Originally published December 27, 2020 on T Gauge Junction

Why would you ever replace T Gauge bogie (truck) tension springs? Maybe you’re kitbashing, cleaning the gears, or swapping out the motor. Whatever the reason, my advice is to avoid it if you can. Okay, it’s not that bad, but it will definitely test your patience. Jesse Svoboda from CCE Models says it best:

“You aren’t a real T-Gauger until you’ve shot one (or several) of the tiny bogie tension springs into the cavernous void while trying to replace them.”

One of the most practical pieces of advice I’ve seen comes from Doug Kightley, who used to run the Talking T Gauge forum: “No pets, kids or loved ones within hitting, kicking, or earshot, as appropriate….just in case.”

All kidding aside, when I first had to reattach the springs, I searched the talkingtgauge.net forum and found a post in one of the threads from Doug on how to do it.

Jesse also has a smart trick where he threads a fine wire through the coil to keep the spring from flying off. I haven’t tried that myself, but it sounds promising. Check out his blog for more details.

I ended up coming up with a third method (I doubt I’m the only one) that uses a spring-loaded parts holder along with a second pair of tweezers. The video shows both Doug’s method and mine using the holder.

TGauge.com: Bogie Tension Springs
MicroMark: Spring Loaded Parts Holder

I’m not paid or affiliated with TGauge.com or MicroMark, just sharing what’s worked for me.