I have had this same problem with various locomotives, over the years. Between melting, shredding and normal wear depositing "stuff" all over the rails, I have determined that rubber tires are intended for highway vehicles and not locomotives - including Mitch's Birney Safety Cars. This has prompted my move to MTH locomotives, exclusively. Most MTH Premier line locomotives have the "2-3" feature that allows the owner to change out wheel/axle sets and exchange the rubber tired sets for solid wheels.
Transitioning to 3RS (thanks to Forum mentors) and having recently watched Rich Batista's great video, "It's All About the Trains", I now know that we can buy the MTH scale wheel "22" series locomotives and operate them on our 3R layouts! In earlier Forum threads, folks have expressed concern about wheelslip and additional mechanical wear; I counter with the fact that real railroads must deal with these same issues and that the solution, in both cases, is to add more locomotives to the consist. Witness the extremes, Chicago Great Western (CGW) and Montana Rail Link (MRL) operations:
It was not uncommon for the CGW to operate over its relatively flat profile with 6 or more units on the head end. MRL operates coal and grain trains over Mullan Pass with 3 or 4 high horsepower units on the head end, 3 or 4 units mid-train, and one or two DPU helpers on the hind end. Having enjoyed counting locomotives and cars on many occasions as the units scream up and over the mountains, I've calculated that there is an average of one locomotive for about every 15 loaded cars of coal or grain. The term "awesome" is now so abused as to be virtually meaningless, however, if you'd like to begin to refresh your concept of the word, please enjoy this video and others of this operation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...3zXS4dKQA&t=504s
We are very fortunate to now be able to create multiple unit consists ("lash-ups") without the extreme frustrations of the E-unit era. Sand, the other real world solution to wheelslip, is not viable in 1:48 but clean rail is. Furthermore, by eliminating or minimizing the use of rubber tires, clean rails are easier to obtain and maintain. Famous for shorter than prototype trains, we O Gauge operators often over-power our trains, anyway, so there is no downside. Lionel and Atlas O, both producers of many fine locomotives, would do well to follow MTH by offering similar solid and/or scale wheel options for those of us who prefer more realistic operations without smearing rubber goo all over the rails.
