that a small guy can make and make money from it but I don't think wheels are it.

Wheels have too many variables just as Bachmann is sized different from Aristo which is different from USAT. Add to that LGB with their polished rims appeal to some but are a turn off for others.

I returned at least 90 sets out of 100 or more that were probably made by a small business for a major dealer. I ended up paying nothing but wasting my time, the dealer lost money having to pay for my shipping both ways and the manufacturer ended up with 90 sets of used wheels and either a lot of extra work or a lot of lost work.

One major brand had wheels falling off rims another major brand wobbles and other brands have other problems. For someone to get into the business he would have to be able to afford a major loss if he turned out a product that did not serve his customers' expectations or he would be quickly trashed (rightfully so) on the Internet.

I just bought another 31 sets (4 axles) of wheels but to get me to try something (as an example) they would have to be cheaper than $10 (4 axles), better than Bachmann and from a dealer I trusted to refund my money if I was not happy. Perhaps this is a market well served by the Chinese (I never feel bad about returning Chinese made stuff).

Jerry


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## on30gn15 (May 23, 2009)

Posted By Pete Thornton on 29 Jul 2009 10:08 AM 
Jerry, 

I also discovered the bachmann metal wheels are not particularly flat on the treads, 

Hey Y'all;

Actually, that's true to prototype, depending on which direction they're not flat!!! 
Wheel tread should be slightly conical - larger inside edge, smaller outside edge.

Learned that in a book published by Central Electric Railfans' Association (CERA)


Conical profile helps:
1. center wheels between rails as they're rolling along
2. helps tracking around curves - distance traveled by outer wheel is less than distance traveled by inner wheel - intent is for outer wheel to ride on larger inner diameter and inner wheel to ride on smaller outer diameter. That reduces rolling resistance, i.e. friction, which costs energy, i.e. tractive effort.


Give me a minute to go find which book.
Here we go - A Rainbow of Traction, CERA Bulletin 126, pp. 117 to 126, quoting the work of a Prof. Dr. Ing. Dr. Ing. h.c. Hermann Heuman (1878-1967) who was a Ry. works manager and then an engineering professor at 2 German universities.
Whose work also studied what optimun curve radius between wheel tread and flange surfaces should be.
The quotes are full of algebraic curves and calculus which is over my head.

There is a specific way in which wheel treads should not be flat.
Now, whether Bachmann wheels mentioned match that, has to be checked. Ya know, I haven't looked at that on my V&T Silverado set.
Hmmm . . . 

later,

Forrest Scott Wood
Boonville, Missouri


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## Chucks_Trains (Jan 2, 2008)

I just received my fourth case of AML 1/29 wheels and these are great!! The new production run has the wheels blackened and it seems the fit relationship between the wheels & axles are a little tighter than the first run. I give these wheelsets a gold star esp. at the price of 150.00 for a case of 48, enough for 12 cars. I buy mine from RLD Hobbies!! 

Bachmann wheels..ugh...I couldn't get those things to gauge out without them falling apart..nasty wheels for sure.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Ditto Chuck, that's my last batch of wheels and will be from now on, and RLD also. 

Another improvement, besides being basically exactly scale diameter, this last batch was also gauged properly back to back. I almost fell over. After re-gauging EVERY Bachmann, Aristo and USAT rolling stock wheelset, what a nice thing to NOT have to do this! 

Seems like the "new guy" to 1:29 is listening to someone. 

Regards, Greg


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Chucks_Trains on 08 Aug 2009 06:17 AM 
I just received my fourth case of AML 1/29 wheels and these are great!! The new production run has the wheels blackened and it seems the fit relationship between the wheels & axles are a little tighter than the first run. I give these wheelsets a gold star esp. at the price of 150.00 for a case of 48, enough for 12 cars. I buy mine from RLD Hobbies!! 

Bachmann wheels..ugh...I couldn't get those things to gauge out without them falling apart..nasty wheels for sure. 

AML G12-101 Wheels, Freight Car 2 Axle, 1:29 (24 pkg/box) FITS ARISTO CRAFT ROLLING STOCK!
List Price $240.00
Your Price $149.89 
That leaves the question of what the wheel diameter and axle length is (how do they compare with LGB/Bachmann, Aristo and USAT?

According to Greg's web site (thanks Greg) it appears that the AML wheels are smaller (in diameter) than Aristo, wider than USA and smaller than Bachmann and LGB.

http://www.elmassian.com/trains-mai...inmenu-106

Jerry


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

They fit in my Aristo 2 bay hoppers just fine. The Aristo wheels have gone out of sight in pricing. The frequent price increases rankle me. I took a pay cut, everyone has less money, who is getting the raise to pay for the higher prices at Aristo? 

I like competition. Good for my wallet. 

