The enemy of traction tires appears to me, to be the following;
o Jack-rabbit starts and stops.
o "Goo-Gone" as a track cleaner
o Spilled/excess smoke fluid on rails
I say this because in the last 25 years of operating traction tired locomotives, I've had to replace three for cause. I will give you the caveat that I do not have any appreciable grades on my last three layouts (had some on the earlier two...).
To that end, my summary for good traction tire life would be; operate in a non "toy-like" manner, and avoid oily chemicals on rails.
The only instance I've actually had to replace new traction tires is when Lionel shipped over-size tires on their 2012 production of F3s and F7s.
Let the ranting continue...
