# How often do wheels have to be changed?



## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

On model railroad rolling stock? This seems an appropriate place to post this question, despite the scale.
I'm just wondering, because I'm building these trucks from scratch, and need to know if I can glue them all up, or if I should devise a method of disassembling them to replace the wheels.


----------



## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

If you put some sort of brass bearing in them, I would not worry about it. If you just run them in the cast plastic, you may have a problem with the holes getting pretty worn out well before the wheels do. Brass eyelets work pretty well for bearings also. Jerry


----------



## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Once would be too many if you had to break those nice pieces. Can't you use some bolts or lag screws to hold the frames in place?


----------



## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Bruce, Jerry, 
I drilled the wheel holes to accept brass bearings. I don't really want to screw them together, as any screw or bolt that I can find small enough, really doesn't look right and messes up the rivet and nut pattern. 
If I have to though, I suppose I could use some #90 bolts on the end beams and the bottom beam to hold it in place. The middle beam (bolster?) has aligning pins that fit into holes on the inside of the side frames and some tendon that fits underneath the top beam of the side frames. 
Which brings many to another question. Does anyone know the anatomy of the trucks, so that I can use some acceptable nomenclature to explain myself. I don't have any plans for this except photos and side elevations of the coach I'm building, so I'm not sure what all the parts of the trucks are called.


----------



## Bruce Chandler (Jan 2, 2008)

Here's a diagram of a truck, Richard.   Only took 106 tries.


----------



## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

I usually change wheels just once..., when I go from the plastic wheels that typically come on the railcar to metal wheels.  I don't think that I've ever changed out metal wheels out, except on engines with stripped gears.


----------



## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Thanks Bruce, that makes it a lot easier to describe what I'm doing. I'm using metal wheels, cause I seriously hate plastic wheels.


----------



## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

As they wear, they'll start to get their tread dished. As it gets worse, the car will easily derail. We wear out a lot of wheels at the Botanic! We look at a car when it keeps derailing and replace the wheelset when it looks too dished.


----------



## Greg Vocks (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice looking sideframes, Richard. Keep us posted on the progress.


----------



## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

Greg, 
I'm posting the details of the truck construction on the Models forum. Its under the topic coach 64 scratch build.


----------



## timlee49 (Jan 12, 2008)

Hi Richard, 

Love the work that you are doing on those trucks. Have a look at my thread in the master class forum. 
I am building 4 foot carter trucks for the combine. 

My bolster plate is screwed down to a support attached to the back of the top spring plank (according to Bruce's drawing above) above the position of the leaf springs with M2 screws and nuts. My bolster plate is 2mm thick and re-inforced on the underside by a box of 2 x 3.4mm styrene pieces along all the edges both for rigidity and to help locate the plate horizontally and vertically against the side frames. 

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii254/timlee49/Wholetruck001.jpg 

Dang that doesn't seem to work! Any way follow the url, or see the original thread, and there is a pic of my first truck assembled. At the top you can see the heads of the screws holding the bolster plate . 

I have yet to add beams to the ends for the brake hangers which will cure a slight tendency for the frames to bow outward. 

I also have a contingency plan to add a bottom plate the width of the leaf spring using the same method but with only 1 screw per side tapped into the leaf spring to tie the two sides together. 

Any way that is one way to do it. I shall post more detailed pics of my method when I can move around a little more and take some. 

Your trucks are beautifully detailed and the precision is exquisite. My trucks are a bit rougher as I build to the standard that I can see post cataracts (about a 4 foot rule) I figure that if I am satisfied, few others have the knowledge to notice! 

Again, beautiful work Richard. 

thanks 
Tim


----------

