CMC/CMT/Standard Lines questions

Yes, the CMT wheels did come in two sizes.  I don't know the whole story, but I have a set of passenger coaches with large trucks and wheels, and a similar set with much smaller trucks and wheels.   

I often recommend Charlie Wood's train enamels for restoration, and on these forums there is always someone who thinks that his paints are bad color matches for Lionel.   In this case, however, it's a no-brainer: Charles Wood owned CMT, so he would be the one to go to for paints and maybe also wheels and other parts: his contact information is on his web page:

http://www.trainenamel.com/index.htm

Thanks, I didn't realize the paint guy was the same guy who owned CMT. There aren't any color samples on his website, but I'll get in touch with him and check it out. 

Thanks, that is a big help. Now to check the local hobby shop and see if that color is still available. Gotta go shopping tomorrow morning anyway. 

It's not real obvious in the video, but a couple of my boxcars here have the tin wheels and sit higher. I like the tin wheels myself, but they all work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTh-lY8L_ew

Steve

"The maroon paint matches Testor's PLA #4/1104 (bottle) or #4/1204 (spray can)"

 

Well, I went to the local hobby shop and found those numbers, so I bought a bottle and a spray can. We'll see how well it matches. Been a long time, but I imagine those formulas stay pretty constant over time, except for reducing VOC's to comply with new Federal rules. 

I'm not sure we're communicating completely on the wheel question. The odd wheel on my reefer is the same diameter as the others, but a narrower tread width. It certainly could have come from another brand of car, but it really does look identical to the others except for the width. If it will help in identification, I can mike the wheels and/or post a picture. 

The 2 types of wheels I posted about are the 2 kinds that were used on CMC/CMT items; turned aluminum and tinplate (that's what Steve was showing on the photo). The wheel on your car could be one of a number of things; it could be an original CMC wheel that was mis-machined and found its way on a car. This is very possible as many of the early items were offered as kits only. No one would notice a bad wheel in the bag destined for this cars kit. It also could be another companies wheel, but I'm not sure who that might be as most were different sizes. CMC wheels were kinda on the small side for standard gauge.

ARNO

Okay, so finally got around to taking some photos of my two different CMT passenger car sets/wheels.

On the left in the photos is a car from the (earlier, I believe) set I have ("Columbia", "Independence", "America", all with "Standard Lines" over the windows).  The body and window design is simpler, the wheels are small and aluminum, and the hook coupler is made of very thin flimsy metal, easy to bend in your fingers.

On the right in all the photos is the (later) set ("Madison", "William Penn", "Blue Stone", all with "Pennsylvania" over the windows), with the larger, more complex body and window design, the larger steel wheels, and a more standard, heavier steel hook coupler. These larger wheels do match the Lionel 200 series wheels.

Although I am not the original owner, I am quite confident these came from CMT like this.  Two very different wheel sets, on two quite different passenger sets.  The later coach on the right is significantly heavier than the coach on the left.  

All this is just "for what it's worth", contribution to the discussion, etc.  I realize this doesn't address Hiawatha's issue of the narrower aluminum wheel.  I still think Charlie Wood would be the first stop for a replacement wheel.

The best bet to find a replacement is to buy a beat up CMC car at a train show and take the wheels from it

Thanks Arno, that's pretty much what I had in mind, unless somebody shows up on the Bay with a bag of leftover CMC parts (entirely possible). Unfortunately, here in Tucson we do not have the kind of variety of stuff at train shows that I saw when I lived back East and cruised the shows in Virginia, Maryland, and southeastern Pennsylvania. 

Arno, thank you, that's the kind of factual clarification that really helps, collectors and operators both.   Tracking and making sense of the variations and the historical context gets harder the more time goes by.  Many of the details surrounding even such pivotol events as the Ives bankruptcy, for example, are impossible now to reconstruct.  Getting a well-researched narrative about modern Standard Gauge in place before the information is lost and forgotten seems like a valuable project.

Thanks Hojack. I'm just trying to help out those in need.

ARNO