Hi guys. I have a few of my old school rolling stock that I need to update with steel trucks/wheels and Kaydee couplers. I am unsure as to how to get the old plastic trucks/wheels off......do they just pop off or is there a special tool needed for this?
Replacing trucks, wheels
- Thread starter Dashdriver
- Start date
It depends on the brands of your cars. Some like Accurail & Con Cor use plastic pins with an interference fit to hold the tucks on. Others like Athearn and Model Die Casting/Roundhouse use screws to hold the trucks on. Unless you really want to replace the trucks, it is much less xpensive to just replace wheel sets. I've found that even some cheap toys that I have all they need is to have the coupler mount cut off the truck, the wheels replaced, a Kaddee coupler box and #5 coupler installed, and the car weighted properly to NMRA specs and they are ready to go.
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To make your cars really perform this is one of the best investments you can make.
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As far as changing out the wheels, that was easy. The problem I am running into is the couplers. Since there seems to be so many different types of Kaydee couplers available, I am pretty sure I have the wrong ones for the trucks on the car. How do I go about getting the right ones to fit?
The "talgo style" trucks mentioned above are the ones that have the couplers mounted on a tongue sticking out from the frame itself. For most reliable operations, the tongue should be cut off and the coupler mounted directly to the body of the car.
The most recommended fit for this situation is the Kadee #5 with draft gear (i.e. the box the coupler is mounted in). But for a more precise recommendation, you can go to www.kadee.com and look up what you need based on the manufacturer of your car(s). They also sell replacement metal wheels that can be fitted to the modified frames. They roll much better and add a little weight compared to the plastic wheels.
If you have a local hobby/train shop near you, they should be able to provide whatever you need.
Andrew
The most recommended fit for this situation is the Kadee #5 with draft gear (i.e. the box the coupler is mounted in). But for a more precise recommendation, you can go to www.kadee.com and look up what you need based on the manufacturer of your car(s). They also sell replacement metal wheels that can be fitted to the modified frames. They roll much better and add a little weight compared to the plastic wheels.
If you have a local hobby/train shop near you, they should be able to provide whatever you need.
Andrew
I have an IHC covered hopper with Talgo trucks but I just can't sem to find the right Kaydees to fit off their website. The ones I bought (#42's) just don't even look close to fitting.
Are you attempting to fit the coupler to the box mounted on the truck? Some designs are extremely difficult, if not impossible to fit.
If you are going to mount the couplers on the body of the boxcar (or whatever), you will need a draft gear box to mount the coupler in. They can be shimmed down or the car can be raised to make the coupler the right height. If you need to change height dramatically, you can get overset or underset couplers.
Browse through the Kadee web site to see all of what is available.
For IHC Rolling stock:
Their recommendation is to convert to body mount using #5 with draft gear boxes:
http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page47.htm
Their item #10 is a 10 pair pack of #5's (without gear boxes) and #11 is a 20 pair pack. Item #3 is a #5 coupler all assembled in a draft gear box, so you can just glue or screw the entire assembly in place. There is a bulk pack of #5's with the draft gear boxes as well, but I can't find it.
If you want to keep the Talgo-style trucks and couplers, they recommend #27 or #28:
http://www.kadee.com/conv/pdf/i139.pdf
This would be a useful started kit to have, and the price is not bad compared to buying everything separately:
http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page394.htm
Hope that helps.
Andrew
If you are going to mount the couplers on the body of the boxcar (or whatever), you will need a draft gear box to mount the coupler in. They can be shimmed down or the car can be raised to make the coupler the right height. If you need to change height dramatically, you can get overset or underset couplers.
Browse through the Kadee web site to see all of what is available.
For IHC Rolling stock:
Their recommendation is to convert to body mount using #5 with draft gear boxes:
http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page47.htm
Their item #10 is a 10 pair pack of #5's (without gear boxes) and #11 is a 20 pair pack. Item #3 is a #5 coupler all assembled in a draft gear box, so you can just glue or screw the entire assembly in place. There is a bulk pack of #5's with the draft gear boxes as well, but I can't find it.
If you want to keep the Talgo-style trucks and couplers, they recommend #27 or #28:
http://www.kadee.com/conv/pdf/i139.pdf
This would be a useful started kit to have, and the price is not bad compared to buying everything separately:
http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/page394.htm
Hope that helps.
Andrew