MTH box car to 2-rail

MTH offers two-rail trucks that should be a "bolt-on" conversion.

I have converted over a dozen MTH cars to 2 rail, mostly hoppers and R50B reefers.   

I found that Athearn delrin wheelsets work in the MTH trucks.   The fit is a little loose, but I have no problems running the stuff with these.     I remove the trucks and take out existing wheelsets and replace them.     I think you might have to cut off the tab for the MTH coupler if you are  using KAdees.     When taking the trucks apart, put a thread across the springs to keep them from flying into the ether when you try to remove them.

I have a large stock of Athearn wheelsets if you need them contact me offline.   My email is in my profile.    These are Delrin wheels on steel needle point axles.    Delrin is an engineering plastic often  used for bearings.   

I found that Athearn delrin wheelsets work in the MTH trucks.  

If the Athearn Delrin wheelsets work, then the replacement metal ones from InterMountain should as well.

Yes the replacement metal ones from IM have the same axle diameter and length.    They just cost about 4 times as much and weigh a lot more.    I use them when I need weight but some cars are too heavy to begin with when they are diecast or have a lot of diecast parts.   

I like the Intermountain wheels for a few reasons:

• They fit into the MTH trucks pretty well.
• They're metal and burnish the rails, thus delaying/preventing crud buildup.
• They're single-insulated, so you can rig lighted cars pretty easily in a 2-rail application.
• They have a Code 172 tread so they're more forgiving if you have a track that's slightly out of gauge.
• They're not really that expensive.

The one down side is that they're only available in 33". It would have been nice to have 36" available as well.

Thanks all, think I'll go with the IM wheels as I prefer metal.

@AGHRMatt I would also like to have the Intermountain wheelsets available in the 36" variety as that is what I need mostly for my 100t modern freight cars. I emailed them about this recently. Maybe if more people emailed that would indicate the necessary interest? Their email can be found on their website: https://www.intermountain-railway.com/wheels.htm

Try North West Short Line for the 36" wheels. I suspect that some of our sponsors will be glad to help you.

This is good to know that the Intermountain wheelsets will fit the MTH trucks.  Like everyone else I'm baffled why they haven't done 36" wheels and wrote them about it some time ago encouraging them to do them.  

Just a heads up. I just switched out the wheel sets on an MTH Bay Window caboose (It's now a 3RS-SW -- 3-rail scale with scale wheels until I rig up a wheel wiper system for it or switch the lighting to batteries). It's a lot of fun dealing with the tab-style couplers, but some MTH cars ride high even with scale wheels. In the case of the caboose, it's due to the dimples in the steel frame surrounding the truck mounting holes. You may have to shim your Kadees. You may also have to turn your trucks around to clear the Kadee boxes.

@Railthunder posted:

.....I'm baffled why they haven't done 36" wheels and wrote them about it some time ago encouraging them to do them.  

I suspect it has to do with the nature of the rolling stock Intermountain used to produce.  33" wheels would have been appropriate for the era their cars represented.  No modern cars would have meant no reason to produce 36" wheels.  I bet they only made them because they needed them, with no intent to be a parts supplier, but then found a market for the wheels beyond their own requirements. 

That's all just a speculative attempt to connect some dots, I don't have any hard data or inside knowledge.
Jim