Can anyone tell me if its possible to fit kadee trucks to Athearn cars? I have an old 40' Hi-Cube but i want some decent trucks underneath it. Any ideas welcome Regards Whoppit
First question I have is why since the Athearn trucks is among the best free rolling trucks on the market? Anyway,yes the KD truck should fit your 40' hy-cube. Why not simply replace the plastic wheels with metal wheels? BTW..You didn't state if you have the older BB 40' hy-cube kit or the newer RTR which comes with smooth rolling metal wheels.
Its an old blue box kit in b&o colors, it has old roller bearing trucks with the axles in cups not pinpoint axles, never come across them before?
I guess, I'm too young to know. All the blue box kits I have ever assembled have the industry standard style of truck with pointed axles seated in a cone shaped hollow in the sideframe. This Hyatt truck would be what I mean: If that's what you're referring to, I'm not sure what advantage there is to replacing it unless you're superdetailing. Just drop in your favorite metal wheels. perhaps use "thetool" or a hobby knife to clean out the pockets a bit and go.
Thats what i was amazed at, every one I've built had pointed axles but this has flat ended axles and the journals rotate, very strange and not very good friction wise! Seems like they were Timken roller bearing trucks made with stub axles to look like the real thing athearn still make a version but with plastic wheels! http://www.athearn.com/ProdInfo/ATH/450/ATH90398-450.jpg look at the front axle on the right truck, you can see its not pointed
I've seen those where the rollers actually roll. I might have some actually. I've never had a problem with them when I've run trains with them though of course harder to put metal wheels under. Anyway, yes, the Kadees will work, though I've never used them, so I don't know if you'll need to widen the bolster hole.
I have installed Kadee trucks on my Athearn cars. The work required is minimal. Here's what I do: (1) tap the bolster to accept a 2-56 screw; (2) place a red Kadee fiber washer around that bolster and insert a screw into that hole; (3) using a #17 chisel blade placed flat against the washer, carefully remove the excess plastic on the bolster (now you know why I insert the screw); (4) lightly sand the bolster if required. (5) remove the screw and use it to attach the Kadee truck. The coupler, IME, will now be at the correct height, btw. Although it seems like a lot of steps, in reality, it only takes a couple of minutes, provided one has all the necessary items on hand. Dieter Zakas
If the axle isn't pointed then hows the wheel being held in the truck? Somethings not quite right here since the pointy end of the axle holds the wheel set in the truck. Gotta ask.. Did you buy the car used?
Brakie, those trucks have roling rollerbearings. The ends of the wheelsets have the rollerbearing details on them and the trucks have holes clear through so when the wheel is inserted the ends are visible and turn like the real thing.
These trucks are actually close to prototype - they just have plain bearings without balls. I've seen and owned quite a few and I think they were/are Athearn RTR. Real trucks don't have pointy ended axles, that's purely a model thing, and AFAIK not used on locomotive driven wheels.
I picked up a set of those at a train show a couple years ago - I believe they were Athearn Genesis labeled 36". Nice trucks, roll well - but as much as I like the rolling ends, it's kind of overkill. Not really noticeable when on a train rolling by.
If they are Genesis trucks then I can understand the lack of a pointy axle.. As far as the prototype a king pin sits in the trucks and held in place by the weight of the car as is the wheel set in the trucks.Locomotive trucks is held in place by a king pin/weight combination.The king pin allows the trucks to swivel.
In real trucks the axles sit in the roller bearing cage which is then held in place by weight. The same is true for cars and locos.
If I remember corrrectly, the first maker to have these trucks with actual rolling end caps was Kato, and that was circa 1998-1999. Might be them. If they don't roll well you could apply some graphite to the surface the the axel rides on as it passes through the truck frame (the bearing surface) will help a little. However, if it is a sticky truck, it's a sticky truck. I find that Branchline or Intermountain solid metal wheelsets (pointy ends) in most Delrin trucks, that have had graphite applied to the needle/pocket, will roll too well....right off the assembly table. If free rolling is your goal, look into that. But, that's if you plan to haul long consists. If you are pulling shorter runs, a sticky car shouldn't hold things up, and may add a pleasant squeak-Bad Order Ambiance. If you keep these and want to have the cap stand out, remove the cap and paint it a sky blue or oxide red-face of the cap only. These represent bearings that have been replaced in routine maintenance, and I have noticed both colors on one truck. Yellow on occasion, too. Give them a thin dark wash, and then touch the details with a thinned white to make them pop. If you're going rivet counter-go rivet counter! Mark Godspeed, Johnny Trains!
The timken trucks are part of the original blue box line, not genesis. However they are similiar to the genesis ones in design, just a bit less detail.
I only know what was printed on the card they were packaged with - "Athearn Genesis". Maybe they're collector's items :tb-err:
Genesis also makes trucks with bearing caps the rotate, however the OP probably has the blue box line of trucks.
