Kadee Quality Products Co.
673 Avenue C
White City OR 97503
Price: $49.99/pair
Website: www.kadee.com
1:29 scale, gauge 1, freight-car trucks; available in three different styles (see text); mostly metal construction; unsprung, equalized; insulated axles; mounting adaptors provided for Bachmann, USA Trains, Aristo-Craft, and LGB. Dimensions: Wheel diameter at flange root, 1.140″ (33″ in 1:29 scale); wheelbase, 2.256″ (651/2″ in 1:29 scale); flange depth, .125″
Pros: Mostly-metal construction; weight of trucks will lower the car’s center of gravity; high level of detail; brake detail included; nice, blackened finish; equalized for good tracking; smooth rolling; car-mounting adaptors provided
Cons: Flanges a little over-deep
Kadee’s standard wheels (reviewed in the December 2014 GR) are provided. They are cast in non-ferrous metal and scale out spot-on 33″ in 1:29 scale. The wheelsets have nice, tapered axles and they turn in free-rolling plastic bearings. The wheels are insulated at their hubs, as well, and are blackened.
The construction of these trucks is unlike anything I have seen before. Each side frame is cast integrally with half of the bolster. Each bolster half has a molded-in tongue and groove. These mate with their opposite numbers in the other bolster half, sliding together to form the whole truck frame. The assembly is held in place by the brake-detail molding, which is made of a strong, flexible plastic (presumably Delrin), which forms a clip that holds all of the components securely together. While the pieces won’t come apart, the fit, at first glance, appears “sloppy.” However, this is by design and provides the unsprung trucks with equalization, allowing them to traverse raggedy track with ease. The “springs” on each side frame are non-functional—they’re just cast-in details, depicted in a slightly compressed position, a nice touch.
A pair of these trucks weighs in at 13.5 ounces. This added weight will lower the center of gravity of lightweight plastic cars and help their tracking and rolling characteristics. The mounting hole in the bolster center is oversize. Supplied in an envelope with each pair is mounting hardware that will enable the trucks to be mounted to freight cars made by just about any of today’s manufacturers, including Aristo-Craft, Bachmann, LGB, and USA Trains. This hardware consists of bolster pins, plastic plates that presumably fit between the truck and the car body, and mounting screws. A diagram on the outside of the envelope tells you which adaptors to use on what rolling stock but no further instructions are supplied. The trucks can be mounted to existing rolling stock without any modification to the car.
I decided to see if the trucks could be mounted to an AML car, as that one wasn’t listed on the package. I chose to use the Bachmann mounting plates, just because they seemed “right.” I removed the old trucks, put the plates in position over the car’s bolster pin, set the new trucks in place, dropped Kadee’s over-size bolster pin over the AML pin, and screwed everything together. If you put the screw in too tightly, the trucks will bind up. The screws need to be slacked off enough so that the trucks can swivel and so that the equalization action can occur. Anyway, the trucks mounted to the AML car with no difficulty whatsoever.
With the trucks in place, I found the car to be beautifully free rolling, offering almost no resistance at all. You’d have difficulty spotting it anywhere but on perfectly level track. The trucks easily traversed even the worst of my soon-to-be-replaced track without complaint.
With this line of trucks, Kadee has come up with a winner. Their unique design, high level of detail, and outstanding performance characteristics make them ideal replacement trucks for virtually any piece of 1:29-scale freight stock.
