Was out on Kadee's website and noticed they finally list their 2R O Scale Trucks for sale... Placed my order!
O Scale Trucks and Wheels - Trucks and Wheels - Shop by Category (kadee.com)
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Can anyone confirm if the caps actually rotate on the roller-bearing trucks, please? The website doesn't say.
At the risk of sounding stupid (or uninformed) the differences between 2- rail and 3-rail trucks:
- the 2-rail are insulated, and the three-rail make an electrical connection through the truck wheels, allowing for the "ground" or common in AC. IF that was the only difference, then the 2-rail trucks could be used on 3-rail. but...
- there is a difference in wheel flanges. This would affect _________________.
Just a question to be educated. With the prices of the 3-rail (Lionel and/or MTH) and 2-rail (Kadee or others) being nearly identical, the only reason to try a Kadee might be the generally-known quality of their products??
@Mike Wyatt posted:At the risk of sounding stupid (or uninformed) the differences between 2- rail and 3-rail trucks:
- the 2-rail are insulated, and the three-rail make an electrical connection through the truck wheels, allowing for the "ground" or common in AC. IF that was the only difference, then the 2-rail trucks could be used on 3-rail. but...
- there is a difference in wheel flanges. This would affect _________________.
Just a question to be educated. With the prices of the 3-rail (Lionel and/or MTH) and 2-rail (Kadee or others) being nearly identical, the only reason to try a Kadee might be the generally-known quality of their products??
As this Topic is posted in the 2-rail section, and is about 2-rail trucks, the differences between 2R & 3R trucks isn't really relevant..?? 
@Mike DeBerg posted:Was out on Kadee's website and noticed they finally list their 2R O Scale Trucks for sale... Placed my order!
Interesting. Curious to hear/read what folks think of these once they are in actual use; fairly limited choices but at least Kadee has finally entered the market with products. Nice to see arch bars included. Might be interesting if they are also going to sell just wheelsets.
Dear Guys,
nice to see Kadee coming in the market as RY models is winding down .
also nice to see 36” wheelsets and the Kadee adapter.
Hopefully will have samples for October Strasburg so attendees can have a closer look/see.
John
@Mike Wyatt posted:At the risk of sounding stupid (or uninformed) the differences between 2- rail and 3-rail trucks:
- the 2-rail are insulated, and the three-rail make an electrical connection through the truck wheels, allowing for the "ground" or common in AC. IF that was the only difference, then the 2-rail trucks could be used on 3-rail. but...
- there is a difference in wheel flanges. This would affect _________________.
Just a question to be educated. With the prices of the 3-rail (Lionel and/or MTH) and 2-rail (Kadee or others) being nearly identical, the only reason to try a Kadee might be the generally-known quality of their products??
The flanges on 3 rail wheel sets are much larger. 2 rail wheels can't be used on tubular style track (FastTrack, postwar Lionel, etc) but can be used on solid rail track such as Atlas or MTH Flextrack. You are correct about the insulation which is also why Atlas charges $5 more for 2 rail cars.
I'll be curious to see how these turn out as well. I like Atlas trucks just fine and those are a little cheaper usually but the arch bar Kadees are appealing for sure.
Not sure why somebody thought your question wasn't worth answering... would've been just as easy to answer it as it was to make a dismissive comment.
@SundayShunter posted:Can anyone confirm if the caps actually rotate on the roller-bearing trucks, please? The website doesn't say.
Sunday,
Yes the bearing caps do rotate. They are quite nice. The wheels are code 145 as well.
The bushings that come with the trucks are nice. The tall one in center of the sprue is meant to convert the body bolster of the old 70s’ Atlas cars. The one on the right in picture is meant for converting modern atlas cars and fits over the stud that sticks out of modern Atlas body bolsters and acts as a spacer for mounting the Kadee trucks or any other with standard NMRA truck bolster.The spacer on the left goes in the bottom of the Kadee truck and is made for fitting a #3 screw to hold the trucks on the car. I now have trucks on three cars. I also used the new Kadee body bolsters to convert a MTH caboose with the stamped sheet metal floor. They are a great product as well.
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Those are nice! Glad to see Kadee investing in the O scale truck market. Definitely need to pick up some as I convert several freight cars for use on my future 2 rail layout.
At forty bucks a pop, I will stay with my Lobaughs and Auels.
@Nortonville Phil posted:Sunday,
Yes the bearing caps do rotate. They are quite nice. The wheels are code 145 as well.
Phil, many thanks for your reply, just what I needed to know.
Cheers, Jordan.
Naturally, the Kadee website now has no 100t trucks in stock.... 
@SundayShunter posted:Naturally, the Kadee website now has no 100t trucks in stock....
@SundayShunter posted:Naturally, the Kadee website now has no 100t trucks in stock....
@mwb posted:
I got some from Ebay, though.... 
@SundayShunter posted:I got some from Ebay, though....
So did I except mine were Andrews and were metal Athearn with metal wheels for 1/2 the price.
@mwb posted:So did I except mine were Andrews and were metal Athearn with metal wheels for 1/2 the price.
