# Newbie help



## Vendetta_75 (Jan 15, 2017)

Inherited a N scale and Z scale layout from my grandfather years ago. I been buying n scale cars since then. Question is, I have tried to put trucks on this car in photo, I have taken trucks of other n scales. Some with pins and some with screws, but nothing fits. Is there another size that fits this ? Unsure of the make of car ?


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*Trucks*



Vendetta_75 said:


> Inherited a N scale and Z scale layout from my grandfather years ago. I been buying n scale cars since then. Question is, I have tried to put trucks on this car in photo, I have taken trucks of other n scales. Some with pins and some with screws, but nothing fits. Is there another size that fits this ? Unsure of the make of car ?


Vendetta_75;

Can't see the bolsters, the beams across the bottom of the car that the trucks fasten to. Without that bottom view, all I can see is that it is a modern, double stack, well car. These would use modern, 4-wheel, roller bearing trucks. Micro-trains sells them, and their quality is good. Micro-trains trucks come with plastic wheels. Since this type of car is very light weight, you may want to replace the plastic wheels with metal ones like those from Fox Valley Models. 
Another possibility is that this "car' is actually one section of a multi-part, articulated well car. These have several sections that share a truck between two adjoining sections. Real railroads use this system to save weight, which helps fuel economy. The trucks are one of the heaviest parts of a rail car. If this is a model of one of these multi-section cars, it would likely only have a truck at one end. The other end of the car would be attached to the one truck of the next car. This is a bit like hooking a trailer to an automobile. The front end is supported by the hitch and the back end rides on the trailer's wheels. Again a photo of the bottom would be a big help. Without that, all this is speculation on my part. However, sometimes you have to adapt the bolster to fasten the truck to it. Micro-Trains trucks come with some adapter plugs to fit several different brands of cars. These let the car accept Micro-Trains pins to hold their trucks. 

Good luck;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## Vendetta_75 (Jan 15, 2017)

Traction fan
Thank you for the reply. I will check on a adapter for that. And thank you for the recommendation on the heavier metal wheels. Here is a picture of the underside of car, with the pins and screws that don't fit. I paid a couple of dollars on these and just thought it would be a easy exchange. Thanks again Traction Fan 👍


----------



## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

Some times you can plug the hole and use
screw on trucks which are widely available.
You may have to install washers to act as bearing points.

Don


----------



## traction fan (Oct 5, 2014)

*2nd. look*



Vendetta_75 said:


> Traction fan
> Thank you for the reply. I will check on a adapter for that. And thank you for the recommendation on the heavier metal wheels. Here is a picture of the underside of car, with the pins and screws that don't fit. I paid a couple of dollars on these and just thought it would be a easy exchange. Thanks again Traction Fan 👍


 Vendeta_75;

The new photo helps a lot. The pin shown at top right in your latest photo looks like the type packaged with Micro Trains trucks. It may also be a similar type used by other manufacturers. The truck at the bottom already has metal wheels, so you may want to use it rather than buying Micro Trains trucks and Fox Valley wheels. If the pin you have is too small for the hole in the bolster on your car; you may want to use DonR's suggestion and fill the hole with plastic rod, or the plastic "sprue" that model airplane and auto kits use to hold their small parts. Then, as Don said, drill a hole in your plastic plug and drive the screw into the hole to mount your trucks.
If the pin is too big, you can just drill the hole to fit the pin.
One advantage of replacing the trucks with Micro Trains is that you can get the MT trucks with their couplers attached. Most modelers prefer Micro Trains couplers because they look like the real thing and are easy to uncouple. I don't see couplers in the photo. If they look like giant, square, hooks then they are Rapido couplers. They work, but don't look anything like a real coupler, and are difficult to uncouple. If you only have a few cars, it may be a good time to switch them to Micro Trains couplers since you won't have to spend as much money or time replacing couplers/trucks on a lot of cars. Most new cars made in the last few years, come with knuckle couplers, which look like, and are compatible with, Micro Trains couplers.

regards;

Traction Fan:smilie_daumenpos:


----------

