I made my own "Tool" by modifying a extra Athearn wheelset I had laying around.
First, I moved both wheels to the middle of the axle. Then I took a file and
filed a flat spot on the 'needle' point, filing to the dead-center of the axle.
I did this on both ends. This made a nice 'drill bit' cutting tool, in
effect, on each end which, when applied to a truck, makes a clean cut which
perfectly matches the Athearn axle. Plus, the wheels in the middle are perfect
for spinning with a finger. Total cost: $0.00! Best Idea I ever came up with!
-Val
Douglas Harding wrote:
> Jan
> To answer your question, my understanding is that on real freight cars you
> can not "see" thru the springs anyway. Many on the Steam Freight Car list
> you cited www.steamfreightcars.com (and the STMFC yahoo list) object to "see
> thru" spring clusters and do not use sprung trucks for that reason. Some
> will glue a piece of styrene behind the spring area and paint it black to
> fill in the space. But this still leaves you with two coil springs, while
> prototype freight trucks had 6, 8 or more coil springs. Further the
> objection is the metal springs used in sprung trucks are too large with the
> coils spaced too far apart to be realistic representations of the actual
> springs used on freight trucks. Those seeking the most prototypically
> correct looking models op for cast one piece trucks. The "Prototype Police"
> and Rivet Counters" on the two above lists (most are the same folks)
> especially like Accurail's "Bettendorf" and Andrews truck frames as being
> the most accurate renditions in HO scale.
>
> Jeff Wilson in the latest issue of MR has a good basic article on Freight
> Trucks, including currently available models. For even more info the Railway
> Prototype Cyclopedia Vol 4 had an extensive article by Richard Hendrickson.
>
> I have some sprung trucks on my models, but find many do not roll as well,
> the equalization does not work because the springs are too strong, and you
> can see thru the spring area. Some are just plain lousy for rolling
> characteristics as well. Others just do not look good. I have been
> stockpiling Accurail truck frames for those older models that have lousy
> trucks. I also replace almost all wheelsets with InterMountain metal
> wheelsets. Haven't gone to the .088 width as InterMountain does not sell
> them in the 100 count bulk paks. I have given up on the Kadee and even PK2
> wheelsets because 1) the wheels are not always true on the axle and 2) the
> plastic axle points accumulate the same gunk found on plastic wheels.
> Eventually this slows down the truck and causes drag.
>
> While I appreciate prototype fidelity in modeling, I also have a layout on
> which we operate, and performance is equally importance to appearance. IM
> metal axle points in the slippery plastic truck frames gives superior
> rolling performance and with a little weathering still look good.
>
> One tip I would offer, no matter what truck you use, get "The Tool". This is
> the roller/cutter you can use to clean out and even reshape the cone shape
> receptors for axle points. I now use it on every model I assemble to
> correctly shape, clean and prepare the trucks before installing wheelsets. I
> have even managed to salvage pot metal and brass trucks using this simple
> tool to shape the holes correctly. It is also great for cleaning out paint
> and gunk.
>
> Doug Harding
> Iowa Central Railroad
> www.iowatelecom.net/~dharding/
>
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> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>
--
The only time we have had lasting peace is after a Military victory.
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