Well I just wanted to see what you guys use. I have a lot of rolling stock with plastic wheels and with metal. I know this topic was probably discussed before but I wonder what you guys use and why. I use both plastic and metal wheels and I found that if I combine both my track stay cleaner. And they both have they're pros and cons. For instance plastic wears out much faster then metal and is a lot more quiet, but metal tends to wear out a lot slower and is more noisy not that it matters.
I have switched to all metal wheels since availability is good and price has become reasonable. You can add metal wheels for just a little over $0.50 per axle to existing trucks. I find them to run much cleaner and also add a little weight on the trucks. They look really good, and hold paint well. I like the sound also but thats a matter of taste.
I use whatever the car comes with.. I can't see the added cost of metal wheels since there's minimal benefits..My experience is based on my use of metal wheels in HO..I stopped the wheel replacement program when I discovered there's little benefits and my track still needed cleaning...
I tend to put things simply so here goes. The new Delrin plastic wheels are great runners. They do not collect dirt like the older plastic wheels. The metal wheels come in a wide variety but are generally preferred over the plastic wheels as it's felt they contribute to keeping the track cleaner. The other advantage is they do have significant weight. This keeps the train car from being top heavy as the weight rides where it belongs, on the rail. I operate both on my layout preferring to use Micro-Trains wheel sets, trucks and couplers. I do have some cars with metal wheels that have been blackened. I've yet to see a shiny silver wheel on any freight cars running past me on the 1X1 foot scale. Metal wheels nor plastic wheels attract dirt. It is static electricity that attracts dirt. What we are up against on our layouts is what is called "Environmental Build-up". Basically dirt that accumulates on the rail from the environment, mixed with the humidity and the lube oils we use to clean the track, enhance electrical performance and/or lubricate our locomotives. As the wheels move over this, it basically acts like a mixer and stirs it up giving you the unwanted gift of "Gunk". Due to the sticky adhesive qualities of "Gunk" it grabs the wheels and hangs on. It doesn't discriminate against metal wheels or the assortment of plastic wheels. It does love the older plastic wheels...so get rid of them...for sure. I hope that helps.
I've been switching over to metal wheels, they look much nicer then plastic plus you can also use the correct 36" wheels on a lot of modern cars that come with 33" plastic. The big downside to switching is the cost associated with a large fleet of cars so I've been switching a handful at a time.
I use the Delrin plastic wheels. I can get away with naturally dusty black easier then having to PAINT the metal ones. PLUS...painted ones need repainting once you take em off...soak em in alcohol to clean em. Availibilty...cost...cleaning...gauging...nah...i'll stick with plastic...JMO .
Plastic. I find the whirring sound made by metal wheels to be annoying and is nothing even close to the clickety clack of the prototype. Plastic wheels can be easily cleaned in an ultra sonic cleaner. Metal wheels will eventually need to be re gauged and that is not an easy job.
I am on the slow conversion path to all metal wheels. This is similar to the slow conversion of hundreds of cars and locomotives from Rapido to MT couplers. The wheels do not matter to me as much as the couplers. I do find that the blackening on the FVM wheels is good enough for me, and they roll very well. I am not too worried about the color of the wheels or painting them since I am more concerned with operations, and while watching the train and the signals, I really do not have time to look at wheels on the cars. As was said prior, I really do like the ability to use the proper 36 inch wheels on rolling stock that had them. As for cleaner rails, well that is more dependent on the type of track used than the wheel itself. It is the quality of the alloy that makes more of a differnce here. I have found little need for lots of cleaning with Peco ot Micro Enginerring track. I can not say the same thing for other track though. As for the increased weight, that is a bit anecdotal. The metal wheels weigh inly a tad more than the plastic ones they replaced, and the incremental weight gain is not enough to offset the weight in the car. I think what is really seen here is better tracking on the rail because of the better wheel profiles and not the weight. But I could be wrong. The downside to the good metal wheels is that sometimes they show the imperfections in track gauge more than a plastic wheel would. The almost neccitate the need to shim Peco tunouts in the gaurd reail area to keep them from dropping in the turnout and derailing. I stopped using Peco turnouts a while ago and started using handlaid turnouts instead. The metal wheels will still find track imperfections, but that is okay too, because we all have spots here and they we have to tinker with at one time or another. I will eventually convert to all metal wheels, if for no other reason they are halfway to adding the ability to add lighting effects for FRED's or caboose interiors. This is just one guys opinion.
