Rolling Stock Needs Wheels To Roll Smoothly

July 17, 2007

Before buying any rolling stock for your model railroad layout think carefully about the imporatance of having reliable, smooth wheel operation. If you are buying from a hobby store pick up the car and examine the wheels with a critical eye. See how well the wheels spin. Avoid wheels that only turn once and then stop. Avoid wheels that wobble, because that’s a warning sign that the car might not operate smoothly and could even cause a derailment.

Model train wheels can be made of either plastic or metal; the important thing is that they have a metal axle. For the wheels to sit on the rails correctly they must be the same distance apart on the axle. Plastic wheels can sometimes be adjusted to the correct distance apart on the axle.