Good for you, well done. 
If roller bearing trucks with rotating bearing caps were available cheaper, that fit straight to Weaver cars (Atlas ones don't) then I'd go for them too.
But I have no use for Andrews trucks, molded cap R/B trucks, or Archbar, for that matter.
I picked some up at the last Chicago meet. Excellent modern tooling with superior detail. A USA made product that works quite well. They also spent considerable time in design to allow easy use on old Atlas, new Atlas, All Nation, Weaver and MTH. The adapters for each type of car are a huge advance from anything else on the market. Athearn trucks are nice 1950's tooling that may or may not fit right for the correct car height. Now if Kadee could be convinced to do in a drop in replacement for Atlas' Couplers, that would be great too.
I suppose it depends how well these do on the market.
@SundayShunter posted:Good for you, well done.
If roller bearing trucks with rotating bearing caps were available cheaper, that fit straight to Weaver cars (Atlas ones don't) then I'd go for them too.
But I have no use for Andrews trucks, molded cap R/B trucks, or Archbar, for that matter.
Different modeling era; different minimal needs - have to try some of Dylan Lambert's Fox trucks.
@Mike Wyatt posted:At the risk of sounding stupid (or uninformed) the differences between 2- rail and 3-rail trucks ...
Just a question to be educated.
@SundayShunter posted:As this Topic is posted in the 2-rail section, and is about 2-rail trucks, the differences between 2R & 3R trucks isn't really relevant..??
It's clear that you'll need to go somewhere else to learn about 2R, and particularly the differences with respect to 3R.
This is clearly not a forum friendly to newbies who are looking for a little help.
Mike
Received my order from Kadee. Will post a couple of truck conversions over the weekend.
@Mike DeBerg posted:Received my order from Kadee. Will post a couple of truck conversions over the weekend.
Looking forward to reading about how they perform.
I will say they certainly look great and help lower the ride height to a more prototypical ride height. They have a more accurate cross bar support (straight vs the atlas raised to accommodate the 3R coupler)
My Atlas Master 53' Evans Boxcar comparison (Car on left is straight Atlas Trucks with Kadee couplers, whereas the car on the right is Kadee Barber S-2 Roller Bearing #753 trucks with Kadee couplers). Without doing anything special the trucks are tucked under the skirting of the boxcar for a more prototypical ride height and appearance. This also greatly reduces the filler needed for the correct coupler height as seen on the car on the left. In fact, I just drilled and tapped 2-56 holes for the Kadee extended box on the car on the right and mounted the couplers.
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Hey Mike, you'll want to replace that photo with a link as the ogr staff are pretty concerned about copyright violations. I love the photo though and it makes me want one of these cars now!
@bigboy25 Done
@Mike DeBerg posted:....My Atlas Master 53' Evans Boxcar comparison (Car on left is straight Atlas Trucks with Kadee couplers, whereas the car on the right is Kadee Barber S-2 Roller Bearing #753 trucks with Kadee couplers). Without doing anything special the trucks are tucked under the skirting of the boxcar for a more prototypical ride height and appearance. ....
That is very interesting. I must admit I always thought the Atlas 53ft cars rode too high, and looked a bit 'stalky' - I chopped away the plastic bolsters on mine and re-fixed the Atlas trucks to the frame itself with a bit of bodging with new nuts & bolts - crude but it works. Currently I have two Atlas Trainman 50ft boxcars that seem similarly too high - hopefully the Kadee trucks I have on order will also correct this (they have to cross The Pond though, so I won't get them quite as quick as you chaps!!).
@Mellow Hudson Mike posted:It's clear that you'll need to go somewhere else to learn about 2R, and particularly the differences with respect to 3R.
This is clearly not a forum friendly to newbies who are looking for a little help.
Mike
I beg your pardon. I didn't realise the post I responded to about this being the 2-rail section was either a) from a Newbie, or b) a question. The first part read more like a statement to me. The question marks came only after the second paragraph, a comment about price - which seems to be a bit of an issue for some 2-railers as well.
We remain, as Winston Churchill said, two Nations divided by a common language.
"out of stock"=available? Usual story when looking for arch bars... assume wheel sets can be changed . I sure change wheelsets on any old trucks l can find. $40 makes expensive for trial and error tests, though.
@colorado hirailer posted:Usual story when looking for arch bars... assume wheel sets can be changed . I sure change wheelsets on any old trucks l can find. $40 makes expensive for trial and error tests, though.
Arch bars are a bit of a search - I tend to use 90+% Athearn ones with IM wheelsets. The Athearn archbars can be found on eBay usually for under $15 but then IM wheelsets are another $10.
From what I was hearing from Kadee, I'm not sure that the assumption that wheel sets can be changed is a good one.
Just wondering why anyone would change out the lovely Kadee metal scale wheelsets? BTW, I suppose if there is enough demand Kadee might offer with tinplate style wheels.
Here is a photo of the arch bar mounted on a C&LE traction flat car and the 70 ton roller bearing truck on an Atlas box car.
