Let’s talk about wheels and bogies. Well, mostly wheels; however, you should learn a little about bogies.
When a modeler talks about bogies, what they are referring to is the housing that the wheels sit in. All trains have them. They hold the wheels in place, have springs, and whatever the rolling stock is sits on top of the bogie.
Wheels—I don’t know about the larger scales in model railroading, but I do know that in HO, TT, HOn3, N, and Z scales, there are two main types of wheels: plastic and metal.
I will start with plastic because when you buy most any rolling stock from wherever you shop for train supplies, you will find plastic wheels on them. Of course, with the exception of passenger cars, most of those come with metal wheels so the interiors can be lighted.
Plastic wheels are okay, and many modelers never change them. They are much cheaper to purchase and are usually always available. The bad news about plastic wheels is that the axle can be warped, causing your boxcar or whatever you have to dance on the rails. Because they are made of plastic, there is no chance of ever causing an electrical short, but if you are pulling a long train, there is a lot more drag from the plastic wheels. When it comes to turnouts, you will find plastic wheels are more prone to derail than their counterpart metal wheels.
So why do some modelers never change from plastic to metal? In most cases, it has to do with working within a budget. If you have 20 pieces of rolling stock and you want to change the plastic for metal wheels, you are going to be replacing 80 axles—that is if they are all double-wheeled bogies. Some of your larger rolling stock, especially passenger cars, have triple axles, so you are even adding to the 80 total.
Changing from plastic to metal is an easy thing to do, but it can be a little time-consuming, and metal wheels are pricey.
Metal wheels are much nicer to have on any rolling stock. As long as the bogies are in good shape, you will get a very nice smooth-riding car.
Metal wheels do have some disadvantages, however. Because they are made of metal, they slide onto the axle rather than being molded on. So when you get them, you will want to take a wheel gauge and make sure they are in spec. NMRA makes a wheel gauge that also has a rail gauge and a couple of other features that you will find useful as you progress in model railroading, so purchasing an NMRA gauge is one of those tools that is a must-have.
Once you have checked the wheels for the right distance, you can then replace the plastic wheels on your rolling stock. Save your old plastic wheels, though. You can use the plastic wheels for a load on a flat car or place some around a train maintenance facility as scenery.
With metal wheels, you need to be careful when it comes to derailments. They are metal, and you could possibly cause a short.
The first thing you will notice after installing metal wheels is how much easier the train car rolls—almost effortlessly. When it comes to turnouts, they handle the rail changes much easier and are far more forgiving than the plastic. As far as price goes for metal wheels, you will end up paying almost twice as much for less than the plastic ones. Ten sets of metal wheels could cost you up to $50.00 or more, while you can get 40 to 50 plastic ones for less than $50.00. So there is a significant price swing when switching to metal.
So, if you are trying to decide whether to stay with plastic or switch to metal, I would always recommend metal. You don’t have to replace your entire fleet at once. You can do one or four pieces of equipment and add more as your budget allows. Yes, it is perfectly fine to run plastic-wheeled rolling stock with metal-wheeled rolling stock on the same train.
Overall, metal wheels are better. You will be able to pull more cars with the metal wheels, have fewer problems going in and out of turnouts, and you will notice how much nicer the car rolls down the track compared to the plastic wheels.
Until next time,
Happy railroading!
A blog about N scale model railroading