Repowering an old Thomas 2-8-0

I would take a look at NorthWest Short Line's motor selection and order the best sized fit.  That's what I did successfully on my Thomas 0-4-0

Thank yyou very much. How disadvantaged yiu deal with moving the worm?

Is the worm on the motor shaft?     And does it have open gears?

Yes, the worm is pressed onto the motor shaft and drives an open gear on a drive axle.

Curtiss,

If I recall the driver centers on the Thomas 2-8-0 are diecast (they are fragile and can break easily) so it’s important to exercise caution when pulling a driver to remove the axle gear. I hope others will offer suggestions on tools and methods to pull the driver and the axle gear, install a new axle gear and re-quarter the driver. I think waiting for others to post ideas is worth the wait. Best wishes.

Lee Gustafson

Some time ago I started building a Thomas 0-8-0 from a mess of parts, but I don't have any of the drive mechanism. Is there any chance I can get photos of the motor/worm setup, or even buy your mechanism from you? I'd love to get mine going, but the parts are practically unobtainable. I'm really picky about originality, so I don't want to replace it with anything modern.

As for removing the wheels, it's crude, but what I've done (on many Thomas drivers) is to place the axle in my vise with the side of the wheel up against the jaws, and use a punch on the axle. I've 3d printed a jig that the Thomas wheels can fit into which allows me to press them together with a vise and ensures that they're quartered properly.

You've probably done this, but I'd recommend to clean the commutator and give the motor some oil on the bearings before you give up on it - I wouldn't be surprised if a little bit of maintenance is all it really takes.

As for removing the worm, at least on the 0-4-0's, I've found it to be about impossible. They tend to be pressed on very tight, and you have a very good chance of damaging it.