Regards, Greg


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Mebbe they're aiming for he Acucraft pocket book... lol


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## Gary Lantz (Feb 20, 2008)

isnt Al Kramer still selling wheels? I have never had any issues with his wheels. I have to use them on our overhead layout in the store. They are the only wheels i can trust when a 20 car train is traveling over top of the customers. they are overbuilt for what they need to be and they always seemed to hold gauge very well in hot temps.


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

Al is still in business. Mostly on Ebay. Here is the link to his website. Even his prices have gone up.
http://www.san-val.com/


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## snowshoe (Jan 2, 2008)

For the price of Bachmann wheels you still cant beat them. At least I think so. I just could not see spending 20 or more $ for a set of metal wheels. Thats why I love modeling a low buget backwoods logging RR. Nothing has to be perfect.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Yep, at a street price of $10 for 4 axles, they are the cheapest around. 

Their quality is not high enough for my standards, in terms of wheel wobble, and finish. 


Regards, Greg


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

While at the HAGRS this weekend I checked on the AML wheels. RLD did not have them but the Kidmanns did. The axles looked longer so I bought a set, tried them on a LGB log car I bought at the show, they fit and spun fine so I bought another dozen packages.

I like the chrome finish for passenger cars and I think I am going to like these.

They seem FAR better made than Bachmann and they match the price I paid for the last sets of Bachmann I recently bought (considering the cost of shipping).

Jerry


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Jerry, thanks for posting how the new AML wheels fit on an LGB car. I don't know much if anything about these newer wheels. The thing about our fleet is they are all 1:22.5 scale, meaning LGB or equivalent sized wheels. I'll have to do some serious looking into these AML wheels. 


Our whole fleet is currently using Bachmann metal wheels. But for my most recent car rehabilitation program I really got frustrated seeing at least one wheel on each car bounce on switch frogs and a general wobble to at least 30% of the wheels. It is not fun to remove a wheel to re-gauge it. I probably should check them before installation.


Bachmann wheels look nice, and give some nice low weight to cars, but they are not good wheels right out of the package. Wobbly wheels is one thing, but havening at least one severely out of gauge wheel in every package is not good. And sometimes this cannot be fixed. Wish I new more about metal wheels before we took the Bachmann plunge. To reequip our fleet yet again would mean 168 wheels


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By San Juan on 16 Aug 2009 11:55 AM 
Jerry, thanks for posting how the new AML wheels fit on an LGB car. I don't know much if anything about these newer wheels. The thing about our fleet is they are all 1:22.5 scale, meaning LGB or equivalent sized wheels. I'll have to do some serious looking into these AML wheels. 


Our whole fleet is currently using Bachmann metal wheels. But for my most recent car rehabilitation program I really got frustrated seeing at least one wheel on each car bounce on switch frogs and a general wobble to at least 30% of the wheels. It is not fun to remove a wheel to re-gauge it. I probably should check them before installation.


Bachmann wheels look nice, and give some nice low weight to cars, but they are not good wheels right out of the package. Wobbly wheels is one thing, but havening at least one severely out of gauge wheel in every package is not good. And sometimes this cannot be fixed. Wish I new more about metal wheels before we took the Bachmann plunge. To reequip our fleet yet again would mean 168 wheels











Hi Matt,

Sometime over the next week I'll try to take some accurate measurements of these wheels. I just had a single LGB car to try them on and no measuring device to compare with. I bought 14 sets (28 axles = 7 of the 4 axle cars) which should be enough to make some valid comparisons of how they compare set to set.

These wheels are chrome(?) and look very nice and spin with no visible wobble or friction but one set is not enough to make a judgment.

Jerry


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## Wendell Hanks (Jan 2, 2008)

To all: 
If you have not done so, give a reading of the helpful information on Greg's website. 
Many thanks, Greg! 
Wendell


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks Wendell, going to measure more of the wheels, I updated the page to include overall axle length and axle tip diameter... come to think of it, I will add weight also... 

Regards, Greg


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

I finally got around to measuring the AML wheels BUT...

now I've misplaced the paper I wrote those measurements down on so I'll post it once I find it.

In the meantime I added some of the wheels to different rolling stock and I did come up with the following:

LGB PLASTIC wheels: 

Axle length = 2.755
wheel diameter = 1.177

Strangely the USAT PLASTIC wheels looked and seemed almost identical EXCEPT for the axle length:

Axle length = 2.798
wheel diameter = 1.177

It is interesting that in PLASTIC wheels the LGB and USAT wheels have the same diameter just as it is interesting that the axle length continues to be longer with USAT.

I remember that (like USAT) the AML axles are longer than LGB and Bachmann.

Often this is not critical in that when I put the AML wheels in some LGB boxcars there was plenty of side to side movement confirming that the axles were not too long for those cars BUT...

when I put the AML wheels into a LGB Mikado Tender it was a very tight fit with ABSOLUTELY NO SIDE MOVEMENT POSSIBLE. This shows that there is a potential bind if the AML (as with USAT) wheels are put into some particular trucks.

