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Hi ~ O Gauge members',

I need a good set of trucks with wheels and couplers attached for a metal liteweight coach.  The the two wheel type for a 73  scale footer , sleeper/lounge car.  I paid extra for the three rail trucks that were available from the kit manufacture.  Unfortunately, they just won't work the way I hoped they would.  I would like to able run power from the trucks into the coach for lighting if possible'..

All recommendations considered and appreciated'...... Thanks in advance, and as always your assistance is very much appreciated'...........

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I have used both old K-Line streamlined trucks and the Atlas CZ trucks on lightweight passenger car kits.

The K-Line trucks are harder to mount as they have a stud that sticks through the floor and is secured by a C clip. Getting the ride height of the car correct and getting the stud mounting properly in place requires some trial and error before getting it right. While these trucks have long since gone out of production they do turn up on ebay from time to time.

The Atlas CZ trucks are far easier as they mount with a screw that is inserted from below. Either buy or fabricate a bolster, attach to the floor, and mount the truck to the bolster with a screw. Also with the Atlas truck you can adjust the position of the coupler forward and back.

Ken

 Hi Ken, and thanks for your input'.  I installed the trucks from OK on the car but, because they are soft lead, they bend. The wheels are nice  stainless steel, but the trucks cannot  be lined up correctly.  I also installed Kadee 720 metal couplers.  They're Supposed to be O gauge/O scale, however, more O scale. No good as I want to pull this car in my O gauge consist.

I found the CZ trucks on [Model Train STuff]  and ordered 2 sets.  The reason I'm not crazy about the O scale couplers, (I have converted several cars) is the don't hold up as well and often disconnect on curves.  Don't get me wrong, I like the prototypical looks of changing trucks and couplers to O scale. But, I prefer the reliability of the O Gauge couplers, as they rarely disconnect.  and when we're talking about cars built from kits, with extensive details bringing their worth up to a few Hundred Dollars... well you get the picture........

 

Ken when you added your trucks to the OK car, did you have to add a bolster, or did the fit right without adding one???

I've never built an OK car kit or any other make of aluminum car. I pretty much work with just styrene but there shouldn't be much difference in mounting the trucks. Does the OK car have a wood floor?

Possible bolsters are from an American Lightweight kit or a CZ bolster from Atlas (which you have to order directly from their spare parts website). Scale City may have a cast metal bolster also. The picture below shows an ALW (black) and an Atlas (gray).

IMG_4318 [2)

You may have to put a shim between the bolster and the car floor to get the ride height correct. My cars measure 3 11/32" (scale 13' 6" ) from the top of the railhead to the top of the car. I have several extra sets of these ALW bolsters and can send you a pair if you want to try to adapt them to the Atlas trucks. Obviously the Atlas bolster will work with the Atlas truck.

I'm using the lobster claw, truck mounted couplers on my cars. IMHO  being truck mounted they work smoother on O72 curves than body mounted Kadees. The big claws are mostly hidden under the diaphragms so the visual impact isn't terrible. Kadee's will work if properly mounted however they do not play well with S curves. I wish someone would come up with adapters to truck mount the Kadees.

Ken

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  • IMG_4318 (2)

Thanks Ken for the offer'... on the bolsters'..  I do have a couple of ALW, and a  couple from other kits.  I wanted to ask you what size screws you have used.  It kills me that Kadee and others do not include any screws with the couplers.  Mth trucks, no screws either.  I also don't see any in the Atlas either...   

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