[HO] 5' wheelbase trucks

Sep 03, 2010 12 Replies

Is anyone aware of any commercially available 5' wheelbase roller bearing trucks?



Or lacking that option, any other relatively modern 5' wheelbase trucks which could serve as a stand-in?



Searches of Walthers catalog and the better-known manufacturers (Precision Scale, Tahoe Model Works) on-line catalogs have come up nil.



____ Mark Mathu Whitefish Bay, Wis.


There is some kind of misunderstanding buried in your question.

If you are worried about prototype accuracy, then the prototype's brand/type name is what you need. The trucks will have the correct wheel base. Eg, Andrews, Vulcan, Bettendorf, S-10, etc.

HTH wolf k.

There's no misunderstanding, right now the problem is I can't find _any_ commercially available 5' wheelbase roller bearing trucks.

I'm unsure of the specific type of roller bearing truck; the prototype car was built by Bethlehem Steel in 1964.

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A fellow modeler kitbashed a few of these cars using Eastern Car Works

5' trucks which are no longer available. If you or others can come up with a list a multiple sources of different 5'-0" wheelbase trucks, then we can discuss specific prototypes.

Right now, I can't find even _one_ to serve as a stand-in.

Interesting, indeed. If these cars are indeed riding on 5' w/b trucks, then it's a non-standard truck. OTOH, if you take the wheel diameter to be 36", then the w/b is 5'6". 36" wheels were used from at least the

1960s onward for heavy cars. But I assume you have the car's specs, so my comments are beside the point.

AFAIK, 5' wb was used for some arch-bar trucks, back in the 1800s, but

5'6" became the norm sometime in the late 1800s. Anyhow, all the trucks that I have are 5'6" or 6' w/b (including the Roundhouse and IHC arch bar trucks.)

HTH wolf k.

I don't think an arch-bar truck will look right with roller-bearing caps on the journals.... ;-)

wolf k.

I can't vouch for the specifics of the prototype truck; I do not have this car's specs at this time nor have I tried to scale any photos. I am going off of the modeler's comment: "It is important to note that this car requires 5 foot wheelbase trucks to properly run. Trucks with a larger wheelbase will work, but the wheels will grind on the hopper bay. I found the Eastern Car Works trucks to be a reasonable stand-in; however, it appears that these are now discontinued. I know of no other 5 foot roller bearing trucks."

A kitbash of these unusual hoppers required a compromise in the trucks, and the substitute he used is no longer in production. I was just trying to see if there are other 5' wheelbase trucks available at this time, which will work on this model.

Understood. ;-)

So which of the Eastern Car Works trucks on PWR's site have 5' wheelbase? I suspect it's 117-9058 - Buckeye 125 ton r/b with 38" wheels. The 38" wheels would also explain the need for a shorter truck.

Enjoy! wolf k.

The ones I see are:

117-9064 70-Ton Bettendorf 5' Wheel Base (70 ton ore car) 117-9065 70 Ton Dalman Roller Bearing 5' Wheel Base (4 truck flat)

117-9064 70-Ton Bettendorf 5' Wheel Base (70 ton ore car) 117-9065 70 Ton Dalman Roller Bearing 5' Wheel Base (4 truck flat)

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thanks,

wolf k.

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