# Removing Bachmann 4-6-0 wheels ?



## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Has anyone advice about taking Bachmann 4-6-0 wheels off their axles? 

I have a couple of the 5th generation versions (Xmas 2000) that I think are mechanically similar to the Annie. They have big brass bearings on the two end axles, and smaller ones on the blind center drivers.

I want to pull off the wheels and mess about with them. Any ideas how they are attached? How to quarter them when putting them back on?


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## DKRickman (Mar 25, 2008)

I think (though I'm far from sure) that the wheels and axles are in fact a single piece of metal. I have a B'mann 0-4-0 which is constructed this way, and I beleive that the designs are pretty much the same. There is a square tennon on the end of one half axle which mates with a square hole in the other side. There is a plastic insulator between them. Thus, quartering is no problem, but I understand that the tennon can be easily broken if you're not careful. 

Here's a picture of my wheels/axles, pulled apart. 









What sort of "messing about" do you want to do to the wheels? Turning the flanges down will probably require disassembly, but cosmetic modifications can be made without removing the wheel, just by removing the plastic center.


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## DKRickman (Mar 25, 2008)

A couple things I forgot to mention... 

If the wheels & axles are indeed cast as a single piece, you'll be able to tell by the fact that the electrical wipers are on the axles, instead of being against the tread. 

The ony thing holding the wheels together is friction, so they can be pulled apart. Be careful, though, to pull them as close to parallel to the axle as possible. If you damage the tennon, you'll probably be replacing the part unless you're willing to basically totally re-engineer the way they're attached. 

In the photo above, you can see a brass sleeve on one of the crank pins. I was unhappy with the ammount of slop in the rods, so I decided to sleeve the pins and bore the holes to match. I highly reccomend it, since power is transmitted through the rods. Of course, with that said, I haven't test-run my model yet.. we'll see if she even runs after all my modifications.


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

If it is the same as an Annie the centre blind drivers plug together, the other two axles are retained by a 3mm machine screw. You need to remove the plastic centres on the flanged units in order to access the screws. So its best if the wheels are out of the loco, but it can be done by removing the motion. 

When you reassemble place a 3mm washer between the wheels and the axles and secure with locktite. I've done this as amatter of caourse with all my Annies and it cures any loose wheel-wobble syndrome. Why they never fitted them from day one is beyond me. Pic below shows washer fitted on Annie wheel sans plastic centre


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks guys. I found the thread about removing the 0-4-0 wheels, by taking off the plastic insert to get at the screws. Looks like mine are the same. 

[Nice chassis Rod. What's it for?] 

What sort of "messing about" do you want to do to the wheels?











This little fellow became EBT #3 and has 40" drivers quite widely spaced. But to minimize chassis work, I need to swap wheels and axles - or move the chuff wipers.


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## DKRickman (Mar 25, 2008)

That looks like quite a project, Pete. I look forward to seeing how it turns out.


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

Its for the mallet Pete 

http://www.gtrains.co.uk/ 

Select the Annie Mallet from the menu. 

Cheers


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

looks like quite a project


The project just got easier. I went down to Star Hobby this afternoon to find another ten-wheeler (only 4 wheels left on my old chassis,) and they sold me a "Summit Pass" set ($125.) I didn't know B'mann made an old-time version, with old style domes and headlight - saves me a lot of work! 

Boscovs have them for $99 plus shipping. Here's a pic from ehobbies.com: 










Anyone want a refrig car and a 4-wheel caboose? 

http://www.boscovs.com/StoreFrontWeb/Product.bos?quantity=1&itemNumber=39045&type=Product


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