todays rookie question.are lionel traction tires universal,
.i mean does one size fit all era o scale locomotives.and when should replacement occur?is wheel slippage an indicator?
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No, traction tires are based on wheel diameter. They will need to be replaced when cracks begin to show. Usually they will break before you see it. Most new locomotives come with an extra set of tires and it is a good idea to have replacements on hand.
One caveat, shipping will cost more than a set of tires so order them with other things.
thank you Dan,my question would be are MPC era traction tires universal or its a case of getting model number for replacement tires?ie 6-8031 etc.
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Traction tires also come in various widths, so you need to match both the diameter and the width.
thank you to all who replied
Hey @kranky try this part number: 222-108. Some dealers list it as a "universal" traction tire, but it does fit quite a few Lionel diesels that use and/or share standardized parts. It should work for your MPC era Canadian National GP7.
What the others said above is correct in that, especially with all the newer "scale" products, you would need a specific part number because of all the variations in products, along with different manufacturing vendors.
The basic "lower end" products tend to have a higher percentage of parts that are standardized between models (which helps greatly to keeping costs down), though I do suppose there are some exceptions.
