# Plastic Bachmann wheels: adjust gauge?



## Skeeterweazel (Feb 11, 2014)

Attached pic shows wheels where i tried to adjust gauge. Notice crack on right axle. Guessing this wasn't supposed to happen. I did this a while back; think i had to hit it pretty good. 
Is there a trick to adjusting gauge?
Also, axles have a bunch of side play. Is the best/easiest thing to do is to stick some washers in there?
Thx.
Marty


----------



## Garratt (Sep 15, 2012)

Some side play in the truck is good though. It keeps irregularities of the track jiggling the wheels instead of the truck or car causing derailments. As long as the axles don't pop out. It is also good to have one side of the truck a little loose like LGB make them so if one wheel lifts up the others are still on the rail. 

Andrew


----------



## Phippsburg Eric (Jan 10, 2008)

I use their metal wheels which have a plastic sleeve over the axle... each wheel has one and they meet in the middle. some do have a gap but haven't been a problem.. you could check the back to back distance ( the distance between the inside of the wheels ) against the standard...which i do not have in my head...just check it against other stuff.


----------



## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Skeeterweazel said:


> Attached pic shows wheels where i tried to adjust gauge. Notice crack on right axle. Guessing this wasn't supposed to happen. I did this a while back; think i had to hit it pretty good.
> Is there a trick to adjusting gauge?
> Also, axles have a bunch of side play. Is the best/easiest thing to do is to stick some washers in there?
> Thx.
> Marty


If I remember rightly, the wheels are push-fitted on the metal axles. I used to put the wheel pair upright in a vice, loosely, with one wheel resting on top of the vice jaws and the other wheel dangling down. Then if you tap the axle with a hammer it pops out of the wheel.

To adjust the gauge outwards (to 1.51" back-to-back,) put a washer (or two) on the axle center before you push the wheel back on.

But metal wheels are better. Bachmann sells a set fairly inexpensively.


----------



## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Both G1MRA and NMRA standards suggest a back-to-back spacing of 1.575". On the G1MRA standards, that's an absolute minimum. The NMRA standards allow the back-to-back distance to be narrowed just a bit to 1.560". The NMRA standards allow for slightly wider flanges than G1MRA, hence the difference. The key dimension is actually the "check gauge," which is the back-to-back plus the width of one flange. The NMRA standards for wheel check gauge allow for a range of 1.619" - 1.648". G1MRA is 1.614" to 1.634". Wheels with flanges on the wider end of the standard require a narrower back-to-back spacing in order to meet the requisite check gauge standard. 

Later,

K


----------

