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I purchased five used Tyco 4-6-0s and upon examination I found that some
of the wheels had cracked. [right hand picture above] The
axles are smaller in diameter than freight truck wheelsets and I did not have
a source of new wheels. I tried putting CA in the cracks, but I was not
satisfied with the results. The Tyco truck shown here has the pointed axle ends
clipped off.
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I decided to scrathbuild a new truck from
brass and two Athearn blue box freight car wheelsets.
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1. Parts List
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- .064 x .500 x 12" brass strip (K&S #8246)
- 1/8" square brass tubing (K&S #8151)
- (2) Athearn blue box freight car wheelsets
- Tyco truck mounting hardware: screw (2-56 X 13/16), brass spacer, and spring
- 2-56 metal washer
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2. Tools
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LEFT: NMRA Wheel Gauge, small anvil/wheel remover made from
2" square steel, small hammer, dial caliper. RIGHT: desktop disc
sander. NOT SHOWN: standard pliers, flat files, soldering equipment, saw
to cut the brass strip.
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3. Cutting and Assembling the Brass Pieces
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On the brass strip (do not cut the truck plate from the entire piece) scribe two lines
across the width as shown.
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Scribe two marks .125" in from the edge. Punch with
a center punch.
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Punch more indents along the line. Then drill these out with a 1/8" (.125")
drill bit.
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Once all of the holes are drilled, clean up the slot with small flat file. The
slot should be wide enough for the brass spacer to slide from one side to the other.
Then cut the plate from the brass strip.
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Cut two pieces of the square tubing to the same width as the
plate (.500"). Smooth up the cuts so there are no burrs on the inside or outside.
Lay all three pieces on a flat surface of wood, make
sure the square tubing pieces are parallel to one another. Solder them
together.
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4. Wheelsets
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Check the wheel gauge with the NMRA tool.
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Use the calipers to measure over the outside of the wheels.
With these wheelsets that measurement is .785". This will be
the new length of the axle once it is ground down.
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Remove both wheels from the axle.
Grind one end of the axle flat.
Set the calipers to .785" and grind down the other end until the axle fits inside the jaws. Clean up the ground
area with a needle file. The last photo shows the axle length at .775" but this is close enough.
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Install one wheel. Fit the axle into truck and make sure the axle turns freely. File out the
tubing as necessary. Once it is working well, add a bit of graphite (Kadee #231 Greas-em) and press on the other
wheel and set the wheel gauge.
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5. Completion
Install the truck with the smooth side down and long section toward the drive wheels.
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Copyright © Jack Hess 2026
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