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Post by davestubbs on Mar 29, 2017 23:19:06 GMT -5
I just got my first amfleet cars set 1&2. All of them except observation car (it has different trucks than the rest and work great )had this problem with the trucks and so might yours. The first thing I noticed was how high they are off the track almost like they were made for the SD45 engines. The First problem with the coach trucks is that they are not able to sit completely on the post. the 2 plastic posts that look like springs are too tall and are hitting the bottom of the car.if you look at the picture you can see the post notch the truck is ment to sit on.
Lucky its a easy fix. just need to trim the posts, I cut mine to the top of simulated spring and problem fixed able to tighten the truck screw down with truck moving freely added bonus it lowered the car to a much nicer looking profile.
As far as the rolling characteristics of the trucks with the copper pickups they are awful and not much you can do about it. unlike standard trucks that have points at the ends that sit in a pocket of the truck these are held by the copper pickups on the axel and while it is great for electric pickup the drag is god awful. I looked at micro trains trucks and the coupler is too long looks terrible. REALLY REALLY hope AZL will offer trucks like on the observation car no copper but roll and track great.
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Post by davestubbs on Mar 29, 2017 23:30:26 GMT -5
Almost forgot before and after trimming pict  |
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Post by dazed on Mar 30, 2017 11:11:35 GMT -5
Keep in mind, the "observation car" you are referring to is a Viewliner car, not an Amfleet car. They are packaged together as that is a commmon configuration on the real Amtrak to run those together, but they are completely different car designs.
Putting the Viewliner trucks on the Amfleet cars would be incorrect so far as the model's fidelity to the prototype. Same thing with the MTL trucks. If those types of things don't matter to you that's great, but AZL probably couldn't commercially release something like that without getting roasted and likely affecting sales.
As I said in the other thread about these wheels, even though they don't roll well, it's probably not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. While it's not the rolling characteristics many of us expect, it is the reality of trying to represent that particular style of inside bearing truck in miniature. (and not just in Z) I'm not saying there aren't improvements that can be made...your post is a great example of that. Regardless, even as-is the P42 should still be able to drag a handful of them around a layout.
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Post by Rob Albritton on Mar 30, 2017 11:32:54 GMT -5
Putting the Viewliner trucks on the Amfleet cars would be incorrect so far as the model's fidelity to the prototype. Same thing with the MTL trucks. If those types of things don't matter to you that's great, but AZL probably couldn't commercially release something like that without getting roasted and likely affecting sales. ...and Amtrak would not have allowed it under our licensing agreement. As I said in the other thread about these wheels, even though they don't roll well, it's probably not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. While it's not the rolling characteristics many of us expect, it is the reality of trying to represent that particular style of inside bearing truck in miniature. (and not just in Z) I'm not saying there aren't improvements that can be made...your post is a great example of that. Regardless, even as-is the P42 should still be able to drag a handful of them around a layout. We tested 10 Amfleet cars behind a P42 as that seemed to be about the longest typical Amfleet configuration in normal service. |
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Post by davestubbs on Mar 30, 2017 14:37:43 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies totly agree Doug and should have said in my post and thank both for clarifying both contractual and prototypical points. I also should note I do love them they look great đ
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Post by doclouis on May 7, 2018 14:11:39 GMT -5
Hello Dave,
I found this thread via google, as I do have serious problems with my Amfleet cars on Märklin tracks. The cars won't roll over the tracks but slidder. This makes an enormous sound, but the worst is the cars' perfomance on Märklin turnouts, the derail just too often. I certainly understand that AZL had to make these kind of trucks for modelreasons and due to Amtrak's licening. But for having an Amfleettrain really running over the layout, there should be an alternative to these trucks. Have you found one?
Cheers from Germany,
Lutz
P.S.: I like your trimming idea, it just looks a lot better!
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