Has anyone installed flanged wheels on the axles close to the fuel tank on a RailKing SD70ACe?
Original Post
Replies sorted oldest to newest
I have never done it nor seen it done before but I can only imagine it will increase your min. curve requirement. That is why they use the bling drivers to begin with. Even Premier line engines use blind drivers.
Goodluck!
Is the axle fixed or does if flop up and down? My guess is a flopping axle with flanged wheels which rise above the track will derail a lot. If they are fixed you'll just need wider radius curves 
In my experience, the geometry of these "fake" 6-wheel trucks can be an issue; the center of the truck - and pivot point - is actually closer to being between axles 1 and 2, and that 3rd axle just hangs off in space, which can make for an ugly sight on a curve. I'd like to see someone try it, though - "your results may vary...". I can almost guarantee a wider curve requirement, if not actual binding, depending on tolerances.
Williams, strangely enough, has typically used a proper 3RO 3-axle truck design (blind #2 drivers; flanged #1 and #3) in the past on their Alco PA's and EMD E-7's; guess they still do.
I don't know what the "flopping axle" comment above is about.
My Lionel SD40-2 has a blind but flanged outermost axle on each truck, and it makes O-31 no problem. I'd be curious to see if this is possible, I'd like to convert both of my RK ACe's
Not sure if you can pull the wheels off the axles of MTH engines. It is my understanding that they are pressed on with a lot more pressure than post war wheels were. There is the possibility that you wheel puller will break before the wheel comes off.
This was conveyed to me some years ago by MTH. Thus the reason they don't stock separate wheels. You can buy wheel and axle sets but not separate wheels or axles.
Ok guys so I guess I will let the picture speak for themselves.
I have an MTH Premier AC4400CW rated for O36 curves. It has the blind driver in the center:
Now let's look at what it looks like on a O36 curve:
As you can see, the middle driver's edge on the outside curve is inside the outer rail and on the inside of the curve the middle driver's edge is on the outside of the outer rail. If these were flanged, a derailment is obviously going to happen. Now if I had wider curves this would not be an issue. This is why they use the blind drivers. It doesn't matter of the blind is in the middle or the rear, they are there to allow our large trains to navigate tight radius curves.
P.s. if you want accurate wheels on these locos, MTH Premier engines can be purchase with scale wheels and also include fixed pilots for those with wider curves.
If you manage to get this done, and I seriously don't see why you want to, it will definitely decrease the min. curve required for the loco to run.
Hope this helps!
Attachments
Images (3)
My question is why?
Dave
Don't stare at the trucks. Watch the smoke unit or the MARS light.
david1 posted:My question is why?
Dave
I prefer engines with all flanged wheels!
david1 posted:My question is why?
Dave
I have 2 RK dash 8's ready to flange..The question is why?..these engines are members of a 6 eng MU..slow scale speeds through atlas switches offer poor ground and occasional stutter. The extra flanged metal wheels will help. My premiere 3 axle units do not have this issue.Dave Zucal referenced a you tube video on this..might be tony with the really long trains.
The video to watch, on YouTube, about this subject is, MTH Trains: Changing out the blind axle. It's by Tommy Z.
I just don't see the reason To this on RK engines. What will the curvature of the track you could use? o72? Smaller?
MTH does make it so that you could use 3 rail wheels on a 3/2 premier loco. The minimum radius would be O72.
Dave
Dave Zucal posted:The video to watch, on YouTube, about this subject is, MTH Trains: Changing out the blind axle. It's by Tommy Z.
Do you have a weblink?
Frank, go to YouTube and do a search for it. That’s what I did and it was the first video of the returns.
Larry
Plastic wheels look bad I thought they would have unflanged metal wheels that were in its place.
MTH hasn't redesigned that 3 axle truck. The newer ones with the blind center axle are also capable of changing complete axle sets to scale wheelsets from their delivered high-rail wheelsets.
I was hoping for the new wheelsets when they originally released the E44. But, alas, it was not to be.
Fred
Here is the link:
Swafford posted:Dave Zucal posted:The video to watch, on YouTube, about this subject is, MTH Trains: Changing out the blind axle. It's by Tommy Z.
Do you have a weblink?
Swafford posted:Has anyone installed flanged wheels on the axles close to the fuel tank on a RailKing SD70ACe?
Look closely at the truck, you'd have to replace the whole truck. Those plastic wheels are just flopping around in a loose hole on most RK stuff.
gunrunnerjohn posted:Swafford posted:Has anyone installed flanged wheels on the axles close to the fuel tank on a RailKing SD70ACe?Look closely at the truck, you'd have to replace the whole truck. Those plastic wheels are just flopping around in a loose hole on most RK stuff.
if you watch the video there are two common spacers installed that keeps the axle and wheels in position..
