Need MTL archbar truck dimensions.

[Iain]

Wheelbase, diameter of bolster hole, overall width, etc.

Thank you.

[Robbman]

You can use any MT Z truck to get that data...

[Iain]

There's one small flaw with that:  I don't have a MTL Z truck of any sort.

[Ryan87]

EDIT....    Oh s*** this is the Z board, below is N I'll repost Z scale dimensions  :-[
 

Diamiter of bolster hole   0.132
Axle Spacing                 0.422
Width (inside)               0.475
Width (outside)             at springs - 0.611  at Journal boxes - 0.627
Length of sideframe       0.503
Height of sideframe        0.159

[Ryan87]

OK I found the melted blobs of plastic Micro Trains calls archbar trucks...

Diameter of bolster hole   oblong 0.102 x 0.075
Axle Spacing                   0.272
Width (inside)                 0.346
Width (outside)             at springs - 0.437  at Journal boxes - 0.458
Length of sideframe         0.341
Height of sideframe          0.099
Diameter of pin               0.060

Anything else?

[Iain]

Ok, thanks.  How about the length of the part of the truck pin that sticks into the body?  Diameter of same?  I'm trying to find trucks for the 42" gauge flat car I just built.  I want something that will, preferably, work with what I have already made without too much modification to the nice pretty underframe.

[Ryan87]

Diameter  0.060
Length    0.070

[DKS]

Are you working in N scale narrow gauge? M-T makes Nn3 archbar trucks that are just a bit different in dimensions from the Z scale standard gauge trucks. Sorry I'm at work so I can't give you the specs just yet, will have to wait until tonight.

[Robbman]

There's one small flaw with that:  I don't have a MTL Z truck of any sort.

That figures... still haven't figured out how to use Ebay, an online hobby shop or a local hobby shop yet eh...

[Iain]

Are you working in N scale narrow gauge? M-T makes Nn3 archbar trucks that are just a bit different in dimensions from the Z scale standard gauge trucks. Sorry I'm at work so I can't give you the specs just yet, will have to wait until tonight.

Well, it looks like I'm safe as long as the truck pin isn't too big.  If that's the case, I'll have to find some other means of mounting the trucks.  I would hope that the Nn3 trucks are a little longer than 3 scale feet.

[DKS]

Micro-Trains Nn3 arch bar trucks (which are hardly melted blobs--see photo):

Bolster hole: round, ~.070 dia.
Bolster outer diameter: ~.165 dia
Bolster thickness: .050
Axle spacing: ~.030
Inside width: .360
Outside width, overall: .490
Sideframe length, overall: .380
Sideframe height, overall: .130

[img width= height=]http://lh4.google.com/dks2855/R7D5qLh3uRI/AAAAAAAAD7E/uQA7s8BsN18/s400/IMG_2253.JPG[/img]

[Ryan87]

That looks ten thousand times better than the Z scale one's I've got.

[DKS]

That looks ten thousand times better than the Z scale one's I've got.

You probably have their earlier Z trucks (I suspect these were tooled by Nelson Gray). MT's retooled them all and their newer ones look quite good. Compare top, old; bottom, new:

[img width= height=]http://lh5.google.com/dks2855/R7JPA7h3uTI/AAAAAAAAD74/zBOdwAMDNw8/s400/trucks.jpg[/img]

[Sokramiketes]

That looks ten thousand times better than the Z scale one's I've got.

You probably have their earlier Z trucks (I suspect these were tooled by Nelson Gray). MT's retooled them all and their newer ones look quite good. Compare top, old; bottom, new:

[img width= height=]http://lh5.google.com/dks2855/R7JPA7h3uTI/AAAAAAAAD74/zBOdwAMDNw8/s400/trucks.jpg[/img]

Do the MTL Z trucks seem slightly undersized to you?  There's something about the way those Bettendorf trucks look under a boxcar that bothers me.