Coffee time. I have replaced many trucks and couplers over the years and it is easy peasy. I've been using Intermountain wheels for awhile and I am happy with them. No particular reason that I use them other than the only hobby shop I have usually has them in stock. I do have plenty of wheel replacements to do, not to mention full trucks-couplers for things that have worn out from all the shows over the years. Nice project on a tv tray in an evening while the wife watches her favorite crime shows, hahah. Have a great day,.

Very informative video Roy. Thanks for the info. My knowledge is growing in this hobby thanks to you!

Roy, another great lesson from the "master." Thanks for sharing. Even this ol' codger, who knows almost everything, got a tip or two."

Thanks Roy. Great video. I have around fifteen or so older freight cars with those old style couplers. I have them statically displayed on sidings as I have avoided switching to new ones. Maybe 🤔 now is the time. Cheers 🍻 Stay cool. It’s hot here in the Pacific Northwest. Being from Southern California it doesn’t bother me as much, but most folks from here are miserable.

Roy, you are right the Repido couplers look terrible to say the beast. They are hard to couple and uncouple. Just quick tip ajust one truck so it doesn't rock back and forth, and the other so it can rock back and forth, this helps them from wobbling down the track and prevents derailment too. Thanks for sharing 👍👍👍👍

Hi Roy, thanks for all the great useful information.

Those are Rapido couplers. Horn hooks are the ones that came on HO cars. Since you are replacing them, it doesn’t matter but I know you like to be accurate. I would also like to eventually convert to all metal wheels. Good video full of good tips. Thanks!

I have done that to all of my cars. they run much better now!

Another great video. The whole series has been good so far and I am looking forward to the rest of them. Thanks for sharing, David

just came across your video; excellent pacing, video work, and content. Thanks so much.

Great video, i prefer metal wheels, I like the click , clack sound at the rail joints.

Great video Roy. Really nice looking and performing weathered trucks and wheels. 👍

Good video ,,,👍🌟 Mr. Roy,,,

Hi Roy you can put tarped load in the gondola. I have seen picture of grain loaded and tarped when there was a shortage of of grain cars. Great video.

Great video Roy. I have lots of old rolling stock I am upgrading but keeping the plastic wheel sets as right now the metal wheels are an extra expense. First trucks and couplers, then wheels.

Roy, I use on wheel faces Citadel Technical paint Agrellan Earth . I thin it down a little so it flows around the pivot point. It dries flat. I got mine on Amazon. On my truck Frames I use a spray can Rust-oleum Camouflage Earth Brown for a base coat then I can add chalks, pigments or pan pastels. I model in N scale it really sets out on the car.

Hi Roy. I am upgrading all my stock here in the UK. If I may suggest...when I replace my axles in the bearing holder cups I always run the inside of the cup with the tip of a sharpened lead pencil...the coat of graphite acts as a lubrication. Works for all rolling stock. Also I found that despite all the work we have done, the wheels still fall into the frog on the point / switch. What I have done is to fill the 'V' of the frog with Milliput two part filler. I then allow it to harden, take an old car and using a small file carve out the tread of the wheel in the filler until the correct height is achieved....no more wheel drop in the 'V'. Tedious job but when done the result is a huge improvement in the overall effect. Worth trying first on an old point / switch. Cheers Bob

Hi ya Roy. Great tutorial. I, as an old dude, agree with making things as simple as possible. So the trunks and couplers combination are very helpful. Forgive my ignorance, but does any company take that theory to the next level and include already installed metal wheels on the trucks? Now…….that would be very helpful. Thanks. See ya next time.

Roy, looking good. Looking forward for the next video. Ken

Wonderful video and damn well presented!

Very informative roy

Interesting as always 👍

Great & very informative video Roy. I prefer the knuckle couplers on my N scale freight cars. I will be buy nights Micro-trains metal shells when the hobby store I buy most of my N scale freight cars, track from when they become available. 6 of my freight cars & both cabooses along with all of my locomotives & excursion & Amtrak trains have metal wheels.

Hi Roy, Thanks for sharing this, I’m in the process of changing some of the wheels to metal and wasn’t sure what to do? However this tutorial ticks all the boxes for me so glad I’ve already subscribed or I would have missed it. Keep up the brilliant work on your quality content Roy👍 cheers 🍻

Nice video Roy. I actually prefer Rapido couplers on my freight cars. I like to run long trains and knuckle couplers always tend to separate. I have lots of curvature and 2 3/4% grades. For me, Rapido are more dependable although not prototypical. I find it a good trade off. Unfortunately most of my locomotives have knuckles so I have to use transition cars with one type one each end. Having mid and rear end helpers as I generally do, exasperates the problem.

I'm happy with the IM metal wheel sets that I use on my HO scale cars. Since I've also started getting into British railways, I'm not a fan of "tension lock" couplings. They don't look prototypical at all. Some modelers use Kadees, which I might do since I'm familiar with them.

