Axle lengths for MicroTrains

[drgw0579]

I was looking at a bunch of older N scale rolling stock acquired from a collection.   Some of the stuff will be kept and upgraded with metal wheels.  In the process, we found a few Micro-Trainscars that have odd wheelsets, and they appear to have longer axles than what I thought was the standard 0.538" length.  I'm thinking somebody tried to put another manufacturer's trucks on the car, but somebody asked the question if maybe they were older Kadee MicroTrains trucks.  They don't have the MT name that I've always seen on official Micro Trains equipment, so I doubt that.  But I'll open this question up to the experts here to see if somebody has a better answer.

In the process, I was poking around Micro-Trains.com and verified the plastic wheel sets were always, 0.538", but noted that the metal wheels description states: Plastic axle for scale appearance --overall length of axle is .53 inches and Designed to fit all MTL Trucks.  I'm guessing that extra 0.008" got lost in shipment and is too little to make a difference!

Bill Kepner

[peteski]

. . .
 I'm thinking somebody tried to put another manufacturer's trucks on the car, but somebody asked the question if maybe they were older Kadee MicroTrains trucks.  They don't have the emprinting that I've always seen on official Micro Trains equipment, so I doubt that.
 . . .

Bill Kepner

Bill, I think every MTL truck will have the MTL, or Kadee (for older trucks?) name imprinted on them (sometimes very faintly so you'll need a magnifier). But if the mystery trucks have truck-mounted MTL couplers then they would have to be genuine MTL trucks.

I'm curious as to what axle length the mystery truck wheelsets have?  And what wheelsets are in them (metal, plastic, brown, or black)?  Do those mystery wheels spin freely in the mystery trucks?

[bigdawgks]

How much longer are they? MTL compatible axles are typically described as .540", so the difference may still be in tolerance. If it's noticeably longer, then try comparing it against known lengths used by other manufacturers.

You can find a list here:
https://www.trovestar.com/blog/article/421

Edit: the two most common lengths you will encounter are .540" and .553". I've actually found some replacement metal wheelsets that were noticeably shorter than that on some of my club's rolling stock, which surprised me as I've never seen axles that short used anywhere. Obviously they were undersized for the MTL trucks on those cars, so I was baffled as to who made them and for which trucks they were intended.

[Southern1970]

Hey guys, I’ve found some of my older micro-trains trucks could easily fit the 0.553 atlas 33 in metal wheels. They roll quite freely.  The trucks don’t appear to mention micro-trains or Kadee anywhere on them, but have the micro-trains coupler still attached. 

[drgw0579]

I didn't have my micrometer, but the axle was about what I would expect on an Atlas car.  I should have clarified, only one of the cars was MicroTrains.  The others were a combination of other manufacturers, so I wonder if the original owner did a lot of truck swapping.  Maybe these were knock-offs, as the coupler and box did look like MicroTrains, but the truck bolster did not.

Bill Kepner

[bbussey]

The Kadee/Micro-Trains axle length is and always has been .540”.

[peteski]

. . .
Maybe these were knock-offs, as the coupler and box did look like MicroTrains, but the truck bolster did not.

Bill Kepner

If the trucks had truck mounted couplers molded-on then they are likely genuine MTL trucks.  Maybe some of their newer trucks to not have a brand embossed on them.  That is why I stated that I "think", not that I'm "sure".

[nkalanaga]

Some of the early ones didn't have any name on them.  I have quite a few like the one in his pictures, and always wondered why KD/MT made them that way.

[pmpexpress]

The trucks don’t appear to mention micro-trains or Kadee anywhere on them, but have the micro-trains coupler still attached.

While I am not certain if they were ever shipped in retail packaging, on the brake wheel end of the cars, the circa 1970s - 1980s Kadee Micro-Trains 46000 series 50' Ribbed Fishbelly Side Drop End Gondolas with side mounted brake wheels were fitted with a 1003 medium extension Bettendorf truck that bore no manufacturer markings.

The bottom of the bolster on the Kadee Micro-Trains 1000 short extension Bettendorf trucks that were mounted on the opposite end of the aforementioned cars bore "Kadee USA" text.

