Balky lead truck on a Weaver 4-6-2

Oddly, many years ago I bought one of the Weaver ATSF "Valley Flyer" Pacifics, and it had an uncooperative lead truck. One (or both? been a while) axles would not turn freely. The truck was desinged the same way as yours, from the sound of it.

So I lubed and so forth, and found that by just keeping at it (turning the wheels by hand) the bore was "ground out" enough that the problem went away. Use some thin penetrating lube like WD40 rather than thick oil.

Or - you could remove one of the wheels on each axle (rest one wheel in the open jaws of a vise and tap the axle out gently) to get the axles out of the truck and try a drill bit for reaming. A little. I am sure that a gnat's eyelash relief is all they need. Press/tap the wheels back on using the same open jaw method but upside down. Patience.

Most helpful, thanks! I'll try your suggestions in that order.

Much appreciated.

TW