MTH Trolley

The two front wheels should have traction tires on them, are they worn down or missing?

I don’t believe it ever had traction tires. I’ve always been meticulous with unpacking and repacking for storage. Usually they have replacement traction bands with the set. This never had any.

I spoke to a relative who has a Lionel trolley and that doesn’t have any either, yet runs fine on his track.

Which trolley is it? is it a bumper trolley or a PS2/PS3 trolley. My MTH Christmas trolley has 2 traction tires on the front, and is a PS3 model.

Jethro

Hi. Just to clarify, you are talking about a bump and go trolley, not a Brill Trolley with a PS2 or PS3 board. If it’s the latter, I have no experience. If it’s a bump and go, I’m looking at mine:

Are you saying the wheels spin but the trolley sits still?

2 wheels are free spinning, 2 are motor driven. You can spin the free wheels by hand. The motor driven can only spin with power. There is no traction tire. If the motorized wheels are spinning it would probably push jammed free wheels.  I’d put it on the track, put the power up kinda high and tap the bumpers to see if it starts moving. If that doesn’t do it:

the shell comes off with 4 screws on the bottom.

the gears engage under the plastic cover at the pencil tip pic 1  you can look under that. Someone may have put lubricant in there that hardened?

The motor reversed when the bumpers move the switch  

lighting contacts are on the boards at each end  

I don’t know which center board converts AC to DC for the motor, but if the motor spins, that’s working.

all in all, spinning wheels and this trolley not moving seems odd  

I’d take off the shell, put it on the track and make a short video. Start recording when voltage has been applied, show us the bumper taps and the moving wheels.

MTH Bump and go trolleys have no traction tires.

Matt & Marty R,

I appreciate your help with this. It is a 30-2583. As I mentioned previously, it does move initially on the track if you give it a push. Move about. Track length then stops, if you bump up the power lights brighten and motor sound increases, it just won’t move. Bump n’ go work fine when you tap them, motor reverses, still won’t move on the track. Just sits and wheels spin. The non driving wheels spin freely. Doesn’t seem to be anything on the unit itself restricting it? Just doesn’t seem to have enough traction?
I will see about posting a video.

are you sure the wheels are turning maybe the grease is dried up causing to much friction of the gears to turn ? also bump n go trollies have a push reverse switch when it bumps it has to throw all the way or contact does not fully make up and motor wont run check switch with a ohm meter continuity with boards unplugged !

Ala

Sounds like something is preventing the drive wheels from making weighted contact with the rails since they are slipping.  Is there an obstruction on the under carriage or the shell is hanging down too far ?  When the trolley hangs up are the wheels still turning ?  If the trolley has leaf  center rail pickups, the rails need to be super clean for good electrical contract.

Alan,

The wheels are definitely turning, if you give it even the slightest push, it will move a bit on the tracks. But stops and wheels just spin.

Shorling,

What you mentioned makes me wonder if the leaf center contacts are holding the drive wheels off the track. Might there be an adjustment for how much they “push” down on the center rail? You mentioned about “weighted contact” which seems to be the issue. Not enough weight for the drive wheels to contact the rails.
There is no issue with power to the trolley. Motor runs strong and lights brighten with increased power from transformer.
Definitely seems to be an issue with the weight of the trolley not heavy enough to make contact with the rails?

Thanks for the input, thoughts?

@Jethro posted:

... if you bump up the power lights brighten and motor sound increases, it just won’t move.

As you raise power, you say the motor sound increases.  Just confirming that the drive wheels spin faster too?  For example, you should be able to take a pencil to the wheel, and without pushing downward on the trolley, feel the change in "power" to the wheel.

I'm trying to imagine a scenario where a broken/loose/slipping gear in the transmission can effect the described behavior.

Separately.  This parts diagram from the MTH site for the model number you provided.  It appears this has two spring-loaded roller on the center rail.  Did you mess with the two rollers making sure they feel the same spring tension or what have you?  And screw #31 is securely holding the roller assembly to the underside of the wheel truck?

So we know there is power to the trolley and the wheels are turning when the trolley is stopped on the track.  What happens when the trolley is stopped and the wheels are turning and you push the trolley from the top down on the track ?  Does the trolley begin to move as normal or is it still stationary and what's the motor doing ?  Does it feel like the wheels are locked and the motor is running and the gears are slipping ?  Or does it feel like there is some sort of blockage which is preventing the trolley from moving ?

Are the other axles freewheeling?  Sounds like a friction issue to me. 

Is the track deformed ?

Shorling,

Track is not deformed. This is the track that came with the set. I set this up two years ago when I first got it and it ran like a top! I could only have the transformer at 1/4 speed or it would fly off the track. Never ran it for extended periods. If you give it a slight push, it moves about a track length the stops moving with wheels and motor turning. Just won’t move on the track. Definitely seems like it doesn’t have the “weight” to make enough contact with the track for traction.

As Stan2004 provided, Will have to check screw #31 to make sure it hasn’t come loose. When it wouldn’t work I just packed it all away for another day.

I appreciate everyone’s comments/suggestions. Hope all had a Merry Christmas.

I’ll provide feedback when I get it back out and check.

Here’s a video of the issue I am experiencing. It seems that it doesn’t have enough weight for the wheels to traction on the rails?

With some downward pressure, it appears it would move fine on the track?

Thank you for the input on this. As I mentioned previously, the last time I had this set up it ran fine with no problem at all. Been two years since I last ran it.

You probably need to thoroughly oil the bearings and clean the wheels:

Note the axle oiling points.

Wheels before cleaning.

Note the thin shiny lines.  This is where dirt has packed into the wheel surface, making a slippery "anti-traction tire". 

See how much crud came off of just one wheel? 

With all four wheels and the pickup rollers clean, your car should run like new!   I used a polishing wheel to drive the unpowered axle for cleaning. 

Hope this helps!

Mitch

Mitch, Thank you. I’ll definitely look into doing a better cleaning of the wheels.

Just didn’t they were that dirty given the amount of run time on the trolley.

Thanks to all who responded to my issue! Much appreciated.

Thanks M. Mitchell Marmel for your detailed cleaning/oiling recommendations!

Here’s a short video of the results.

Happy New Year to all!

Attaboy!  Glad to be of some small assistance. 

Mitch