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Is there an issue with these MTH trucks?

J jini5OGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER

I bought this gp35 new from a dealer in February. It is a 2 rail loco. I am finally getting around to change the scale wheels to hi rail wheels. I got into this project and discovered that the scale wheels on the loco didn't match up with the hi rail wheels in the new kit from MTH. Then it hit me that the gears on the trucks are on the same side for each truck. I didn't think that was right so I started turning over all my other 2 axle truck locos to compare. I turned over 12 MTH 2 axle truck locos and all 12 had gears on opposite sides of each other.(comparing front truck to rear truck) This is a proto 3 loco. Did something change with proto 3? can anyone out there compare their gp-35's and let me know if they have the same set up?.

 This is an issue for me because the hirail axles will have the metal bushing on the wrong side for 2 of the 4 axles. Here are some pictures of what I am talking about. The picture of the wheels is what I took out of the loco (scale wheels) Any help appreciated.

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AGHRMattAGHRMattOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERMEMORIAL SUPPORTER
Originally Posted by jini5:

Matt, I am using MTH flat rail realtrax with 072. I am trying to pull 11 railking 2 tier auto transports and a caboose. Those auto transports are heavy but are no challenge for my other MTH locos. Do you think the trucks are correct on this loco?

Mine seem to do fine, but I usually run them in pairs and I usually pull about 10 cars. Pulling 11 RK auto transports with cars is probably a stretch, though. As I recall, GP35's didn't pull very heavy loads on road switch jobs and every time I saw them they were in pairs or groups of three or four.

 

The rear truck is set up facing the same way as the front to provide a more prototypical positioning of the rear truck (the GP35 was a shorty). I didn't see any differences between the trucks, so the hi-rail wheels should fit normally. I haven't purchased any of the replacement wheelsets, but if they have traction tires, those should be positioned closest to the fuel tank. Inserting the wheelsets is a bit tricky as you have to line the bushings up properly or they won't go into the slots. Also, check to see if there are copper shims in place (sometimes they use those for fine adjustment. If a shim is in the slot the wrong way, the wheels won't go in.

J jini5OGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBER
Matt, thanks for the response. Heres my issue with this.......If you look at the picture of the scale wheels I removed from this engine you will notice that all 4 are the same(metal bushing closest to the "gear cog" of the axle. However, what came with the MTH 20-89009 hirail wheelset kit was 2 axles with the metal bushing closest to the "cog" and 2 with the plastic bushing closest to the "cog". The 2 with the plastic bushing closest to the "cog" on the axle will not fit properly into the truck frame. There are pins in the truck frame and also in the plastic top plate of the truck that are supposed to make contact with the opening in the plastic bushing. I am thinking if I had a "Front" and "rear" truck instead of 2 "fronts" or "rears" I would be OK with the Hirail wheel kit.
 This all would never be an issue for 3 rail guys.  I see you have experience with changing out scale wheels to hirail wheels. Any thoughts on this?  Thanks
Originally Posted by jini5:

Matt, I am using MTH flat rail realtrax with 072. I am trying to pull 11 railking 2 tier auto transports and a caboose. Those auto transports are heavy but are no challenge for my other MTH locos. Do you think the trucks are correct on this loco?

Mine seem to do fine, but I usually run them in pairs and I usually pull about 10 cars. Pulling 11 RK auto transports with cars is probably a stretch, though. As I recall, GP35's didn't pull very heavy loads on road switch jobs and every time I saw them they were in pairs or groups of three or four.

 

The rear truck is set up facing the same way as the front to provide a more prototypical positioning of the rear truck (the GP35 was a shorty). I didn't see any differences between the trucks, so the hi-rail wheels should fit normally. I haven't purchased any of the replacement wheelsets, but if they have traction tires, those should be positioned closest to the fuel tank. Inserting the wheelsets is a bit tricky as you have to line the bushings up properly or they won't go into the slots. Also, check to see if there are copper shims in place (sometimes they use those for fine adjustment. If a shim is in the slot the wrong way, the wheels won't go in.

 

AGHRMattAGHRMattOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERMEMORIAL SUPPORTER
Originally Posted by jini5:
Matt, thanks for the response. Heres my issue with this.......If you look at the picture of the scale wheels I removed from this engine you will notice that all 4 are the same(metal bushing closest to the "gear cog" of the axle. However, what came with the MTH 20-89009 hirail wheelset kit was 2 axles with the metal bushing closest to the "cog" and 2 with the plastic bushing closest to the "cog". The 2 with the plastic bushing closest to the "cog" on the axle will not fit properly into the truck frame. There are pins in the truck frame and also in the plastic top plate of the truck that are supposed to make contact with the opening in the plastic bushing. I am thinking if I had a "Front" and "rear" truck instead of 2 "fronts" or "rears" I would be OK with the Hirail wheel kit.
 This all would never be an issue for 3 rail guys.  I see you have experience with changing out scale wheels to hirail wheels. Any thoughts on this?  Thanks
Originally Posted by jini5:

Matt, I am using MTH flat rail realtrax with 072. I am trying to pull 11 railking 2 tier auto transports and a caboose. Those auto transports are heavy but are no challenge for my other MTH locos. Do you think the trucks are correct on this loco?

Mine seem to do fine, but I usually run them in pairs and I usually pull about 10 cars. Pulling 11 RK auto transports with cars is probably a stretch, though. As I recall, GP35's didn't pull very heavy loads on road switch jobs and every time I saw them they were in pairs or groups of three or four.

 

The rear truck is set up facing the same way as the front to provide a more prototypical positioning of the rear truck (the GP35 was a shorty). I didn't see any differences between the trucks, so the hi-rail wheels should fit normally. I haven't purchased any of the replacement wheelsets, but if they have traction tires, those should be positioned closest to the fuel tank. Inserting the wheelsets is a bit tricky as you have to line the bushings up properly or they won't go into the slots. Also, check to see if there are copper shims in place (sometimes they use those for fine adjustment. If a shim is in the slot the wrong way, the wheels won't go in.

 

Ah. See the issue. I don't normally swap out my wheelsets -- I just run with the scale wheels as we have flat-top rail at the club. The best thing to do would be to contact MTH for a set of rear-truck hi-rail axles since it looks like they're pressed on backward.

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