Big disappointment about new MTL 33' Metal Wheels

People who click on a thread have an expectation of seeing posts related to the thread's topic. If you want to post on something different then the proper protocol is to start another thread topic. Not a difficult process to understand or do. Am I wrong on that?

 

"If you want to post on something different then the proper protocol is to start another thread topic"? Where is that defined?
Thread drift can be an indication that the original topic has been beaten to death.

 

There will come a time when the rules mandate exactly what you must say. I won't like that day. Pretty sure it will reflect what Rich S. pointed out.

You can get slapped for slacking a girl. What? What? What did he say?

 

On the drift thing. A thread goes where a thread goes. Much like a discussion around a coffee shop counter. It can change and flex until you no longer recognize the original thought. Nothing wrong with that. Besides look at all the fun we are having.

 

On topic...I prefer MT plastic wheelsets.

I had more to add...but... a friend told me many years ago "If you have to think twice before hitting the 'post' button...dont do it." LOL

 

I too like the M/T plastic wheels and have never had an issue with them in the almost 40 years of modeling in N sale. Almost my entire fleet has them despite who made the car itself. Of late, I have picked up a few 12 packs of the 33" M/T metal wheels for testing on the new layout. So far, I have been extremely happy with them. Based on what I have seen and experienced in my test runs and as time and funds permit, more cars will be getting the M/T metal wheels. Thumbs up from this happy user.

 

Have changed most of my freight cars over to MTL trucks and have now changed over to the MTL metal wheels on all of those (270) cars.
I noticed that besides the pleasant rolling noise they also roll a lot easier on my Kato track.
Fred

 

Since I model tight radiuses most of my changes have involved switching to truck mounted couplers and they have been MTs with their delrin plastic wheels. Back when I had some trucks with metal wheels but because of the difficulty converting the couplers I changed out the whole truck to MT again.
I still have some metal wheels on some cars so I run a mix of metal and plastic wheels and I have noticed squat difference. And I am sorry but I cannot justify the expense of changing to all metal wheels when so far to me they have not made a difference in performance except to add more weight to some rolling stock. And as far as crud build up I have noticed little to none on either.

 

Speaking of staying on topic..I didnt know MTL made 33 foot metal wheels.

Big disappointment about new MTL 33' Metal Wheels

 

Ummm, you didn't know there is a new scale? G++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

I never had a problem with the Micro Trains plastic wheels, but when Micro-Trains first released their new metal wheels I picked up a 12 pack just to see what the fuss was all about. It seems to me the cars with the new Micro-Trains metal wheels roll and track better then the cars with the Micro-Trains plastic wheels. Someone suggested it's because the metal wheels lower the center of gravity on the cars, I don't know if that's really true. But I can tell you, so far I've purchased a two of the Micro-Trains Metal Wheels 60 axle pack, plus the original 12 pack and have not had an issue like the original poster of this thread.

 

I would still like to know the weight difference between 4 MTL plastic wheelsets and 4 MTL metal wheelsets. I just cant seem to buy the notion that the metal ones lower the center of gravity that much.

Anyone up to doing a weight check ??? TIA.

 

I'm with you, George. I can't believe the weight of metal wheels against plastic wheels makes a measurable difference in the car's CG. But then I can imagine that we have many problems with cars CG anyway. If your cars are falling over, you need to consider stringlining or poor trackwork first.

 

Thanks Rick

I just dont think the miniscule weight difference justifies changing to metal wheelsets. The 'gunk' debate hasnt swayed me either. Everyone has their own philosophy about everything and thats great. Its what makes forums like this interesting to read and respond to.

 

On my previous layout I always wiped the track with 91% alcohol before running trains and never had any problems with gunk. Most of my railcars have MT or Atlas plastic wheels and a few are metal from various sources.

Joe

 

OK, a 40' car weighted according to NMRA Recommended Practice would be 0.95 oz. So, changing the trucks from 0.018 oz to 0.091 oz would be only a 7.7% change in car weight. I have seem a lot of cars that were closer to 0.5 oz, so that would make the medal wheel addition a 15% change in weight. I guess that isn't necessarily inconsequential for a car that is too light. But, would it improve a car already weighing close to the NMRA RP?

The idea that it is weight in the trucks, and that improves tracking on the rails, might have more merit, since the change in weight of the trucks is probably a multiple of the truck weight, rather than a fractional increase. But, I would need to see a car go from being a frequent derailer to being an infrequent derailer to make me confident that changing to metal wheels was (alone) the reason for that. The plastic and metal wheels would need to have the same profile to avoid other possible reasons for changes in the rail-holding ability.

So, can anybody tell us if the profiles of the MTL plastic and metal wheels are pretty much identical?

Has anybody put the metal wheels on a car that frequently derails to see if they change it to a rail-hugger?

 

I had a couple of steam locos that were converted to MT pilots with MT plastic wheels that had some difficulty with turnouts, the pilot truck derailing. I retro fitted the pilots with steel wheels and eliminated the issue.