I responded to Atlas' offer to get the new low-profile wheelsets for the M-T trucks- the price was right (free!). I've put several of the wheelsets on some of the M-T trucks, and even though I don't have any code 55 track, they do actually add to the looks of the car. The package they came in is marked "beta samples", which leads me to believe they're part of a test bed, so what the hey- I'll try 'em, since they look better than the deep-flanged M-T wheels (shades of old Rivarossi HO). Have anyone else tried the new Atlas lo-pro wheelsets? What's your impression?
I got my pack and had them installed on all of my M-T cars the same day. I gotta agree, they look a lot better than the original wheelsets and track just as well. Since I don't have any Code 55 track either I can't vouch for their performance on it, but I'm sure someone else here can.
Are the new Atlas wheels the larger diameter wheels? It is my pet peeve that Micro-Trains low-pro wheels are the smaller diameter. The brown ones look so good on tank cars and such but are just too small to complete the look.
I got the Atlas lo pro and tested them for rolling qualituy with regular MT and MT lo pro. Both the Atlas and the MT lo pro equipped cars rolled farther down an inclined ramp than the regular MT. [test done on code 80 track so no interference with spike heads] between the two lo pro wheels my tests were inconclusive as some cars [empty MT 2 bay hoppers] rolled farther with the MT lo pro while others [atlas 90 ton hoppers rolled farther with the Atlas lo pro] still others cars were about even. These results were consistent during several tests. The biggest difference that I can see is in the thickness of the rim on the side of the wheel. Atlas has a much thicker rim than MT. Atlas wheels are supposed to be cheaper than the Mt's which if anyone is going to change over will probably be the biggest factor in deciding which to get.
The Atlas lo-pro wheels are supposed to be 33" in diameter (in N scale). 33" wheels are in use on cars up to 70 tons, and 36" are used on cars up to 100-125 tons. However, since an inch in N scale is extremely small (and at the risk of starting THAT argument again), you could get away with 33" lo-pros. The main reason I'm enthralled with the lo-pro wheels is the shorter flanges. M-T wheels (the regular ones, not their lo-pro) have those deep flanges that cause problems much like the old Rivarossi and Fleischmann wheels did in HO- run 'em on track smaller than code 100, and the flanges hit the ties. The cars with the Atlas lo-pros are running well on my layout (all Atlas code 80 with Peco turnouts).
Guess I missed out on that whole offer. Is the offer still good? If so, how do I find out more about it? I don't have any code 55 track but would like to try the new low pro wheels because I think they make the cars look much better.
I got mine the other day in the mail. Although I appreciate the free-b's and I will use them, I think the MT low profile wheels look a lot better, as said before, they do not have that huge rim around the outside. Just my thoughts...
I'd have to disagree that 36" wheels arn't noticeably different than the 33" wheels, although I notice them from the passenger car view, rather than the modern tankcar view. Many of the available passenger car trucks ride too low on their 33" wheels as they were patterned after prototype trucks using 36" wheels. Dropping 36" wheels in Kato trucks brings the truck sideframes up off the top of the rail nicely.
