Anyone Try IM's N Scale "High-Detail" 33" Wheels for MTL Trucks?

[tehachapifan]

How do they look and perform against, say, FVM or BLMA wheels?

[Ike the BN Freak]

I don't think they make them in 33" for MT trucks. Only wheels I see on their site for MT Trucks are 34.5" wheels

[tehachapifan]

That's odd. Hadn't noticed that. So, they have them in 33" for other axle lengths but they're 34.5" for MT trucks?

[Mark5]

Strange - what prototypes use 34.5" wheels?

I am familiar with 28", 33", 36" and 38".

Mark

[Steveruger45]

That's odd. Hadn't noticed that. So, they have them in 33" for other axle lengths but they're 34.5" for MT trucks?

Yep. These ... https://www.intermountain-railway.com/n/html/60072.htm

Maybe they are trying to lower the ride height this way for cars using 36” wheels?.
I’m not aware of 34.5” wheels in 1:1 though.

[pmpexpress]

Strange - what prototypes use 34.5" wheels?

I am familiar with 28", 33", 36" and 38".

Mark

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=46277.0;topicseen

[tehachapifan]

Thanks for the prior thread link. Interesting last comment there regarding 1:1 33" wheels being closer to 35" when new. If that is indeed true, that makes these more of a possibility.

[Mark5]

Makes me wanna get the tape measures out. It's difficult for me to imagine that much coming off the wheels.

[tehachapifan]

Makes me wanna get the tape measures out. It's difficult for me to imagine that much coming off the wheels.

Agreed.

[nkalanaga]

The real limit on tread wear, unless it simply wears so thin it breaks, is flange depth.  As the tread wears, the flange gets deeper, and eventually it exceeds the AAR interchange limits.  If the flange is more than 1.5 inches above the center of the tread it's not allowed.

The other limit is how thin the rim is.  A wheel with a thicker rim can wear more, but still has the flange limit.

[Cajonpassfan]

Does anyone actually have a photo of one of these “high detail” wheels?
I’ve given up on using IM wheelsets as replacements because I didn’t like the profile and wide thread, but I’m willing to reconsider if these are better looking.
Btw, the 36” IM wheelsets I do have measure .222 in diameter, or about 35.5”
Otto K.

[tehachapifan]

So the non-High-Detail 36" wheels are 35.5" and the High-Detail 33" wheels are 34.5"? Interesting.

Could it be that folks aren't all measuring wheels at the exact same point? There's of course the tread vs. flange but even the tread itself is normally tapered.

[Missaberoad]

Has anyone actually bought them and measured them?

[Tom L]

Here is a pic of a BLMA wheel on the left, IM High Detail in the center and FVM on the right. When I bought the IM wheels (which was when they first came out) they were advertised as replacements for MT wheels, with no mention of the size, so I assumed they were 33". When I got them, I noticed right away that they were a bit larger and this was confirmed when I put a caliper on them.

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Tom L
Wellington CO

[tehachapifan]

Great comparison pics! They're certainly good looking wheels but they do look larger than the other two....at least at this level of magnification.

I think these might have a place in those applications where a 36" wheel would be prototypically correct, but the model would look like it's sitting a little too high if a 36" was used.

I have to admit, when looking at some railcar photos, etc., I sometimes struggle with being able to tell if they have 33" or 36" wheels.....boxcars especially.