Where the Kadee or Micro-Trains name is typically seen (i.e., on products that were manufactured from the 1970s through the early 2000s), visible in Southern1970's post photo, the unmarked Kadee Micro-Trains 1003 trucks had a pair of circular depressions in the bottom of the bolster.

[Lemosteam]

Some of the early ones didn't have any name on them.  I have quite a few like the one in his pictures, and always wondered why KD/MT made them that way.

One reason might have been that their trademark had not been approved by the government at that early stage.

[Lemosteam]

I didn't have my micrometer, but the axle was about what I would expect on an Atlas car.  I should have clarified, only one of the cars was MicroTrains.  The others were a combination of other manufacturers, so I wonder if the original owner did a lot of truck swapping.  Maybe these were knock-offs, as the coupler and box did look like MicroTrains, but the truck bolster did not.

Bill Kepner

MT would have prevented any knockoffs at that point likely because their patent might still have been pending.  Once the patent expired, that is when the influx of knockoffs began.

[Lemosteam]

The Kadee/Micro-Trains axle length is and always has been .540”.

True but that does not prevent tool wear and potentially wider truck frames or material expansion from accepting the 0.553" axles.

[bigdawgks]

Where the Kadee or Micro-Trains name is typically seen (i.e., on products that were manufactured from the 1970s through the early 2000s), visible in Southern1970's post photo, the unmarked Kadee Micro-Trains 1003 trucks had a pair of circular depressions in the bottom of the bolster.

Those circular depressions would be evidence of where the ejector pins protrude through the mold, so it would've been impossible to incorporate the manufacturers markings at that location on the tooling. It does look like many of the MTL truck variants with centered bolster holes share this feature.

[pmpexpress]

One reason might have been that their trademark had not been approved by the government at that early stage.

By the 1960s, Kadee® and Magne-Matic® were already registered trademarks.

"Priced at $1.80 a pair, Kadee® N Gauge (i.e., not a typo, as early production Kadee® Quality Products blister cards actually had the word "gauge" rather than "scale" printed on them) stock number MT-1000 Bettendorf trucks had Celcon® plastic frames and pointy ended axles, blackened cast zinc-alloy wheels (which have the propensity to corrode over time) with a centered hole and rib detail on the back side, and screwed to the truck frame with a steel screw, a draft box mounted MT-5 Magne-Matic® knuckle coupler, which was introduced in 1968."

Even the earliest production Kadee Micro-Trains MT-1000 trucks bore the "Kadee USA" lettering.

As the same circular depressions (produced by the tooling's ejector pins as previously noted by bigdawgks) also appear on the bottom of each Kadee MT-1500 truck bolster, it was only the MT-1500 Rapido coupler equipped Bettendorf trucks that were never factory produced with "Kadee USA" lettering.

Have always thought that the Kadee N-Scale Bettendorfs that were devoid of any markings and fitted with factory installed Magne-Matic knuckle couplers were actually fabricated using the tooling for the Rapido equipped trucks, which differed from the rest of the product line.

[Lemosteam]

By the 1960s, Kadee® and Magne-Matic® were already registered trademarks.

"Priced at $1.80 a pair, Kadee® N Gauge (i.e., not a typo, as early production Kadee® Quality Products blister cards actually had the word "gauge" rather than "scale" printed on them) stock number MT-1000 Bettendorf trucks had Celcon® plastic frames and pointy ended axles, blackened cast zinc-alloy wheels (which have the propensity to corrode over time) with a centered hole and rib detail on the back side, and screwed to the truck frame with a steel screw, a draft box mounted MT-5 Magne-Matic® knuckle coupler, which was introduced in 1968."

Even the earliest production Kadee Micro-Trains MT-1000 trucks bore the "Kadee USA" lettering.

As the same circular depressions (produced by the tooling's ejector pins as previously noted by bigdawgks) also appear on the bottom of each Kadee MT-1500 truck bolster, it was only the MT-1500 Rapido coupler equipped Bettendorf trucks that were never factory produced with "Kadee USA" lettering.

Have always thought that the Kadee N-Scale Bettendorfs that were devoid of any markings and fitted with factory installed Magne-Matic knuckle couplers were actually fabricated using the tooling for the Rapido equipped trucks, which differed from the rest of the product line.

Exactly why I used the word "might".