Size of wheel

[quryous]

How does one find out the wheel size for replacements. 33" or 36" ?

[Joe Satnik]

Dear quryous,

HO scale is 1:87.1,

so 33"/87.1 = 0.379", or just above 3/8" wheel tread.

36"/87.1 = 0.413" or just above 13/32" wheel tread.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik

[jonathan]

Quryous,

If you don't have a caliper or fine scale ruler, a good rule of thumb is freight uses 33" and passenger uses 36".  There are exceptions, but this is a good 'go-by'.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Nigel]

Quryous,

If you don't have a caliper or fine scale ruler, a good rule of thumb is freight uses 33" and passenger uses 36".  There are exceptions, but this is a good 'go-by'.

Regards,

Jonathan

Except for modern 100ton frieght cars, which are almost always 36"; and the newest 125ton coal cars which have 38" wheels.  Autoflats often have 28" wheels, and intermodal double stacks are often a mixture with 70ton trucks at the ends (33" wheels) and 125 ton trucks in the middle (38" wheels).

[quryous]

Thank you. Very helpful.