Using Metal Wheels on your Garden Trains
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Most manufacturers want to keep the cost down and put plastic wheels on their rolling stock. Then a lot of use end up taking off the plastic wheels and putting on metal wheels anyway. What a circle!
Do you use metal wheels? If so what do you use? Why do you use them? Have you see any real benifits? |
Jeff Crotty: The cars are more stable on the track because of the added weight and lower center of gravity. This translates into fewer derailments. The cars have a much more realistic sound when rolling. A train with all metal wheels is heavier, but you can pull longer trains if you have metal wheels, due to the lower center of gravity. They are easy to install.
Robert Grimsley: I use metal wheels because of the added weight, the sound, and it just makes them look nicer. It seems that I don't have to clean the track as often and that is a plus. I bought Bachmann wheels to start but soon started to replace with Aristo. Some packages of Bachmann had "Chips and pits" in the flanges and that was when I changed over to Aristo. Give me "Metal Wheels" anytime.
John Heath: I've been switching to metal wheels lately and found they track better than plastic. On a tight S curve into a switch I was getting a derailment almost every time the train got to that point. Not so with metal wheels though. They also look better when colored with a brown marking pen.
Richard Alan: Railroading outdoors requires a better quality wheel to withstand the elements like the extremely hot rails that I have seen melt plastic wheels in the Texas sun. The noise a metal wheel produces, is like having a free sound system in ever car.
Mike Evans: Metal wheels are extremely easy to install. I found several plastic wheels were out of round. Zero derailments is a plus and no residue on the track when the rail gets hot in the sun. Many cars roll better with the heavier weight that metal wheels provide.
Robert Grimsley: I use metal wheels because of the added weight, the sound, and it just makes them look nicer. It seems that I don't have to clean the track as often and that is a plus. I bought Bachmann wheels to start but soon started to replace with Aristo. Some packages of Bachmann had "Chips and pits" in the flanges and that was when I changed over to Aristo. Give me "Metal Wheels" anytime.
John Heath: I've been switching to metal wheels lately and found they track better than plastic. On a tight S curve into a switch I was getting a derailment almost every time the train got to that point. Not so with metal wheels though. They also look better when colored with a brown marking pen.
Richard Alan: Railroading outdoors requires a better quality wheel to withstand the elements like the extremely hot rails that I have seen melt plastic wheels in the Texas sun. The noise a metal wheel produces, is like having a free sound system in ever car.
Mike Evans: Metal wheels are extremely easy to install. I found several plastic wheels were out of round. Zero derailments is a plus and no residue on the track when the rail gets hot in the sun. Many cars roll better with the heavier weight that metal wheels provide.
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