I have been checking the FVM website. Fox Valley Models has three axle lengths in N scale: .540 inches .553 inches .563 inches What type of trucks (bogies) are these each used for? Are they sometimes referred to by another name? Thanks for the help. Also, BLMA does not offer separate axles; they have the 100 and 70 tons trucks as a separate unit. Correct? Thanks again.
Partial Answer I just checked Feather River Trains. They post on their website: .540 inch: Micro Trains; Athearn .553 inch: InterMountain; some Atlas .563 inch: Concor; some Atlas; Bachmann I suppose it is posted somewhere else, but FRT is the only place I found the two parameters related to each other. How do you know which Atlas?
I can't find the thread, But I believe I read on another thread, it's basically 28" - Intermodal 33" freight 36" passenger They do look differentesp 36 vs 28. I misclicked and bought a bunch of 28s. As I dont have any intermodal, I'm hoping to one day trade them for 33 or 36" wheels.
Yes. Those are wheel diameters; I know it is on the How To Forum somewhere. I wanted to know axle lengths as they relate to model manufacturers. This N scale stuff is not for sissies!
From memory of my own fit outs, the .553 length goes in the newer Accumate trucks, the .540 in the older Rapido trucks. As for the .563 length for Atlas, could be older models again. Note - the .540's fit the pre-Athearn MDC trucks very nicely.
Older Atlas rolling stock uses .563; newer Atlas rolling stock uses .553. Also I'd like to add that the DeLuxe Innovations Twin Stack and Maxi III well cars use .553" axles. Rivarossi cars use .563
I do what kmcsjr does. I use my micometer as well.For me, that is the best way to determine which length axle to use. Sometimes I use the trial n error method. I keep changing them 'til one fits. Enjoy, Wolf
This sounds very strange to me.:tb-confused: Isn't it: 70 Ton Trucks ride on 33" Wheel sets 100 Ton Trucks ride on 36" Wheel sets 125 Ton Trucks ride on 38" Wheel sets And my guess would be that 50 Ton Trucks ride on 28" wheels The weight of the car + max load determines the type of truck that is used under that car and the truck determines the wheel diameter. The bigger wheel diameter is needed to spread the weight on the rails. Thus it is not the type of car that determines the diameter but the weight. If I'm wrong I'm sure some one will correct me.
Yes, that's basically it... To say that ALL freight takes 33" wheels isn't exactly true as you've pointed out with 100-Ton cars and their 36" wheels. That said, there isn't a definite rule for wheel diameter on all types of cars; things change depending on era, builder, weight, etc.
All this talk about wheel diameters has me baffled. I read somewhere years ago that a trains wheel contact area is only the size of a dime ( I found the article http://science.howstuffworks.com/diesel-locomotive2.htm ) So if thats true...what difference does wheel diameter have on anything? Whether 28 to 36 inches diameter...the contact area is still the same. right ? :tb-wacky: .
Doing some "drifting" around the web I think I found an wikipedia page about the subject: quoted from from wikipedia page "Rail adhesion" under "Forces on wheels" -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_adhesion The behaviour of adhesion railways is determined by the forces arising between two surfaces in contact. This may appear trivially simple from a superficial glance, but it becomes extremely complex when studied to the depth necessary to predict useful results. The first error to address is the assumption that wheels are round. A glance at a parked car will immediately show that this is not true; the region in contact with the road is noticeably flattened, so that the wheel and road conform to each other over a region of contact. If this were not the case, the contact stress of a load being transferred through a point contact would be infinite. Rails, and railway wheels, are much stiffer than pneumatic tyres and tarmac, but the same distortion takes place at the region of contact. Typically, the area of contact is elliptical, of the order of 15 mm across. The distortion is small and localised, but the forces which arise from it are large. In addition to the distortion due to the weight, both wheel and rail distort when braking and accelerating forces are applied, and when the vehicle is subjected to side forces.
When you think about the fact that the wheel spins around, you realize that the contact area is not the same. A 38" wheel has a tread that is 35% larger than a 28" wheel. Over the life of the wheel, that means less wear and tear on any given point of the wheel tread, all else being equal. It also means heat generated from friction against the rails is less concentrated; the engineering properties of the wheel get less advantageous as a wheel gets hotter, and a larger wheels stays cooler. These are the reasons why larger wheels are used for heavier rated trucks.
My rule of thumb was that all Accumate trucks and newer Rapido trucks take the .553 inch axles. Actually I have found no cars that use .565 inch axles, except some WoT six axle trucks that took a mix of 3603 and 3602. I don't have older Atlas trucks because these are long replaced by newer ones with Accumates that were removed from other cars. Now I saw that Atlas have obviously used a different truck in their 20700 gal tank cars, the wheel are different and the axle length is between .553 and .563 inch. 3602 are too loose, 3603 too tight. (I will put this in a separate thread, too)
Athearn Caboose Metal Axle Replacements I haven't tried the .563 axle lengths, but the .540 (MT replacements) and the .553 inch are too short for the new Athearn caboose trucks. The FVM .563 axles must be correct if you can find them. If you know of a vendor, please send me a PM. Thanks. Anyone else have data or input? Thanks again.
Flash, which caboose trucks do you mean? I have used .540 wheel sets on my SP C-50-9 Bay Window Caboose without problems. For the wood sided oldtime caboose I think I used Atlas metal wheels, that was in 2006. Considering my experience with the new Atlas trucks it is quite possible that trucks are made by a supplier that had been replaced by another. But I would have expected that they have to work against the same specification.
That is the one I am talking about, the (new) Athearn cabooses with McHenry couplers. My InterMountain MT replacement axles are what I am using, but they are very loose in the truck. These IM axles are .550 inches long. I would like to find the .563 axles from FVM, but I can't find them. (I can't find the .540 inch metal wheels either.) The Exactrail MT replacement axles are .540 inches are much too short for the Athearn caboose, IMHO. You and I just disagree on how well the .540 inch axles work. Maybe there is something different about the truck frames? Also, I don't see any metal wheel manufacturer who states that they have a replacement for the Athearn trucks. Atlas has metal wheels but I don't know how well they work. Thanks for the input. I suppose we need a chart with all the options. I prefer to see a stated axle length rather than a "replacement for Atlas" type of statement, but that is not available for most manufacturers. Also, as I write this, I am not really sure what is best for a "loose" or "tight" fit. There is no real standard for that, either. [Edit no. one] I just noticed that IM sells "Brass insulated wheelsets" and "Brass insulated wheelsets to fit MT trucks," two different products from IM. [edit no. two] Atlas also sells two different wheelset types...one type for MT (22133) and another type for everything else (22020).
The length of the axle is obviously important to know which side frames need which axles. But the diameter of the heels 28,33,or 36 inch is not too important in my book. In N scale, who is going to see 3,5,or 8 inches difference. Especially when ruuning at shows, the general public would most likely never see a difference. Soooo, what ever I can find, at the time and looks good is OK. BTW, you may not have seen, BLMA now has metal wheet sets available. Good looking job by Craig. Now, if I could only find a vendor who has them.