I have tended to stay with plastic. I started switching over to Atlas low profile metal wheels but that created way more derailments than I ever had with plastic. May be they are out of gauge, I don't know, but it always happens when they are traveling through my yard ladders, and everthing goes through the yard. The metal wheels are especially troublesome on hoppers and 40' refers. What am I talking about? They are a problem on everything I've put them on!
Most of my cars had the old MT cookie cutter wheel sets on them. I tested several before deciding on the FVM metal wheel sets. I like the sound over joints, sounds like the real thing to me, and the free rolling. Much better than plastic and also much easier to clean.
Occupancy detection and signaling necessitated my using metal wheels. I use and like FVM fine scale metal wheel sets and I have never had to adjust wheel gauge on them. To me they seem most realistic and I want all the noise I can get. The MT low pro delrin wheel sets (black or red) would be my non-metal wheel choice along with MT trucks in either case. Running a track cleaning car over your layout prior to operating your trains will go a long way in reducing gunk buildup on plastic or metal wheel sets. Keep in mind that nickel silver rails will oxidize and this oxidization combined with environmental debris is going to end up on your wheels. Just my take on it. Jerry
Im using the metal wheel sets on my ore car train, the plastic ones seem to have more drag to them = hard to pull. but I do see where they will find any problems in your track work.
I'm enjoying this thread for its thought provoking nature, but generally with my current set-up, I prefer plastic wheels because they are quieter. My layout is in my den and it can get loud with metal wheels going. If I turn on the TV after my wife goes to bed with metal wheeled trains going, I have to have the volume on TV so loud she will say something from the other room, but with the plastic wheels this never happens.
Plastic does have more drag, I think all will agree to that. I tried some metal wheels and found them a bit noisy. They do allow longer trains. I went back to MTL medium profile plastic wheels because they are quieter and I run short trains (<8 cars), on my layout. Jim
I tend to disagree with the thought that metal wheels roll more free than a good delrin wheel set. I have yet to see anything that rolls as good as a standard MT truck with the new MT "standard" wheelset. There are definitely plastic wheelsets that are bad, specifically the older stuff from Model Power and Life Like, and current Athearn wheelsets but new Atlas and MT cars roll as good or better than anything I own. The wheels are not what makes a car roll good or bad. The axle points, how sharp they are and if they are the proper length is just as important if not more. Blunt axle points are usually the cause of a draggy wheelset. The big advantage plastic wheels have over metal is that if they were made properly in the first place, they will stay that way. Plastic wheels don't change gauge and melt if there is a short circuit.
I have block detection with a functional signal system, so it's metal all the way for me. So far I have not converted any rolling stock although I have added resistors to all of my Kato equipment that came with metal wheels from the factory. Jamie
I've been converting everything to FVM wheels. Experiments with a string of thirty ore cars fitted with the new wide tread versions seem to indicate they are more forgiving of the variety of indifferent track and turnouts on the club's Ntrak layout and ran all day on the Ntrak and at a recent T-TRAK running day without derailment. FVM wheels are also getting fitted to all my Japanese freight cars as over there they still seem to like shiny silver pizza cutters. The three different wheel diameters each with three different axle lengths make it easier to find ones that fit odd cars.
I tend to use what originally came with the car, be it metal or plastic wheels, as the difference to me is very inconsequential. For looks sake, I do not mix wheels on any car, but keep it consistent. I run straight dc, smaller consists, Unitrak, so some of the considerations do not apply to my layout, and I just was too lazy to concern myself with the argument "plastic or metal". I sort of see this argument at a model railroad organization, so that they made it a rule to run metal wheels only on club layouts which I considered preposterous. I know to many this is a consideration, but not here, I just enjoy running trains, my more serious consideration is that the wheel fits correctly in its truck housing. Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman
Metal wheels, but that is in part because they are the standard in Japan. I do look for the blackened wheels, as Westfalen mentioned some companies and the older models still use shiny pizza cutters. Newer Kato and newer Kawai (Japan's Bachmann and the only company that makes a lot of freight) are blackened and low profile.
