Replacement Wheels

[Meiriongwril]

I'll need one day soon to replace large flanged wheels on some older cars with small flanged ones to run on Atlas Code 55 track.
Atlas sell replacement wheels, of course, and whole trucks, but these come in various types. For example, wheels can be 33" or 36", trucks can be 40, 50 or 70 ton.

Does anyone have an easy rule of thumb thumb: ) to calculate which wheel size and/or truck type is approporiate for which type of car? The cars concerned are of all sorts: older and more modern boxcars, reefers, hoppers, cabeese, etc etc.

Any thoughts welcome

 

[inkaneer]

Atlas wheels are low profile so no need to replace them. MT wheels are all 33" so get the MT Low Profile wheelsets. MT wheelsets have a shorter overall axle length than Atlas so you cannot put MT wheels in an Atlas truck. Now Atlas makes wheelsets to fit both their trucks and other wheelsets that have a shorter axle length to fit MT trucks. To keep things simple replace the Mt's with Mt's. No need to replace the rtrucks unless you want to get rid of the Accumate couplers on the Atlas cars. Then buy the corresponding truck whether it be a Bettendorf, roller bearing or Barber roller bearing. You can buy these in bulk packs.