Auel Trucks...

State of the art in 1941.  The only rivals were Lionel 700 trucks.  Die cast wheels seem to attract dirt - I use only steel wheels on things that actually run.

But yes, these are still good models - 17/64 scale.  I have some, but none with moving journal box lids.

I collect old kits, and have several of them using Auel trucks. I believe they were made in both 17/64 and 1/4 scale. I actually have an old Auel catalog from 1936 - I'll get some pictures of it soon.

Here's a set of the "Super-Detailed" trucks that I have, with working journal box lids.

Here's the catalog, plus a note from Carl Auel.

@Johnbeere posted:

I collect old kits, and have several of them using Auel trucks. I believe they were made in both 17/64 and 1/4 scale.

They were produced in both scale, and also insulated and uninsulated, so you have to be a little careful buying these,

I also have a bunch of sets of those, but none with the liftable journal covers.  Love em.  There seem to be some iterations over time as well.  They are shown in the 1941 Westbrook catalog as well.  Just an FWY, an AUEL four truck flatcar kit just finished on ebay, I was not the high bidder.  It seemed to go up and away.  Hope someone on here got it!

They reproduced them not so long ago, for $50 a pop.

Auel must have used superior Zamac; I have never seen one crumble.  Did not know they made them in 1/4" scale.

Here is the link to the AUEL flat.  Very likely it was from the more recent production as you suggest.  It definitely looks a lot better than the P&S 200 ton cars I have.  This AUEL went for $75 so a bit above my desire... Maybe I should work on an elongated punch to try and punch those slots in some thin brass for my P&S cars.  Ought to be about like making rivet rows.

Here is the link https://www.ebay.com/itm/O-Sca...rksid=p2047675.l2557

@mwb posted:

They were produced in both scale, and also insulated and uninsulated, so you have to be a little careful buying these,

Wow, you're right. I just checked the pair shown in the initial photo, and although the flanges are smaller (and therefore "2 rail") they are indeed NOT insulated. 

That's not a deal breaker, as I'm sure I will find something to put these on, but it's good to know for future reference. Thanks for pointing that out. 

Mark in Oregon

@Strummer posted:

Wow, you're right. I just checked the pair shown in the initial photo, and although the flanges are smaller (and therefore "2 rail") they are indeed NOT insulated. 

That's not a deal breaker, as I'm sure I will find something to put these on, but it's good to know for future reference. Thanks for pointing that out. 

Mark in Oregon

That was not an issue for the outside 3rd rail folks,

You can pop off the wheels and with some care and a round file clean out the opening and insulate with a smidge of tape on the axle secured with a smaller smidge of Goo when reassembling the wheelset. Just get it right the 1st time otherwise it gets messy fast,

I did a 5lb coffee can of these once upon a time...........

Something else. 

I put these on an Athearn reefer. They look nice:

...but since the bolster center is 20/32" (5/8") above the rail height, these raise the coupler height to where it may be problematic. I checked some other trucks, just for laughs. An Athearn plastic truck measures 17/32" and a Gloor Craft is 16/32". It may not sound like much, but since it does effect the coupler height, I think it's worth noting...

Mark in Oregon

I bid on that Auel flatcar - price went far too high for me in the end. Would've been quite a nice kit to put together.

@Dennis Holler posted:

Here is the link to the AUEL flat.  Very likely it was from the more recent production as you suggest.  It definitely looks a lot better than the P&S 200 ton cars I have.  This AUEL went for $75 so a bit above my desire... Maybe I should work on an elongated punch to try and punch those slots in some thin brass for my P&S cars.  Ought to be about like making rivet rows.

Here is the link https://www.ebay.com/itm/O-Sca...rksid=p2047675.l2557

That site has a ton of cool old stuff right now; in fact, that's where I got these trucks...

Mark in Oregon

I think that these were dipped in paint:

@mwb posted:

1. That was not an issue for the outside 3rd rail folks,

2. You can pop off the wheels and with some care and a round file clean out the opening and insulate with a smidge of tape on the axle secured with a smaller smidge of Goo when reassembling the wheelset. Just get it right the 1st time otherwise it gets messy fast,

3. I did a 5lb coffee can of these once upon a time...........

1: Good point.

2: "...pop off the wheels"? Good grief, I'd be afraid of just trying to disassemble these old trucks! 

3: ...wow...

Mark (still) in Oregon

Yep, I've been watching that guy on Ebay for a while now. I think he won a bunch of auctions on some other site and is now selling it all on Ebay. I bought two old boxcars from him, fairly nice.

