Bachmann wheels on LGB wagons...?

Probably an old question, that most of you already know the answer to......

Are Bachmann metal wheelsets a straight clip-in replacement on LGB rolling stock, or do they need any modification to either stock or wheels?

Given that the Bachmann ones are less than half the price of LGB, is there any appreciable difference in running quality or is it just a case of typically high LGB pricing?

Thanks in advance!

Jon.

Jon,
 
The good news is that they are a straight replacement for plastic wheels of the same diameter.
 
The bad news is that Bachmann quality reflects its price.
Some axles have wobbly wheels, although most are fine.
 

Westcott


Jon,
 
The good news is that thhey are a straight replacement for plasric wheels of the same diameter.
 
The bad news is that Bachmann quality reflects its price.
Some axles have wobbly wheels, although most are fine.
 

Thanks! Kind of what I'd guessed, I'd heard of lots of folks using Bachmann wheelsets, so I assumed they were quite an easy fit, but I'm not surprised to hear they are not quite as good - you usually get what you pay for in this world! 

Even if you discard the wobbly ones, the remaining good ones are still the cheapest on the market!
I don't think that anyone has come up with a way of straightening them yet.

I'm using them and they are, so far, good enough for my puroses, but I'm no expert.

I've heard this "wobbly" rumour before, but I've got maybe 30 sets of wheels (mostly on LGB stock) and have NEVER had a wobbly one. Brilliant value for money IMO.

Zerogee

Thanks! Kind of what I'd guessed, I'd heard of lots of folks using Bachmann wheelsets, so I assumed they were quite an easy fit, but I'm not surprised to hear they are not quite as good - you usually get what you pay for in this world! 

Fair comments. However in the case of lighter stock Bachmann wheelsets may prove superior due to their weight. The LGB "metal" wheels are much lighter as they are plastic with a metal tyre.

The bad news is that Bachmann quality reflects its price. Some axles have wobbly wheels, although most are fine.

 
If someone has a wobbly set and wants to send them to me, I'll stick 'em in the lathe and see if I can identify what's wrong; and if I can offer of a solution. Course it all depends on the price of them. If they're cheap enough, does it matter?

bobg

If someone has a wobbly set and wants to send them to me, I'll stick 'em in the lathe and see if I can identify what's wrong; and if I can offer of a solution. Course it all depends on the price of them. If they're cheap enough, does it matter?

Nice offer!
 
They are about £10 for 4 axles.
Many users just put up with the odd bad one.
 
The wobbly ones I have (but Mel doesn't) seem to be caused by the plastic insert in the wheel centre being slightly skew on the axle.

In that case can I offer a solution without seeing the total problem. Has anybody tried hot water and applying a little pressure in the right direction?
 

I have Bachmann wheelsets on most of my LGB, strangely enough the USA (White Pass) hopper wagons don't like them at all. I can live with that though.
Kim

Kim sums it up well - given their cost, most of ufs just live with a small wobble.
And, of course, slightly out-of-true Bachmann wheels as well.
 
Perhaps it is the non-Aristocraft unsprung bogies/trucks that show the problem most?

Here's a closeup of a Bachmann metal wheel.
A few of them seem to have slightly skew plastic centres.
 

Attached Image(s)

The plastic centre collar is quite obviously there for electrical insulation. As to why it should decide to go askew occasionally when the whole thing is pressed together is a bit odd, unless some "foreign" body has become entangled in the press jig. 
 
Perhaps a simple jig with two close fitting parallel slots, at the correct 'back to back' measurement for the wheels and the application of SWMBO's hair drier (with adequate permissions of course) whilst rolling the set back and forth, would do the trick. Melting the plastic is not what is needed, just sufficient softening to allow re-alignment. Fingers to be kept at a sensible distance of course.
 
Two and a half quid apiece is not insubstantial if one has many wagons to convert and a percentage of these wheelsets are unusable.

Bachmann wheelsets are a great value option but beware if you leave your rolling stock outside for long periods as they rust like mad! Of course that makes them look prototypical and the rust on the tread that touches the track soon comes off when running. The only bit that would be good to lubricate to stop the rust (and slightly improve the running) would be the axle journal bearings (plastic friendly oil of course).

Westcott


Even if you discard the wobbly ones, the remaining good ones are still the cheapest on the market!
I don't think that anyone has come up with a way of straightening them yet.

  
I am not called fimble fungers for nothing.  See the following thread
 
http://www.gscalecentral.co.uk/f/tm.aspx?high=&m=69974&mpage=1#69979


Edit: Tidied up the posts for you Don.  Hope you don't mind.  Gareth

I found the Bachmann metal wheelsets excellent replacements for the LGB. However I did run into one bad set. I then decided to buy a heap of SanVal wheelsets (http://www.san-val.com/) , over a year ago when offered at a large discount and for quantity.

It was a tad expensive (brass and stainless streel) but I have enough now to satisfy any future requirements as well as sell ons to a few friends. It might be worth investigating a bulk purchase with a few friends. I don't know the current state of SanVal but I did run into a few problems with their axles being a tad longer than LGB/Bachmann and they would not fit some - not all - Aristocraft wagons! LGB seemed fine.

As for rusting of Bachmann (the SanVal shouldn't rust)  I am just setting up an outdoor  track at my son's place (I live in an apartment so my trains have been indoor to date) so we shall see.

On the CFR we have hundreds of Bachmann wheelsets. Some are over twenty years old. Some are a little wobbly, I fit those to break vans(Cabooses) they lookgreat behind a long consist. I've never had a rusty set yet. We use them on all the major manufacturers various models. I've also fitted them to the Accucraft "Welshpool" rolling stock.

I have to say I have at least one Ac/craft axle on Welshpool stock that has a slight wobble to it, and mine are only recently out of the box, so it was like that from China (say no more).

Would it be possible to remove the wheels from the axles and put two good ones on one axle and two dodgy ones on the other axle. The dodgy ones could be used for static displays.