I have a few Weaver cars with the plastic trucks and want to change them to diecast. Do I have to use Weaver trucks or will MTH fit? What mods, if any, will I have to make?
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You may try the search function, here on the OGR Forum, as this was discussed at length, within the last 7 to 10 days. One poster even gave the Weaver truck part number.
SouthernMike,
The short answer is yes, contact Weaver and purchase their metal trucks,
they will substitute correctly. When you order make sure you talk to the Weaver Rep
and advise which rolling stock you are putting them on.
PCRR/Dave
Thanks Hot Water. I always forget about the search function
. Found exactly the info I was looking for.
It all depends on what models you want to change trucks on.
Plain ol' boxcars are pretty easy. I've put MTH, Lionel, and Atlas diecast trucks on my 40 and 50 foot boxcars.
On anything else like reefers, hoppers, and flatcars its best to stick with Weaver trucks.
NOte that Weaver models uses a full scale Bolster so you need their trucks to mount if you do NOt want any modification and the cars to ridge too high up.
also NOTE if you plant to change trucks on open hoppers, you will need to contact weaver models for an extra long screw [1"] instead of the standard 3/4" screw supplied]
Hang on to those plastic trucks, if you make the switch. Those are molded with Delrin plastic and have a strong resistance to wear. They will significantly outlast any die cast truck for operation where the trains run for hours on end. They will also roll easier because the Delrin-to-steel axle bearing surface is almost frictionless.
Some of the Weaver plastic trucks used different wheels than their die cast trucks and, for a brief period, the thickness of the wheels were a bit too much. Those wheels tended to short out when passing through some frogs and crossings. If you have some of those style trucks, you could simply change the wheel sets and still run the plastic trucks with their advantages.
Speaking about trucks, Weaver also marketed a nice model of arch-bar trucks. This type of truck was used on older cars, from before the turn of the century (19th to 20th) until about 1920 or so. These trucks really look nice under vintage equipment and provide a variety from the more common Bettendorf or the newer roller bearing trucks. Not sure if they still have them in stock, but they will interchange with their regular trucks.
Paul Fischer
