This is what you get in the Bachmann bubble pack- four units. I'd have liked to have seen more information on this product's card. Specifically, items like what types of materials are used for the roller's outer shell- regular carbon steel? Are these units going to gentle rust away in the workshop? Should the roller surfaces be kept oiled?

A close up of one of the rollers. If you look closely you will see that the roller bearings are unshielded- you can see the balls in their raceway. If you have a dusty workshop, I'd keep the E-Z Riders in a sealed baggy when they are not in use. I didn't measure the voltage drop across an E-Z Rider, but I had the impression is took a bit more voltage to get things moving when a locomotive is on the rollers. Dirty bearings would probably compound pick-up.

A close up of one of the rollers. If you look closely you will see that the roller bearings are unshielded- you can see the balls in their raceway. If you have a dusty workshop, I’d keep the E-Z Riders in a sealed baggy when they are not in use. I didn’t measure the voltage drop across an E-Z Rider, but I had the impression is took a bit more voltage to get things moving when a locomotive is on the rollers. Dirty bearings would probably compound pick-up.

This was my design for an “el cheapo” test stand with a stepped end for steam locomotive tenders.

My soldering skills are in evident in this photo. The red bits insure you only need to run a pair of alligator clip leads to the test stand to power both levels of track. The step was created by using two pieces of quarter inch plywood. By the time two layers of white glue are added the resultant height of the step is just about perfect.

A very dirty Warship gets a workout. The lower lever is long enough for any locomotive I ever anticipate testing…

The track doesn't actually go down the center of the 1x4" pine plank. The track is offset from the center slightly to allow you to put a locomotive down on the side of the track. This comes in handy for lining up the rollers with the axles. That way, when you place the locomotive on the rollers, they are already approximately where you need them.

An Austerity showed up in the mail and needed to be tested to insure it was a reasonable runner. The Austerity’s tender doesn’t have power pick-up yet, but will in the future. With newer steam models having tenders that are wired for DCC and sound, having a test stand with a powered track for the tender is definitely nice. Bachmann sell E-Z Rollers with bushings for non-powered wheel sets, but they are a bit pricy at half the cost of the roller bearing units. Six inches of raised flex track costs under a dollar…

Because the E-Z Riders can slide on the rail, any wheel defects are readily visible when the locomotive is running. The rollers will wobble a bit. The last driving wheel of the Austerity isn’t quite true; you can almost see a slight blurring action on the aft E-Z Rider.