I know this must have been covered, but I missed it... Is there a source for traction tires? Better yet, is there a repair shop in New England that replaces tires? I have quite a few locos seriously in need of new rubber...
Jan
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You can order them direct from the Mfrs.
Dennis
That's true, but when dealing with 10-20 year old engines availability is problematic. Tires produced when the loco was manufactured are aged and probably not viable.
There is a big population of aging locomotives... this must be a business opportunity. I have a big population of locos that are crippled.
When I look at new locos I am tempted, but I know they will be crippled within ten years or so. There must be a source of new tires...
Problem is if you find OEM tires (like for Williams brass or Weaver engines) they're going to be old, I don't know what the shelf life is for rubber tires.
You can get tires from Atlas, MTH, Lionel, and 3rd Rail, but finding THE tire that fits your engines may be hit or miss. You may have to trim the width of them to get them to sit in the groove on the wheel.
I attended the York train show last October and bought spare tires for both MTH, and Lionel Diesels. Although I have two Lionel steamers I did not look for their spares because I still have an unused set for each of them. Rich
There's an eBay store, JOESTRAINPARTS, that offers an assortment of reproduction traction tires to fit almost any locomotive. He has some competition, too, if you do a search on the website.
Dennis posted:I use silicone rubber sealant. I can send you instructions and tips for using. Two examples of product are attached.
Silicone is the way to go! As rubber tires age - they become loose. As silicone ages - it just hugs tighter to the wheel. On one of the sites - an operator stayed first thing he did when he received a new loco was cut the rubber tires off and put the silicone on.
Replace a tire with a tire. Stay clear of anything else. Tires are easy to get and are not costly. If you use anything but, then it will get costly to have someone do it right.
Done the silicone and Bullfrog Snot. If you leave your engines sitting on the track or shelf as I do, for months or years at a time... they get flat spots.
I went back to tires. Easy to replace, and you dont have to wait for several layers to dry. 5 minute job, run the engine again.
" . . . . you don't have to wait for several layers to dry."
"If you use anything but, then it will get costly to have someone do it right."
Silicone rubber sealant goes on in one layer. You don't need to pay anyone to replace it to "do it right". If you are queasy about doing this, only do it if you can't find a tire for an old engine. This procedure is not recommended for drivers without a tire groove, and you do have to let it dry overnight.
To avoid flat spots, on your storage tracks just lay a thin board like an ice cream stick on the inside of your rails and drive the engine over them to park sitting on its flanges.
Dennis
Call me crazy or call me lazy, but using sealant seems like an awful lot of trouble versus just replacing the traction tire with another.
What, me worry?
There is no need to buy original tires. Measure the OD of the wheel in the grooves. Attached is the MTH traction tire chart. Pick the correct diameter if your loco isn't listed. You may have to trim it narrower.
Ignore the highlighting on the chart.
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Put on a new tire and put your train on the track and run it for many years. People can use what they want. I wish everyone the best. I have a large number of engines and new tires are the rule. Anyone who comes to me with bad or missing tires will only get a new tire. I do not know anyone who does repairs that will use anything but a tire.
I've read about those that Do the other methods and only been tempted ( noticed I said tempted) once and that was on an earlier Lionel engine where you had to squeeze ( and I mean squeeze) the tire between the outside of the wheel and the inside of the truck. I have tires of about any-size Lionel or Williams has done. Now how good are they after 10+ years ( some of them) but here new in there plastic bag. I haven't run my engines enough to wear them out. now old age and cracking could be a problem. But I still prefer the tires.
I concur with RJR about finding your size then using the MTH list. I just replaced some old tires on some much older Lionel's that were currently unavailable from Lionel. Having the size, I used MTH's chart to ordered their tires. Perfect fit, and all is well.
Lately, I have been thinking about using rubber bands for replacement traction tires Maybe electrical shrink tubing will work? Has anyone tried these alternative materials?
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Bobby, 50 years ago I improved traction on my non-magne-traction Lionel locos by placing thin rubber bands on the wheels, up against the flanges. They worked great, but wore out rather quickly. I later tried O-rings, but their thickness made loco ride canted.
Joe Martinez, our Assistant Roadmaster, brought me a couple of cast-off rubber traction tires, and said that the section crew was wondering if the tires are really necessary. I reminded him that it's not up to the section crew, and that, yes, they are necessary and will continue to be used.
If your section crew had to wonder about that, I would be looking for a new crew if they had to think about it.
Marty, but what's worse than a crew that has to stop and think about that is a crew that doesn't stop to think.
I find that the most difficult units to replace traction tires on are diesels, subway, trolley cars and unit trains like the Zephyrs. Typically it is necessary to remove the truck side frames to get at the tires.
It is relatively easier to access and replace traction tires on steam locomotives because it usually involves the removal of 2 drive rod screws, one on each side of the engine. The tricky part is fishing traction tires between closely spaced drivers.
Bobby, you are correct. I always pull the brake shoes on the sides of the driver being worked on.
