How to increase traction in an MTH 260E?

Roger,

    You should have received rubber bands to place on 2 of the MTH 260E Wheels with your new 260E engine, take a good look in your engine or tender Box. 

PCRR/Dave

I don't think that traditional versions have traction tires. I could be wrong.

Dave,

There are no traction tires for this engine. Nothing in the box, nor in the directions. And no groove in the wheels. I was reading a post by a Forumite named Dave who has a method for using silicon sealant to make tires and the responses have been that it's better than Bullfrog Snot. I emailed him for the directions and will probably try it.

Roger

In evaluating these reproduction engines, we should keep in mind that the maximum number of cars that came in the original sets was five.

I have had traction problems due to minute amounts of oil and/or dirt on the track - be sure that your track is very clean. Also, a long train (even four or five cars) on a sharp curve will create a heavy "drag" situation.

And finally, on standard gauge engines with four or five car trains, I find that the high polish put on modern nickel plated rims causes a marked loss of traction. This situation may also exist on modern 0 gauge reproductions.

You are correct.  My traditional LCT 255E is an awful puller; it spins trying to get started and after curves.

Jeff Davis

A pair of traction tires came with my Traditional 265E.

Adding lead weights in the cab helps. This turned out to be the preferred solution in the case of my 265E

Bob

Bob, 

I attempted to get the shell off before but something else is hanging it up and I didn't want to push it. I removed lots of screws but there was something else holding it. So, I put it back together until I figure it out. In any case, I put a strip of electrical tape on both rear wheels and the traction was like night and day. It was slipping badly on my UCS track and switches and upon starting up. That's all gone. However, I don't know that electrical tape is a permanent solution. I might consider the Bullfrog snot or Dennis's silicon tires. I'm wondering if electrical tape will leave any more "trace" on the outside rails than a traction tire does.  It certainly works, though.

Roger

Before you start tinkering, make sure both the front and rear trucks have a little bit of vertical movement. If not adjusted correctly, they could be taking some of the load off the drivers. Being as yours is the conventional version without traction tires or grooves for tires, you might buy some tires for the PS version and use Walthers Goo or contact cement to glue them on. Let them cure good and have at it. Yes the electrical tape will leave a residue on the track. Don't ask how I know

Steve

Roger,

Why not address the problem from the correct angle? Contact Frank Timko at, www.timkorepairdepot.com He should be able to cut grooves in the drivers for, MTH Rubber Tires. It's one of those things. Repair it correctly the first time around.

Steve's idea is a good one. It's a matter of weight distribution. I've no problems with my vintage 260E. It can pull 7-8 cars without any problems.  Good Luck!

"Pappy" 

I have an LCT 254E that pulled miserably when I first received it.  It's pulling capacity has gradually increased the more I've run it.  Make sure the wheels and track are relatively clean and run the bejeebers out of it.

PD

PD,

Well, I'm also going to try a couple of other things.....I think I figured out how to get the shell off. If that works out, I'll GOOP some lead wire inside the shell. I ordered some Bullfrog Snot this morning, so I'll try that as well. The electrical tape I put on the rear drivers is working great. But, I suspect that if it starts to wear, I'll get adhesive residue on the rails. Or maybe not......if I change it often. Takes about 2 minutes to put it on.

Roger

Doc,

  You are absolutely correct, I forgot the conventional does not have the grooves or the tires, it was meant to pull only 5 cars max, the wheels are shaped differently than on the MTH 263E.

PCRR/Dave

Well, I just finished adding about 1/2 lb of lead ingot pieces to the frame of the engine. Put it on the track and it pulled like an animal. So, I said.....I guess I don't need the tape on the wheels anymore. Wrong.   Those shiny wheels just don't have much traction. The weight really helped, but I'll have to wait for the BFS to arrive or......put the tape back on.

Roger

More success......tonight, I discovered why the engine is slipping over my switches and UCS track. I thought it was the fact that the clearance for the drive gears on the wheels is much less than my PW and modern engines and that the gear was hitting the plastic "rails" to the inside of the outer rails. Nope......turns out that the front roller would not recess into it's "cavity" as much as the rear one. On the UCS track, it would bang into the raised magnet....wheel slip.  Over some of the switches, the roller was hitting the frog and slightly lifting the engine......wheel slip.   I removed the collector assembly and the Lionel plate on the outside. The front roller has a bizarre contact system that uses a piece of metal with several bends in it that rests (or rather pushes) on a contact point below it. In it's "stock" shape and position, when it rested on the contact, it prevented the roller from dropping down more than about 1/8 inch tops. So, I did a lot of bending of that metal piece. It looks a bit ugly, but......it works. Much smoother over the switches and UCS. Previous to this modification, I could not start the engine on a switch (even just pulling the tender) as I got too much wheel slip. Now I can.  The Bullfrog snot, I think, can only help.

Roger

Ok.....the Bullfrog Snot arrived yesterday and last night I applied it to the rear drive wheels on the 260E and also to the rear drive wheels of my 226E. To recap.....I was getting bad wheel slip with the 260 (especially over switches and UCS tracks) when pulling the tender and 4 MTH Tinplate Traditions cars (including a very heavy, but gorgeous, derrick car). The snot took me about 5 minutes to apply once I had the engines upside down in a cradle. I used a wet paint brush just about as wide as the wheel. Very easy to apply and get an even application. I only had to do it once.....no do-overs on either engine. I let it cure overnight and just tested it out. And it worked GREAT. The wheel slip in the 226 is gone. 

There were 3 fixes for the 260 that I indicated on the above posts. I added over a 1/2 lb of lead to the chassis. That helped a lot but I still had slip on the switches. I discovered the problem with the front pickup roller (see above). To me, that's a design flaw and all of the engines that use that pickup assembly are probably all dealing with this issue. I strongly suggest that anyone who has an MTH 260E (or similar) should check their front roller. Dollars to donuts it does not retract far into it's cavity. It can't...the struts underneath the pickup assembly block it. My fix for it solved the issue of slip over the switches and UCS. But without the electrical tape on the rear wheels, it still slipped on startup (and especially reverse) with the load of that consist. Well, that's gone now to and it's due to the Bullfrog Snot. 

I'm sold on the stuff now and I'm going to put it on my PW 726 as well because it too (lacking magnetraction) will slip it's wheels under load at startup. 

Roger