Plastic Sprung Trucks - Please Identify

Looks like Weaver to me.

Athearn.

@Dave_C posted:

Athearn.

Yes.  Bettandorf, Andrews, Archbar, and Symington - made with Delrin sideframes and if the original plastic wheels get replaced with InterMountain wheelsets, they roll forever.

You can also find their predecessors that were the same trucks in metal.

Thanks to all that posted!  Looked them up, and they still make them some 30 years later.  I must not be the only guy that likes them.

I use Athearn Bettendorf trucks with Intermountain wheel sets -- and I agree with mwb that they will roll forever. I spray them with camouflage ultra-flat dark brown and then give them a dusting of powered weathering pastels. I also spray the Intermountain wheels to give them a flat brownish weathered appearance. Even though the Athearn trucks are Delrin plastic, the spray paint adheres OK and has held up over years of operation.

@B Smith posted:

I use Athearn Bettendorf trucks with Intermountain wheel sets -- and I agree with mwb that they will roll forever. I spray them with camouflage ultra-flat dark brown and then give them a dusting of powered weathering pastels. I also spray the Intermountain wheels to give them a flat brownish weathered appearance. Even though the Athearn trucks are Delrin plastic, the spray paint adheres OK and has held up over years of operation.

Thought these roll well with the plastic wheels.  I will have to swap in some Intermountain wheels.  I better be careful if I set the car on a table, when I take it out, before putting it on the track.

The Intermountain wheel sets add weight to the trucks and they stay pretty clean, in my experience. Also, if you paint them and mask the tread, then you end up with the nice, shiny plated rolling surface. I spray the whole wheel and axle assembly with the ultra flat brown, then clean the needle points and the treads with a Q-tip dipped in acetone.

@B Smith posted:

The Intermountain wheel sets add weight to the trucks and they stay pretty clean, in my experience. Also, if you paint them and mask the tread, then you end up with the nice, shiny plated rolling surface. I spray the whole wheel and axle assembly with the ultra flat brown, then clean the needle points and the treads with a Q-tip dipped in acetone.

Thanks for the advice.  You end up with something for nice looking and very functional.  Can't beat that!

I wish Athearn sold these trucks at a lower price, without their plastic wheelsets, if you wanted to buy them that way.

@MainLine Steam posted:

I wish Athearn sold these trucks at a lower price, without their plastic wheelsets, if you wanted to buy them that way.

Oddly, they used to sell the wheelsets, 4 in a pack, separately.

However, check eBay, put a WTB here and on O Scale Yard Sale, and hit the O scale meets for Athearn trucks.  You can generally score these for decent prices better than retail. Since I rarely use them, I generally have Bettandorfs on my table,

@mwb posted:

Oddly, they used to sell the wheelsets, 4 in a pack, separately.

However, check eBay, put a WTB here and on O Scale Yard Sale, and hit the O scale meets for Athearn trucks.  You can generally score these for decent prices better than retail. Since I rarely use them, I generally have Bettandorfs on my table,

Thanks for the tip.

I am hoping some guys may have taken them off cars to replace with diecast trucks.  Maybe it's just me, but I really like Delrin trucks, they stay clean, since the axles don't have to be bathed in oil or grease.

My lasting issue with Athearn trucks and their Weaver knock-offs is the delrin wheels.

(Disclosure, running long train with  meager power I love the inexpensively "uber-low " rolling resistance.)

PRO- insulating switch frogs/points/etc not properly built, gauged, insulated etc. preventing the momentary "pop" that a metal wheel forces and the subsequent power loss, re-set control card etc.

CON- Running long (20 to 30 plus cars) trains on my 120' main circuit (aka Trackworld) using 20 year old GML momentum analog throttles with old school analog wired motive power; while skipping the "solid-state-concussion" issue this does grind the delrin wheels down to dirt (I blame drawbar weight to the lateral force on curves but...)  such that the accumulated grime/powder on the rail is an issue and one that screws-up continuity with either control system I use, furthermore it makes a rigorous wheel clean-up mandatory on any consist I wish to run on a friends or club layout as a courtesy. 

My old club had a rules restriction of allowing only "metal wheels." It's a good one if for nothing other than making your track work honest.

I want to Clarify I personally like "Sprung" Delrin Trucks with Metal Wheelsets best.  To me they offer the best combination of accurate appearance while minimizing maintenance.  The trucks stay free rolling and "clean" without adding oil or debris to the Track.  The Car can be brought to NMRA standards be adding "weights".

Thank you to all for "pointing me in the right direction".

My "go-to" trucks have long been the Intermountain Trucks with Intermountain Steel wheelsets. Good detail, very free rolling, take paint well, proper coils spring wire thickness, and properly equalized.  t is very easy to paint (and "rust") the wheels

Lately I have been also using the new Kadee trucks.  Same positive attributes as the IM's, plus they have more weight and there are more varieties.   

I love these for my weaver cars since Die Cast ones are so hard to come by and expensive. I found a dozen sets of the Bettendorf type and 6 pair of Symington at a hobby shop and bought the lot for 6 bucks a set. I use a rubber o ring that fits over the intermountain wheel tread and then paint them so the shiny tread is all that shows.

Vince

IMO Athearn Delrin trucks with replacement metal wheels are a better operating 2 rail truck than many die cast or lost wax brass metal ones - the key factors being durability, rolling qualities, equalization, and appearance.  The primary appearance downside of Athearn trucks is the "airy" looking springs and missing brake shoes.  I'm with John Sethian - for a good-looking, low-cost Bettendorf truck consider Intermountain's.  Their heavy simulated springs and brake shoes provide a prototypical look.  Properly assembled they equalize over uneven track better than most sprung ones.    The downside is that they need assembly - a onetime not so pleasant 10-minute task.

@Keystoned Ed posted:

........for a good-looking, low-cost Bettendorf truck consider Intermountain's.

Unfortunately, just Bettendorf's; ~75% of my fleet rides on Archbars - one of the drawbacks to O scale has been a dearth of freight truck variety

    The downside is that they need assembly - a onetime not so pleasant 10-minute task.

Concur.