Bogie Wheel Re-rubbering

[chris vickery]

Hi Ron
The problem with the hobby is that there are so many levels of restoration going on that only the purists among us are ever willing to shell out real money for quality.
This is especially complicated in a relatively small niche market which spans the globe.
As far as carrier wheel re-rubber, it would be fantastic I'm sure for some fellows here in Canada, the UK and Australia. Unfortunately, the cost and feasibility of sourcing and having it all done in one place makes it unreasonable and it needs to be sourced locally.
I would think that rather than re-inventing the wheel (pun intended), would it not make sense for guys in the UK or Canada to get in touch with the manufacturer in Australia or the customer and perhaps obtain the specifications for the molds that were used and the techniques? It is likely that the developement of the molds make up the bulk of the manufacturing costs and with todays technology and the advent of cad/cam etc and data files it would be as simple as having blueprints forwarded to the appropriate vendor to reproduce suitable molds for use locally..
For this perhaps a cost sharing or licensing fee would be appropriate to cover the original development price...
The same would be applicable to development of track castings as well. I am sure a firm in China would be happy to oblige!