Large Scale Central

Bachmann handcar wheels

General Discussion
#1

I recently bought a pair of replacement wheels for the large scale handcar, which I intend to use on a scratchbuilt railcar. The wheels arrived yesterday. Each wheel has half an axle, and there is a short length of gray plastic tube. I assume this is supposed to be used to join the axle together, preventing a short circuit through the axle. Problem is, there’s no way the axle stubs will fit into the tube. Do I just need to find another tube with a larger inside diameter, or is there something else I’m supposed to do with this?

Also, the wheels came with a thin plastic washer that fits over an axle. What is the purpose of this washer?

#2

Nice pictures here…

http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips11/bachmann_handcar_tips.html

#3

Yeah, that’s an earlier version though, and he doesn’t mention anything about the problem I’m having.

I tried some styrene tubing but so far haven’t found any that has the correct inside diameter. I’m just going to try enlarging the interior of the supplied tube, using a small round file.

#4

is it hard plastic or soft? (like pvc)
if it is soft, heat it in water, than stripe over the aixle stumps.

#5

It’s harder than styrene. I got it sanded out enough to fit. I’m still curious about the purpose of the thin plastic washer, though it may not be relevant since I’m not putting this in a Bachmann handcar.

#6

Maybe the washers are to take up some slop on the axle. Perhaps they go outside of the wheel inside of the frame journal bearing.