halfwit Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Hi, I've ordered some Ultrascale wheels for a couple of locos that I own. I went for the nickel silver option (not sure why, possibly because more expensive is better?) rather than brass. Which leads me to the question; which material is best for loco driving wheels, n/s, brass or steel? Apologies if this has been covered before! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted July 25, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 25, 2011 I have a personal preference for N/S. I don't like steel at all, mainly because I live next to a salt water creek and the atmosphere because of this, always causes everything to rust so easily, wheels, gauges etc.. I only wish that Alan Gibson would supply N/S rims. Brass has the reputation for gathering dirt more easily. This may or may not be true! Ultrascale N/S would be the ideal for me but they are getting (IMHO) too expensive now. Some wheelsets now cost more than the loco! ...and I have an awful lot of locos in the queue for re-wheeling! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 The main objection I have to brass is the colour*. They are also rather prone to collecting dirt and a brass brush is not going to be ideal for cleaning them, though this works well with steel and nickel silver. Steel is also, as already stated, prone to rust. I don't know whether steel wheels collect dirt, but, judging by how well steel rails do, I have reservations on this. My Roundhouse SP switcher (under construction) has a set of brass wheels and is rather spoiled in appearance by them. There is evidence of dirty wheels though she has only done test running as yet Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollywoodfoundry Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 There is a fourth option; stainless steel. Steel and stainless steel have the advantage that they provide better traction, nickel silver is a bit slippery. But SS of course does not rust, so it seems to have a combination of the best features. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
halfwit Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 Thanks for the replies, it seems that I made the right choice. There is a fourth option; stainless steel. Steel and stainless steel have the advantage that they provide better traction, nickel silver is a bit slippery. But SS of course does not rust, so it seems to have a combination of the best features. I had a feeling that steel and stainless steel provided more traction. Its a shame wheels aren't generally available in stainless, but then if they were I suppose no-one would buy them due to the extra cost. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigwelsh Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 I had a feeling that steel and stainless steel provided more traction. Its a shame wheels aren't generally available in stainless, but then if they were I suppose no-one would buy them due to the extra cost. The Exactoscale range of wheels are stainless steel though P4 only and £18 an axle. You'd really want steel rail to go with steel wheels. Now has anyone ever done stainless steel rail.. I wonder what the 'hardness' of the brass used in loco wheels is compared to the NS in track? I've normally avoided them for the colour reason though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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