This was very helpful, as ALL of my train stuff is from my grandpa, all of it is from the 70s and 80s. (I HATE the rapidos)

Thanks for this how to, Roy, I learned some new options for adding weight from your videos. Hope you and your wife are doing well, take care!

Great video as always Roy! Exact rail also have metal wheelsets I believe.

Good video Roy! Horn hook couplers I always heard them called Rapido couplers. This is difficult to do but I am doing it for my passenger cars as well. Lots of work and lots of money...

awesome videos roy ty so much

I use the Microtrains trucks and couplers. I especially like the rust color ones. Nice info and thanks for sharing. Dave

Love itRoy, Doing the same thing and adding weights, both your videos helped immensely!

I loved this video. The horn-hook couplers that you described actually are not horn-hook couplers at all (as horn-hook couplers belonged exclusively to HO scale). Instead, they are known as Rapido couplers, which take their name from the pioneering German N scale model train manufacturer, the Arnold Rapido company - not to be confused with today’s Rapido Trains, a newer, totally unrelated model train maker in Canada. Although Arnold Rapido no longer exists as the same company - having gone out of business during its 1995 bankruptcy with its subsequent transfer of brand name and product line to a succession of other holding companies over the years - yet nonetheless its original, crucial contributions to the rise of N scale model railroading remains unquestioned. Arnold Rapido invented its distinctive N gauge couplers during the 1960s, which it licensed to other manufacturers at the time. These Rapido couplers quickly became the industry standard for coupling model trains among all N scale manufacturers worldwide, making them the most commonly used N scale coupling system from the 1960s through the early 1990s. But in the 1970s, Kadee (which later became Micro-Trains in N scale) revolutionized model railroading by offering the first knuckle coupler ever, patented as the Magne-matic coupler. It grew to become a big hit in the following decades among serious N scale model railroaders because these knuckle couplers looked more prototypical and uncoupled train cars automatically with relative ease from magnets embedded in or under the track. Kadee sold its knuckle couplers either by themselves in conversion kits (to replace existing Rapido couplers on locomotives and rolling stock) or mounted onto various freight and passenger trucks. These exclusive knuckle-coupler trucks were also mounted onto Kadee's own highly detailed line of N scale freight cars at the time, a product line which would eventually branch out to form its own N scale manufacturing company called Micro-Trains Line fully independent from its Kadee origins. By the 1990s, other N scale manufacturers joined the band wagon to meet this burgeoning demand for knuckle couplers and began to offer consumers the option of Micro-Trains couplers pre-installed on new train cars sold by these different manufacturers. Then at the beginning of the new millennium, Atlas partnered with Accumate to provide its own proprietary knuckler couplers on Atlas rolling stock and locomotives. In subsequent years, manufacturers such as Kato, Bachmann and Athearn also followed suit with developing their own patented versions of knuckle couplers. Such widespread use mark why today knuckle couplers reign as the hobby's standard. Nowadays almost every N scale manufacturer boasts that its own knuckle coupler is compatible with couplers from other N scale brands. But I found this marketing pitch not to hold true all the time. Mixing knuckle coupler brands in the trains that you're running can sometimes result in unexpected uncouplings. I'm like you, Roy. I tend to stick with Micro-Trains couplers. Whenever I can on my own rolling stock, I swap out other brand knuckle couplers with Micro-Trains couplers by replacing truck sets in the same way that you do. Thanks for sharing this video. I feel sure the practical tips and techniques that you've offered through it will help and inspire many fellow model railroaders.

You touched on a subject that I do not hear much about when discussing changing trucks It was truck mounted vs. frame mounted couplers. This might be a good subject to make a video on.

Thanks for the video Roy, which I've only just been able to watch. Firstly, I'm also changing my cars to have metal wheels and I agree that I see no difference between 36 and 33 inch wheels. I think it's easier for us to still get FVM wheels here in the UK than it is in the States, and certainly easier than in Panama! I've taken a note of the FVM and Intermountain reference numbers off your video, so Thanks. I also totally agree with you about the pain in the neck to cleaning up an airbrush after use. I stopped using mine, as I was having to save up lots of projects to spray at the same time, before tackling the onerous task of clean up. I use the old fashioned brush techniques. Flat painting, washes and dry brushing. Seems to work well for me.

Roy, I always prefer metal wheels as in any scale they run better for me. Chemical metal blacking works on metal wheels and other parts for me. Steve

I am in the midst of this very issue! I am using metal wheelsets, 36" and .540 length. I cannot tell that there is much difference between the sizes, esp in N scale, so I went w those measures. I have used ExactRail and have ordered a bunch of Rapido. They were both easier to find than the ones you mention. I did like the bit about the trucks...that whole field is confusing as there are SO many options that it makes my head spin. I kinda put that whole area on hold due to the obfuscation. I agree that I want them pre-built for the same reasons you state. I will look into the ones w couplers attached. Appreciate this video a lot! Of course, I appreciate ALL of your videos! Know you can...John

I have always had issues installing MT trucks on Bachman cars because the holes in the MT trucks aren't big enough to go over the bolster extensions. Bachman makes trucks with their McHenry style couplers installed that are drop in replacements.

