While at the Amherst Railway Show, I had a question from a gentleman about USA Trains S-4s. He runs S-4s at several businesses and wears out the stock chrome plated brass wheels fairly quickly.
Does anyone make steel replacement wheels that fit on USAT S-4 power trucks?
He is using what may be the early Aristocraft stainless steel track which had a rough surface and this may be contributing to what he feels is severe wheel flange wear on his S-4s.
Some of you may know what is available as replacements, as I think that a steel wheel and newer SS track or possibly replacing the track with regular brass rail may prolong the wheel life. These trains run in a fairly small circular layout which in itself promotes excessive flange wear.
Bob,
I’m pretty sure NWSL makes wheels for these…I’m not sure what they are made of though.
I worked at a model train museum that had an SS track layout with similar problems. They found that the brass wheels on the engines and rolling stock would lose their flanges surprisingly fast. The solution was to use LGB ball bearing wheels on the rolling stock. The stainless steel wheels never wore down, and the ball bearings reduced the drag in the train which allowed the locomotive wheels to last a bit longer. Its not a perfect solution, but it will definitely help.
I was going to recommend NWSL as well, but Rocky beat me to it. They do make the replacement wheelsets.
I used the NWSL wheels on my NW-2 rebuild. They make a few different sizes, as the stock wheels may be undersized for the prototype. I went with the larger size on the NW-2, and from an aesthetic sense, it makes a world of difference. It will raise your couplers just slightly, though.
Later,
K
Thanks guys, with all that goes on at a train show like Amherst, my mind went blank as we were chatting. I have some S-4 power trucks in my stash left over from making two RS-1s from four S-4s. I’ll research the wheels and contact this chap with what I’ve found.