I have ordered MT low profile wheelsets before usually in the 100 wheelsets per package. So I go to order some more and I can not find any wheels labeled as 'Lo Profile'. All I find are 'Standard' flange and 'Medium' flange. No 'Low Profile' flange. I am understanding the Standard flange to mean what is commonly called the 'Pizza Cutters' and the 'Medium' flange to be the MT answer to the Atlas C55 track problem with the 'Standard' flange wheelsets. Am I correct?
Per the Micro-Trains Web site the High-profile Wheel Sets are the Pizza Cutter wheel sets and the low profile wheels sets are listed as the Standard Wheel Sets.
The 33" "Standard" wheels sets are listed as "Medium" flange. They work well on Atlas C55. I bought a 48 axle pack. The number on the pack is 003 12 000 (401).
IIRC, the original so-called 'pizza cutter' wheelsets were P/N 1007. Then, low-profile wheelsets were introduced as P/N 1008. More recently, 'standard' wheelsets were introduced with a compromise medium-profile flange. So, if you want wheelsets with the lowest profile flange then get the 1008. A brief search turned up some dealers that still seem to have them available.
The low-profile wheelsets had a sharp flange similar to the high-profile "pizza cutter" wheels, which in my experience made them prone to pick the end of point rails in the same way that pizza-cutters do, particularly when pushing cars that have truck-mounted couplers. MTL discontinued their low-profile wheels when they introduced their "standard" (medium flange) wheelsets, which have a low-profile, rounded flange that is similar to those found on the quality metal wheelsets. I have a hundred or more cars running on the medium flange wheels, and in my opinion they operate just as well as any metal wheels. Regards, Ron