Thanks for another great video, Roy!! I am doing the same thing with my Rapido coupled freight cars with truck mounted Microtrains ones except I have not installed metal wheels on the Microtrains trucks. I am wondering what I can do to up grade my older Rapido coupled passenger cars and locomotives. Also, I have not as yet changed my newer Atlas and Kato locomotives from their factory installed couplers to Microtrains. They seem to work pretty well with the freight cars that have been converted to Microtrains couplers.

Horn hooks are HO,those are rapido couplers,Fox Valley wheelsets sell out quickly when they become available

Roy, your videos have become my encyclopedia, having just started in the hobby. N scale btw. I'm wondering how you know which coupler length is best for which car? How do you know what truck set for which car? I see so many different types.

Only thing I would add is to gauge the wheels before you mount them in the trucks to avoid having to take them out again if they’re not in gauge

Tangent fine scale wheels are the nicest 36" wheels that I have come accross so far and Tangent scale models plans on bringing out 33" fine scale wheels some time this year or next year, the nice thing about Tangent scale 36" wheels is that they are sold in 12 axle sets for about $10.00 US, or in a box of 100 axles for about $80.00 to $85.00 US per box, Eastern Seabord models 33" & 36" fine scale wheels are sold only in 12 axles per pack for about $15.00 per set, alsoI find that the Micro-train 1055 coupler hight gauge wheel flange gauge on the side of the coupler hight gauge is a far superior wheel flange gauge if you plan on useing Altas code 55 fine scale track and track components, like switches & crossing diamonds, because of the finer tolerances through the frogs and flange gaurd rails & switch points, the NMRA wheel flange gauge is way too sloppy for fine acale teack.

I'm wondering if atlas or Bachman ho truck assembly will work on tyco freight rolling stock what part number would I need to order

I do not claim to be an expert, but from what I have found, wheel size seems to vary by truck capacity; 33' were on 70-ton and lower, with the 36" wheels on the higher ones.

Another question, Roy. I have bethagon coal porters like you do. Mine are Athearn. The trucks and the couplers are totally separate. And a couple of my porters continue to disconnect. Have you worked w cars that have separate trucks and couplers? Thoughts on what to do?

Hi Roy, excellent video as always. Why do you replace the MT wheels with metal? Do you just like the look or is it performance or both? Most of my freight cars have plastic MT wheels and I've had minimal problems with derailments. Just curious.

Hi Roy, A "Gon da la" are those flat bottom boats in Venice. a "Gon Dol A" is the railroad car you're working on. Sorry Roy, railroad jargon is one of my personal pet peeves and too much of our railroad jargon is being corrupted by shows like Thomas and Friends. They are not boogies, they're trucks and the person at the locomotive controls is not a train driver, they are called engineers here in North America. Do they call airplane pilots "Airplane drivers" or tug boat pilots "Boat drivers"? OK climbing down off my soapbox and as you know it's just a little light hearted teasing among friends. Yes I've also been installing metal wheel sets on my freight cars. So far I've used Micro-Trains and Fox Valley 33" metal wheel sets on my rolling stock and have not had any problems with either brand. One important thing to remember, be sure to measure the axle length of the wheel set you are replacing. Believe it or not, not all manufactures use the same axle length on freight cars. I've already run into this and have had wheel sets fall out of the truck side frames along with wheel sets that will not turn in the truck side frames. I'd recommend picking up a inexpensive digital caliper to measure the axle lengths. If you notice on your Fox Valley wheel sets it lists Micro-Trains as 0.540" axle length, they are also available in different lengths to fit the various sizes used by the different manufactures. I've also switched to Rix Pix's, since my layout is a small switching layout this method works just fine for me. Another great primer video Roy, thanks for uploading the video. Cheers, Rich S.

Roy, Very good. I'm still at the plastic wheel and couplers stage you are replacing. I'm not that bothered while I'm accumulating rolling stock. There's not much running as there is no permanent layout yet. Just a loop! Does Leonor know you've borrowed an oven tray?😀. Regards Stephen.

Roy, Have you found that one manufactors wheelsets are better than others? Or do you find now that the freight cars are weighted correctly theres not much difference between wheelsets with running quality? Cheer's Chris Perry.

Graffiti is coming to the Union Pacific Evanston Subdivision? What is this world coming too? I can just see Just In Case shrunk down on your layout shaking a can of spray paint next to the car you were just working on. Better keep an eye on him:)

Hi Roy, like you I'm upgrading all of my rolling stock to metal wheels and for the horn hook to Micro Trains.. I'm also having issues finding wheels but Fifer Hobbies has some. If you need he has a Utube channel. I don't know if you sub. Good luck and let us know the results of the liquid stuff. Keep having fun, Chris

Stick to 36 in wheelsets