I've decided to change my passenger equipment to steel wheels. I use M/T trucks on 98% of my passenger cars. Purchased FVM 36" wheels at LHS, checked gauge, checked brake shoe clearance, tried them in different sets of trucks, but they just won't turn. I know these are quality parts. It must be a mis-match on my part. Only thing I can think of is the axles may be a bit too long. I'll be "Sad,sad,sad" 'til I can figure this out. Hope to find an answer soon, because "Time Waits for No One". "(I can't get no) Satisfaction" right now !!!
As you can see here: http://www.foxvalleymodels.com/wheelsets.html there are some length depending on truck brand... 540" are for MT trucks. for example: http://www.fiferhobby.com/n-scale-wheel-sets/
The only things that I can think of the will stop wheels from turning are interference with cast-on brake shoes or axles that are too long. If you are using MTL trucks, then the axles should be 0.540" long. Check the wheel sets that you took out of the trucks (which presumably roll OK) with a caliper to make sure you really know what you need to match. If they are 0.540", and your Fox Valley axles are also 0.540", then that is not your problem, and you need to revisit the wheel diameter for brake shoe clearance. I seem to remember seeing somewhere that MTL passenger car trucks have problems with 36" wheels, but can't find the reference right now. You can also use a caliper to measure the wheel diameter of the sets you took out and compare them to the Fox Valley wheels you are trying to put in. [If you don't have a decent quality caliper, you need to get one to pursue N scale modeling to the level you are attempting.] The only other thing that I have seen make wheel sets not roll properly is the axle points not being properly set into the cups on the truck frames. Sometimes ham-handed attempts to replace wheels ends-up making dimples on the insides of the frames that catch the axle points and hold them in the wrong position, so checking that they are in the right position(s) for all axles might show you a problem. Good lighting and probably some magnification would help with that. Finally, I should point out that Fox Valley metal wheels are made of brass, not steel.
I agree here. Double check to make sure they are the ones for the M/T trucks. If they are, then is the wheel diameter the same as the wheel that came out. A size difference that isn't even noticeable to the eye can make a huge difference.
Also, unless you are changing the wheels out on the new heavyweights, the other passenger trucks use 33" wheels. Also, they are not steel wheels, FVM are brass wheels coated in Nickel Silver
I found I made the mistake on the axle length. I had bent the brake shoes back a bit, but I'm not really comfortable doing that. I will keep these because there really is no such thing as "Spare Parts". All is not lost, though. I get to go back to LHS !!! I knew the wheels were not actually steel. I was making some VERY bad jokes that nobody seemed to catch !!! I should have asked "Angie" or "Mona" before I bought these wheel sets. I'll go and get the right ones today so I can get my "Silver Train" rolling "All Down the Line" !!! HINT: Everything in quotes is a song name !!!