I've disassembled/assembled plenty of Auel trucks - number one recommendation, do it in a plastic bag. Those springs like to fly away.

To disassemble them, just remove the springs, slide the spring plank out the side, rotate the bolster to 45 degrees, and the side frames should come right off.

Yep, they come apart easy, just remove the springs and keep track of em.  The trucks look great cleaned, painted, and weathered a bit.

@Johnbeere posted:

Yep, I've been watching that guy on Ebay for a while now. I think he won a bunch of auctions on some other site and is now selling it all on Ebay. I bought two old boxcars from him, fairly nice. ...snip...

A lot of his current listings are from the recent Stout auction of S. Neil's collection.

I thought so. Not great to just turn around and sell it all for profit, but what can you do. At least it makes all the items easier to find.

@Strummer posted:

1: Good point.

2: "...pop off the wheels"? Good grief, I'd be afraid of just trying to disassemble these old trucks! 

3: ...wow...

Mark (still) in Oregon

Auel trucks tend to be quite robust; popping off a wheel from the axle was easy; leather mallet!

The spring plank is however the delicate component.  Those tend to be found broken or missing entirely.

I am pretty careful when insulating.  I use collets, a lathe, and a crankshaft drill, and even then go to a press that keeps the wheels parallel.  I have never been able to press freight car wheels without an alignment jig.

Mark - just put some cardboard under the couplers to space them down.  Or buy the special Kadee pads.

@bob2 posted:

Mark - just put some cardboard under the couplers to space them down.  Or buy the special Kadee pads.

...of course; thanks!

Mark in Oregon

Thought I would add this too, an Auel coupler and draft gear off an old boxcar I have... Interesting setup to both automatically align the coupler and give some springiness to it.

@Johnbeere posted:

I thought so. Not great to just turn around and sell it all for profit.....

Want to control what happens to the stuff, make the highest bid. People flip stuff all the time. It is neither illegal or immoral. The items are not sacrosanct, they are just things.

Simon

Oh, I'm not upset over it or anything - by turning around and selling it it has given a wider audience a chance to buy it.

Just for laughs, I put those Auel trucks under the caboose I scratch-built some 25 years ago:

Mark in Oregon

Strummer, nice looking cabin, but what's that black thing between the rails??? :&lt

For all you Auel fans, Carl's daughter Jeannette Gatch, took over the business, located in North Huntingdon, PA

I recall seeing ads in the classifieds (Leasepool) of an issue of the late O Scale News, one from Ms Gatch: Some of the late Robert Parri's dies have surfaced, while in another ad someone asking: Anyone know the whereabouts of Robert Parri's dies?

I don't know if the two ever hooked up, but I got a good laugh from the coincidence.

Robert Parri, for those who don't know, hand made highly detailed freight cars. I think Parri may have worked for Carl Auel, but I can't say so with any certainty.

Simon

@Simon Winter posted:

Strummer, nice looking cabin, but what's that black thing between the rails??? :&lt

Simon

Thanks!

Actually, I'm using big test loop of Gargraves, with both a 2 DC section and a outside-center rail section, so I can alternate between the two.

I find that both 3 rail and scale wheels run just fine on this brand of track, so why not use 'em both...

Mark in Oregon

I've actually been considering getting some Gargraves track... The ability to run both two and three rail trains on the same track is pretty appealing, considering I collect both two and three rail O scale.

By the way, is that a Walthers caboose on the left edge of that photo? I have one that looks very similar - same color too.

Yes, it is a Walthers car.... good spotting!  Photo?

Mark in Oregon

Here it is, quite a nice old caboose. I purchased it on Ebay a while back. Is it about the same as yours?

@Johnbeere posted:

I've actually been considering getting some Gargraves track... The ability to run both two and three rail trains on the same track is pretty appealing, considering I collect both two and three rail O scale.

It's working out quite well for me; and changing between AC and DC only takes a minute. Plus, Gargraves seems much more affordable...

Mark in Oregon

Sounds nice, probably going to go ahead and do it. Another plus for me is that it's 'historically correct', they were making this track back in the 50s, so it's not out of place. Are there any differences from the track they make today and what they made back then?

By the way, is there a recommended transformer to use for 2 rail DC?

Track: can't say for sure, but I would doubt it. I like Gargraves; it's worked out really well for me.

I find the "power pack" that works the best for my All Nation Ten Wheeler is an old ( pre zip code) Model Rectifier unit. Simple, no pulse power and seems to handle the big open frame motor a little better than some of the newer packs I have...FWIW.

Mark in Oregon