In the case of the LGB Mikado tender it is not a problem for me as the tender is surplus and the wheels do seem to rotate easily.

While the axles could be ground shorter I would hesitate to do that as they appear to be plated metal and grinding would remove the plating possibly resulting in rust at the axle ends which could cause significant friction.

Another factor I noticed is that the AML wheels appear to have more of a taper on the flat of the wheel where it rides on the rail. This could have a centering effect and may reduce friction if it has less contact with the rails but it does make measuring more complex and it would not surprise me if several people came up with noticeably different measurements from the same set of wheels.

In my case I used the wide surface (rather than the pointed surface) of the dial calipers because that gave me more of a general measurement rather than a precise one. After all on a tapered surface where would one measure anyway? I'm not an engineer so I tend to work in generalities until problems force me to get specific.

For that reason I think it is great for Greg to provide his website for wheel comparisons in that if he takes all of the measurements the results should be more useful in wheel to wheel comparisons.

On a different matter I was surprised to find that LGB plastic wheels fit as replacements to the small diameter LGB metal wheels that come with the LGB 2-4-0 tenders. The reason I wanted to try it is to see if there is a potential for putting LGB ball bearing wheelsets onto the 2-4-0 tenders thus increasing the 2-4-0 loco's electrical contact with the rails. I used the LGB plastic wheels because I do not have any spare LGB ball bearing wheelsets.

Jerry


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Interesting Jerry, thanks for posting.

I'd worry about the AML being a bit too wide. Especially for use with my Hartland cars, and maybe my old MDC caboose. I believe Hartland has updated their trucks to sprung, but my older cars with rigid trucks are pretty much at the limit with Bachmann metal wheels. Anything wider would probably be too tight. And my old MDC caboose was a bit tight for Bachmanns as well. Everything else fits great. So LGB can likely handle AML, as well as Aristo, USA, and Bachmann. Hartland probably can as well, but might be tight. MDC, which I believe Piko now has the molds to, is probably going to be really tight with AML.


Best way to find out is to try it. So I'll probably get a few sets of AML's to try on all of my cars. If they work nicely, then I'll start saving up to replace the whole fleet.

Does anyone have good photos of what AML wheels look like? Their website isn't the best for photos.


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## K27_463 (Jan 2, 2008)

The photo of the wheels on my web site is ok, but not great. Stop by and see them in person .They are a pretty good wheel however, and it ie easy to shrtemn the axle ends a bit if needed. 
Jonathan/EMW


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## Jerry McColgan (Feb 8, 2008)

Posted By Jerry McColgan on 20 Aug 2009 04:33 PM 
I finally got around to measuring the AML wheels BUT...

now I've misplaced the paper I wrote those measurements down on so I'll post it once I find it.

In the meantime I added some of the wheels to different rolling stock and I did come up with the following:

LGB PLASTIC wheels: 

Axle length = 2.755
wheel diameter = 1.177

Strangely the USAT PLASTIC wheels looked and seemed almost identical EXCEPT for the axle length:

Axle length = 2.798
wheel diameter = 1.177

It is interesting that in PLASTIC wheels the LGB and USAT wheels have the same diameter just as it is interesting that the axle length continues to be longer with USAT.

I remember that (like USAT) the AML axles are longer than LGB and Bachmann.



OK. I finally found my note.

This is what I measured earlier:

USA METAL wheels:

Axle length = 2.797
wheel diameter = 1.118

AML G12-111 METAL wheels:

Axle length = 2.750
wheel diameter = 1.215




This puts the AML axles at about the same as LGB PLASTIC wheels and the wheel diameter wider than both USA and LGB. Surprisingly it puts the AML wheel diameter as wider than both USA and LGB but I have to question my own results here. It may be that I measured wrong or it may be that I measured the widest part of the taper of the wheels and the part centering on the rails may be more like LGB.

To be honest I would not trust my figures. I think they are accurate but somehow the numbers do not seem right to me.

I also have not answered your concern about "I'd worry about the AML being a bit too wide. Especially for use with my Hartland cars, and maybe my old MDC caboose." because that is probably more a relationship of the flange diameter rather than the diameter I measured which is the part of the wheel that rides on the rails.

There is much more to wheel differences than what many folks think.

Jerry


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## Chucks_Trains (Jan 2, 2008)

Just a heads up that Wholesale Trains is selling Aristo-Craft 29111B wheelsets for 148.99 per case of 48 which came out to $3.47 an axle delivered!!

The Aristo number is ART29111BB and the BB means Blackened Bulk NOT Ball Bearing.

Here's the link...http://www.wholesaletrains.com/Detail.asp?ID=200509937


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