I have read many articles on keeping the magnet power.I have many postwar locomotives that were stored in boxes with out keepers like a track which seem to have full power, i believe the axles are the "keepers". I understand some has SS axles which do not transmit the power I believe those are with the AL frames Also I have 4 Rock Island locomotives with magnatrac built in 1987.... full power . Magnets can be had at The Train Tender. its simple to replace them. Some of the postwar locomotives have the magnets in the AL frame those are a problem to replace, have not replaced those. if you do not heat or strike the magnets most will keep their power, also do not drill on them either thats why some are staked in the frame or held in pockets in the frame.
When they dry rot and fall off as has need the case with every k line loco there has been no need to replace them and no adverse impact on performance. So far all my WBB, lionel and atlas locks have not dropped a tire. When they do so what.
I have some 4% grade and traction tires are needed.
Never really have had an issue with traction tires. When they fail they aren't hard to change.
I wish more stuff had backdriveable gears though.
Unless heated to a high temperature or hit with a mechanical shock; magnets tend to loose their magnetism at a rate of 1% per TEN years. Most postwar engines should be down to 92%-94% by now.
There may have been some less than stellar magnatraction parts when new, but generally they should hold up quite nicely.
I've never seen any depreciation on my postwar, MPC or LTI magnatraction units.
Some of my prewar engines have lost their magnatraction completely, (sorry I couldn't resist that one).
Back driveable gears? Some locomotives with slant worm drives can rotate from the wheels, some with can motors set at 90 degrees from the axle can not. it puts a significant stress on the gears when rotating the motor from the wheels.
Doug, most Lionel Legacy stuff specifically mentions back driveable gears. They're for a good reason, when you MU multiple units, any small speed variations are better accommodated if they're not fighting against each other.
Thanks. Interesting comment, don't have any MUs club does however but never worked on them.
The tires on my two K-Line engines are still original. I'm guessing K-Line purchased tires from the same sources as Lionel and MTH, so there should be no significant difference in their longevity.
aussteve posted:Some of my prewar engines have lost their magnatraction completely, (sorry I couldn't resist that one).
LOL!
aussteve posted:Unless heated to a high temperature or hit with a mechanical shock; magnets tend to loose their magnetism at a rate of 1% per TEN years. Most postwar engines should be down to 92%-94% by now.
There may have been some less than stellar magnatraction parts when new, but generally they should hold up quite nicely.
I've never seen any depreciation on my postwar, MPC or LTI magnatraction units.
Some of my prewar engines have lost their magnatraction completely, (sorry I couldn't resist that one).
Dale M did some research on restoring magnetraction...
Tires have a life span ,used or on the shelf, I keep about 6-10 of each in stock, Train tender is a good source for tires, there is a good reference for tires by MTH, its on the internet. it does not usually pay to buy tires on the internet too expensive and may be old. I find MTH tires of better quality than Lionel. I use a small screwdriver and a hook set I got at HF to put the tires on the wheel. Make sure the tires on one wheel do not touch the middle wheel next to it. need to see a space.
MONK posted:I'am sick of them, what do we do?
...switch to HO or N scale...
Mark in Oregon
With solid axles, wheels going through any curve are going to place a lateral stress on at least one tire if not both. Would it reduce the stress and the related wear on the tires if only one wheel per axle had a tire? The bare wheel would be the one which slips. John in Lansing, ILL
Probably not, assuming you want one tire on each rail, because the loco axles are geared together.
rattler21 posted:With solid axles, wheels going through any curve are going to place a lateral stress on at least one tire if not both. Would it reduce the stress and the related wear on the tires if only one wheel per axle had a tire? The bare wheel would be the one which slips. John in Lansing, ILL
Yup, that is correct. And if multiple axles on a single loco each have a traction tire, they should ALL be on one side or the other, i.e. on the same rail. Otherwise, they will still fight each other.
Case in point - I have discovered that my Lionel 0-8-0 switcher (inexpensive train set switcher, purchased at a train show) only has ONE traction tire total on one wheel. And a 4-4-0 General loco recently acquired also has only one traction tire on one drive wheel. No, they're not missing a traction tire on the other side. Each loco only has one grooved drive wheel that accepts a traction tire.
And yet, my Lionel LC+ 4-6-2 Pacific and 2-8-2 Mikado locos both have a driver axle with traction tires on BOTH sides. Not sure why. Maybe Lionel figures these locos will be used on larger radius curved track, which should lessen the slipping necessary for smoother operation on tighter curves?
I don't know for sure. But at any rate, all of my locos seem to run good on my layout, which has O42 minimum curves on up to O84 maxium curves. So in my case, I guess I'm lucky.
If all on one side non-derailing switches will not work and loco is susceptible to having dead spots of groundZ
RJR posted:If all on one side non-derailing switches will not work and loco is susceptible to having dead spots of groundZ
Steamers only need ONE driver with a traction tire. Diesels really only need ONE wheel on EACH TRUCK with a traction tire. But both traction-tired wheels should be on the left side of the loco, or the right side of the loco (NOT one on the left, and one on the right). Which is the point I was trying to make. Which would still allow non-derailing switches to work properly. Understand?
Reality break:
I have a photo of a Reading coal train on the steep grade (degree undetermined) to Locust Summit. Twenty three loaded hoppers, a K-class 2-10-2 pulling, a K-class 2-10-2 pushing. We employ steeper grade on mnay model railroads. Thus, traction tires.
I have an PRR Atlantic E6 Lionel 6-84942 that bumps over the fastrack switches. Wiggles and bumps up and down a bit. As best I can determine, it is the traction tires being pulled slightly sideways and then dropping off over the switch parts. The tires stick out from their grooves vertically a bit. Sound like that's it?
