Another Reason to Dislike Traction Tires...

I have not replaced a traction tire since their inception many moons ago. All my locomotives run fine with or without them. If I need more power, I just add another powered unit.

Donald

@3rail posted:

I have not replaced a traction tire since their inception many moons ago..

1962 for Lionel.  Pretty much the same here, but I have 1 8352 that I changed the tires on due to very heavy usage in the 1970's. My 1963 634 is still running with the original.

@ADCX Rob posted:

1962 for Lionel.  Pretty much the same here, but I have 1 8352 that I changed the tires on due to very heavy usage in the 1970's. My 1963 634 is still running with the original.

I have many MPC diesel’s that all have original traction tires and they run fine as well

@ThatGuy posted:

I have many MPC diesel’s that all have original traction tires and they run fine as well

That’s because they’re so petrified they can’t fall off,….😃

Pat

The Postwar tires are quite impressive really. Most of the tire equipped engines I’ve worked still had soft, pliable tires. The few that got hard were most likely stored poorly. I think the rubber from the 60s was just better.

@Ryan Selvius posted:

I think the rubber from the 60s was just better.

You're probably right on that count, all the shortcuts made in modern manufacturing are beginning to come home to roost.

I hate traction tires. My Broadway Limited N-scale steamers have traction tires that dry out and fall off after two years without ever having been run.

But, yes, my Lionel U36B from the mid-1970s still has its original traction tires. I let my modern diesels and steamers run without them once they fall off, usually within three years.

It can not help traction tire life by leaving the engine on the rails at all times.  That can cause the sorry traction tire rubber to get flat spots which probably will add to their early death.  If I really thought it mattered a lot I would set engines on the layout, with traction tires, on their rims on the rail ties and off the track rails but I don't.

When I store engines with Magna- traction I do so on section of steel track to act as magnet keeper.  When I store an engine with traction tires, I let them set on the iron wheel rim to maybe help the traction tire life.  Both maybe a waste of effort and time but I feel better thinking it helps!

If the train manufactures really cared about their customers they would find out if there was a better type of rubber for engine traction tires.  From prior posts here, some have had long life from their traction tires.

Rubber is sometimes good and is a better speaker surround than the foam rubber surrounds most new speakers use.  Rubber speaker surrounds often last for 30 - 40 years and foam rubber surrounds last luckily 10 years.  Yet most speakers sold today, even ones costing thousands of dollars, use foam rubber surrounds.  Sound familiar?

Charlie

Something that I did was replace the slotted wheel with a wheel that has no slot.

My freind got for me a box of MTH diesel wheels from a guy who was converting 3 rail locomotives to 2 so I had a good supply.

I did a few RS1s and a few GP9s and 2 FMs and 1 Alco C628.

I also switched out the dummy wheels with the traction tire wheels to stop the truck from overhanging the track on the FMs and Alco. The locomotive will not run on 031 track anymore but that’s the next guys problem.

I don't like them either.  They can be a real PITA to replace on some engines.  Anyway, I have a Lionel MPC era GP-9 in the Brunswick green Pennsylvania livery which I purchased way back in 1977 which of course had traction tires.  Lost them all by the mid 80s and never replaced them.  That engine ran better after it lost them and still does to this day.  One thing I really get a kick out of with this engine is when the E-unit plays the flight of the bumble bees when running.  Part of the MPC charm.

@taycotrains posted:

Something that I did was replace the slotted wheel with a wheel that has no slot.

My freind got for me a box of MTH diesel wheels from a guy who was converting 3 rail locomotives to 2 so I had a good supply.

I did a few RS1s and a few GP9s and 2 FMs and 1 Alco C628.

That's pretty much what a lot of N scalers do; in fact, one of the last things I did before I left N was to go through my entire fleet of diesels and replaced the TT-equipped axles with non TT ones. Again, in that small scale, any enlargement of the electrical footprint is a plus. And, as has been mentioned here already, you can also add another unit (or two).

Steam engines (like the subject I started this thread with) are typically not so easy to do...

Mark in Oregon

@Strummer posted:

Steam engines (like the subject I started this thread with) are typically not so easy to do...

Mark in Oregon

Totally agree….I would never undertake changing out steam locomotive wheels .

I hate to throw a wrench into this topic, but I personally love the traction tires, they help the engines run slow, smooth and go up 2 percent grades gracefully. I normally run  two to four diesels in multi units, also my curves are 072 to 0120 and the trains run on an atlas O and Ross custom track, the solid T rail design helps a lot. So, I enjoy Legacy equipped engines for their reliability. Happy Railroading Everyone

They do nothing for me but cost money for replacements and drty rhe track.

Gunny

@gunny, I read your comment about cost snd getting the track dirty, I’ve operated my layout for 24 years, and when my track is dirty, it’s 99 percent do to steam engines smoking, but with 18 volts on the track, we have no problems with the engines running. Also, I’ve never paid much for replacement traction tires. Now, if your running lots of steam engines, with the smoke units wide open, on sharp curves, 031-045-054, I can see the pull on the traction tires. I hope things get better for you. Could you post some pictures of your layout? Happy Railroading Everyone

Larry,

Yes I run a lot of steamers and an equal amount of diesels. I like smoke and am sure this compounds the problem.The American Models and American Flyer engines do just fine without tires but not the Flyer by Lionel.

Lionel is now charging two dollars per tire and some of the diesels require them on the dummy units require them also. I think it has to do with material quality not track radius

Gunny

I'll be the first to say "to each his own", but...

...I maintain that all else being equal, if a model locomotive has enough weight, traction tires (when they fail) are simply more trouble than they are worth.

Mark in Oregon

I liked Mark’s original thought above to this thread before it was edited…

Heres a example of weight over rubber bands with a locomotive that doesn’t even belong on my track…this Mth pacific has scale wheels with no provision for tires.

I bought this Frankenstein cheap if for nothing else the 3 volt ps2 operating system…it will run but don’t try to run it through a switch. Someone also did some custom work to get smoke out the sides so that just adds to putting more shmutz on the track.

Here is a ridiculous train on my 8x12 layout of 29 cars…I know the wheels are slipping some but people are now going to paying extra for that with the new triplex !

@taycotrains  Kinda like when someone pays to have a loco weathered vs just buying a well loved  postwar engine with natural weathering. Also, Thank you for the Yiddish term for dirting up track!

The only traction tires I've had issue with were a couple lightly to never ran late 90's MTH Premier. The rubber was so dry rotted they just crumbled. Thankfully those are easy to find.

I always liked some of the K-line that had tread on their traction tires. I have a "333" style Pacific that can haul a pretty nice consist with those tires. 

But I agree, if the tires look like a pain to replace or are unavailable, just run them without. Especially the old Williams steam traction tires. Good luck finding those thin guys.

Traction tires and other rubber parts can cause even worse issues than loss of traction or uneven wheel contact. The K-line GS-4’s develop a bind when the tires stretch/swell enough to get a little loose on the drivers. The wheels are so close together and have very little clearance that the tires will eventually make contact with the blind #3 drivers.

Same engine also has a problem with the smoke unit. It uses a piston driven unit like old Gilbert AF steamers. The piston has an O-ring to achieve a good seal but over time, the O-ring swells and will also cause a bind. Removing the O-ring fixes the issue but then the smoke doesn’t work so well. The Lionel docksiders have the same problem. The O-rings also are not a standard size so finding a replacement is tricky.