I have a Lionel Legacy Crescent Limited steam locomotive, and it has traction tires. Is it absolutely necessary to run it with the traction tires. I will be running it on flat track.
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I would think the groove in the wheel would be an issue at a turnout. I have used alcohol to clean a wheel groove, and put in high temp RTV, creating a build in place traction tire. If you don't have the exact tire, this works and you don't have to take a steam loco apart to put on a new tire.
I have Atlas track on my layout with lots of switches. My 1 or 2 attempts to run without TTs did NOT go well. No pulling power and derailing at the switch frogs. One of the smart things I did long ago was buy one of the MTH deluxe repair kits. So I have a whole bunch of different size TTs. I have seen people run their engines trouble free without but that hasn't been my experience.
No glue, no RTV, no bullfrog snot, ….all that crap does is make a mess, ….the locomotive in question is really easy to do a tire swap on. Lionel even supplies the wrench in the box, ….Id suggest ditching the Lionel tires altogether, and purchase tires from MTH. Available at mthpartsandsales.com the tire you want for that engine is screenshotted below. You can buy multi packs, or check your other engines, and buy some for those as well,……many of us have long switched to MTH’s house brand tires……they last longer, work better, and are pretty easy to install,……
Pat 
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Wish I had tired for Weaver 4-4-2s
@Jeff B. Haertlein posted:Wish I had tired for Weaver 4-4-2s
It would be nice if anyone had tires for Weaver equipment. 