The Kadee arch bar trucks have a 5’6” wheelbase. This is longer than the 5’ wheelbase of the Athearn arch bar. This is nice because it gives us another option.
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@j2morris posted:Just wondering why anyone would change out the lovely Kadee metal scale wheelsets? BTW, I suppose if there is enough demand Kadee might offer with tinplate style wheels.
Just a guess, but the 3 rail scale folks might be interested in that swap out.
But there might be a real market for just the lovely Kadee metal 2 rail wheelsets!
On a slightly different topic, here is the new Kadee conversion body bolster in place on a MTH north eastern Caboose. This is a car with the stamped sheet metal floor with stamped raised boss for mounting the three rail trucks. The bolster fits over this boss and is attached with a screw from the top. The screw for mounting the scale trucks is a machine screw and the hole in the bolster is tapped . Some Loctite may be needed to keep the screw from backing out in service. It seems like a useful product as well. In this case I mounted Athearn trucks with Intermountain wheels.
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@Mellow Hudson Mike posted:It's clear that you'll need to go somewhere else to learn about 2R, and particularly the differences with respect to 3R.
This is clearly not a forum friendly to newbies who are looking for a little help.
Mike
This group tends be be the most negative of all the social media platforms. Don't let it bother you.
@Brad Kowal posted:This group tends be be the most negative of all the social media platforms. Don't let it bother you.
Wow, now that's a powerful assumption/statement...
Mark in Oregon
@Nortonville Phil posted:On a slightly different topic, here is the new Kadee conversion body bolster in place on a MTH north eastern Caboose. This is a car with the stamped sheet metal floor with stamped raised boss for mounting the three rail trucks. The bolster fits over this boss and is attached with a screw from the top. The screw for mounting the scale trucks is a machine screw and the hole in the bolster is tapped . Some Loctite may be needed to keep the screw from backing out in service. It seems like a useful product as well. In this case I mounted Athearn trucks with Intermountain wheels.
@Nortonville Phil Thanks for the pictures. This does seem to be a very useful part. I was wondering does the screw that mounts the bolster go into the same hole as the screw that mounts the truck? Obviously, I realize the screw that mounts the bolster would come down from the top on the inside of the car and the screw that mounts the truck would come up from the bottom. Just wondering if they both use the same threaded hole.
I apologize for re-posting the pictures. I usually don't do that but in this case I felt it was pertinent to my question.
Hudson J1e Phil,
I didn’t think to look to see if it was a through hole or blind. It is on the same center line as the hole for mounting the truck. There is a boss on the opposite side from where the truck mounts. It is tapped and comes with screws. Also there are plastic bushings that fit around the boss and center the bolster on the existing hole in the MTH sheet metal floor. You can choose to use the bushings or not depending on your application.
@Nortonville Phil (Phil), thank you for your response. I am going to pick up some of these bolsters when they are available. Right now it says out of stock at Kadee. In the past I have used the bolster from Precision Scale and although I liked them it seemed that where the screw mounts the trucks the threads would strip out very easily. This seemed to happen too often for my taste. It appears this Kadee bolster is a definite improvement.
So after a couple installations, I've noticed the following characteristics directly out of the package
- Don't roll as well as Atlas trucks, but bearing caps do spin
- Not an ideal direct installation method for Atlas rolling stock, but does work
- Bolster and centering pin lower profile, can be used to lower ride height of rolling stock
- Springs appear to be cast and not separate metal springs (so won't fly out and get lost)
The Kadee O Scale trucks come packaged in a nice clear plastic sleeve, with the trucks and included instructions, screws, and adapter parts
Close up of the included parts
Close up of the Kadee #753 70-Ton Barber S-2 Truck
Comparison with the Kadee #753 truck (left) and the Atlas 70-Ton Roller Bearing Truck (right)
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@Mike DeBerg posted:So after a couple installations, I've noticed the following characteristics directly out of the package
- Don't roll as well as Atlas trucks, but bearing caps do spin
Hmmmmm..............wonder how they compare with Athearn trucks with IM wheelsets?
- Not an ideal direct installation method for Atlas rolling stock, but does work
Be more curious how they well they install in other rolling stock....
A few observations based on my one pair of Bettendorfs;
- Very nicely detailed
- Much better engineered than a lot of brass offerings
- Free rolling - not as well as IM trucks with PSC wheels, but you don’t need that good!
- Well equalized with a clever design so they can use prototypical coil width springs
- Not immediately obvious to me how to replace wheel sets.
- Before putting into service I would sand the treads clean, rather than depending on the rails to do it
- Will easily go into Atlas Cars. Retrofitting Lionel or MTH may require your own adapters.
@Mike DeBerg posted:Close up of the Kadee #753 70-Ton Barber S-2 Truck
Comparison with the Kadee #753 truck (left) and the Atlas 70-Ton Roller Bearing Truck (right)
Unclear if these are supposed to be primed for grime or something, but is that seriously the surface finish on a forty dollar pair of trucks? They look like they might have been left in a lake...,
