Erie alcos

The drive wheels may be rubbing against the magnets or truck blocks.

The axles shift from side to side as the engine reverses, so the problem is often worse in one direction.

Post the results. There are a number of ways to deal with the rubbing. If that's your problem, you'll have no shortage of replies.

after a closer look i took the front truckj off and found that there is a bind somwhere in it but i dont have the first clue about what to do about this, the whole lead truck is cast and the wheels are on there tight, but after oiling the rear axel a little more it seemed to be getting better so im not sure if it is rubbing on somthing or what...

I have the same issue. My mechanic is well qualified. We were not able to resolve it.

After I oiled the rear axel of the powered truck it seemed to help the speed and power of the unit, but is still not up to par with other Alco's I've seen from the same period.

Some of those units were very tight. If you have a wheel puller, you can back off the wheels on one side just slightly and that might solve the problem.

I don't own a wheel puller but would it be possible to remove it in another way?

Disconnect the wire from the front coupler and remove the entire power truck (It is held in by one screw on the bottom). Take off the side frame from the geared side of the truck. Now the gears will be exposed. Carefully remove the center gear (it should lift off with almost no effort).

Now the drive wheel pairs can be rotated independently. Turn each pair of wheels to identify which one is binding.

As I posted before, look for a wheel to rub against the truck block or magnet.

Look for the worm drive gear to rub against one of the sides of it's recess.

You could also have tinsel wrapped around an axle (can be hard to see).

 

I did as you said and found that the rear axle was the one binding but After oiling it it turned much easier but the heat on the rollers and the slow speed is still present, and I can't see the axles because the rear there is only a small hole exposing only a small portion of the axle and the lead axle is completely covered by the metal of the truck,

Do you mean the axle closest to the coupler?

 

So, you cannot see any sign of rubbing between the wheel and magnet or truck block?

How about between the worm wheel and the sides of the chamber? (look down into the hole in the truck block, where the motor goes)

The tinsel would be wrapped around the axle between the wheel and the truck block. It it a very small space and might be hard to see.

Does the little gear next to the wheel seem free?

Do the studs for those little gears seem to be tight, or can they wiggle around?

 

I just discovered the cause of the problem that caused the slow speed, the tension of the spring holding the brush against the commutator was loose, after adjusting this the alco's run much faster with less electricity.

This thread has given me new hope to try to cure the problems outlined.

Glad that C canderbilt solved his problem.

Barrister2u:

I have owned a lot of the 2023 style Alcos over the years and serviced a lot more (plus 622/623 switchers use the same power truck). The problem is almost always one of the ones I listed above.

 

If the magnet is rubbing, it could be mismounted or loose. I have reglued magnets using epoxy. The magnet was held in place using shims between the wheels and magnet, as well as a C-clamp holding the magnet to the truck block.

If its one of the magnets, you could also try running without it. I had one engine with only a single magnet. It still stuck to the track like glue, and didn't have any wheel slip.

 

Unfortunately, most of the solutions involve removing wheels. I have the tools to remove and remount wheels. Before I had them, I did the work using pin punches, a vise and a little creativity. I wouldn't want to go back to that, and I don't think I'd recommend that others do so.