Weaver 2-8-0 noise

Here is mine running…does seem a bit quieter.

You’ll have to pop off the boiler shell to investigate, sounds motor/ gear train related. Look to see if something is scrubbing the flywheel, see if the motor mount screws are loose, and motor TO mount screws are loose,….check the condition of the grease, or lack there of in the gear box. ……is this a new to you noise?…or has it been that way from the get-go?.

Pat

@taycotrains posted:

Here is mine running…does seem a bit quieter.

Yes, it does sound ALOT quieter. LOL.

@harmonyards posted:

You’ll have to pop off the boiler shell to investigate, sounds motor/ gear train related. Look to see if something is scrubbing the flywheel, see if the motor mount screws are loose, and motor TO mount screws are loose,….check the condition of the grease, or lack there of in the gear box. ……is this a new to you noise?…or has it been that way from the get-go?.

Pat

I'll go take it apart again. I did find the 2 motor mount screws were loose and tightened them. The gear box seemed to be full of bearing grease (as prescribed in Weaver's paperwork). The noise came with the engine which I just received last week, so not sure if that's why it was sold or not. Bought it on Trainz.com. Thanks for the help.

Scott

If the 2-8-0 has brake shoes. They could have been tweaked and rubbing against the drivers rim.

I have one and its quieter than that in forward and makes some noise in reverse.

Has it been run much ? it may need breaking in . It sounds like gear train and motor noise.

They did use a cheap motor in them and they make a fair amount of noise.

Be sure gearbox isnt touching against frame.

The brass boiler shell doesn't absorb sound like diecast locos .

I have put blue painters tape on inside of boiler shell to deaden sounds of gear train.

It is a nice loco and worth a little tinkering to quiet it down.

The growling sounds like gear noise. That high pitch wine going forward though.... sounds like an automotive timing chain after it wears through the guides and starts sawing the cover😉

Here are a few pics of it after the shell is removed. I'll have to do more investigating tomorrow. The instructions said it requires "bearing grease" on the gear. Is that standard automotive bearing grease ? Everything else I've ever owned I've used Labelle 106 lithium grease. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Scott

Does it have Engineer On Board? Some of them make the motor whine.

Is the flywheel out of balance? That will cause a thrumming noise when running.

Also, Fastrack makes everything noisier.

I use Red-N-Tacky, but any grease is way better than no grease!  Note of caution, most brass locomotive gearboxes are pretty sensitive to a lack of grease, I've seen a number of them eat themselves!  By all means, generously grease that gearbox with some grease!

Also missing one traction tire, and the other one is coming off. Pretty sure it has no bearing on the noise, but…

This brake shoe looks tweaked. Almost looks to be in the traction tire groove and maybe rubbing the rim.

Try greasing the gear box, and oiling the ends of the motor shaft. If that doesn’t make any difference, the noise is more than likely coming from that giant Mabuchi motor. Most Weaver & Williams brass locomotives are geared to the moon, and thus the motors scream just to crawl,……some of those engines just simply sound like they’re gonna blow themselves to bits, ……

Pat

Well, I have 4 new traction tires to install tomorrow and if the snow isn't too bad, I'll head out for some grease to pack that gear box and oil the ends of the motor shaft. Then see how she runs. I'll report back. Thanks again to all.

I have several of these Weaver H10s 2-8-0's and they are all silent runners.  I never have heard one scream like yours does.  They have a 16:1 gearbox so are not "geared to the moon."  The high gear ratio Pennsy brass models are the Williams K4's, which have 40:1 gearboxes and the Weaver T1 4-4-4-4 with a whopping 72:1 gearbox.  That one does have some motor whine, as would be expected.

This model does not have Engineer on Board, as the photos show no sensor or stripes on the flywheel.  I suspect the motor itself could be making that racket.  You could loosen the motor mount screws, loosen the small Allen screw that secures the flywheel, slide the flywheel off the shaft (this takes pressure from 2 screwdrivers to pry it forward) and test the motor by itself.

@Bob posted:

I have several of these Weaver H10s 2-8-0's and they are all silent runners.  I never have heard one scream like yours does.  They have a 16:1 gearbox so are not "geared to the moon."  The high gear ratio Pennsy brass models are the Williams K4's, which have 40:1 gearboxes and the Weaver T1 4-4-4-4 with a whopping 72:1 gearbox.  That one does have some motor whine, as would be expected.

This model does not have Engineer on Board, as the photos show no sensor or stripes on the flywheel.  I suspect the motor itself could be making that racket.  You could loosen the motor mount screws, loosen the small Allen screw that secures the flywheel, slide the flywheel off the shaft (this takes pressure from 2 screwdrivers to pry it forward) and test the motor by itself.

The worm wheel in the pics of that locomotive has very fine teeth. If it were 16:1 those teeth would be far fewer, and further apart,….I’m not seeing 16:1 with that worm wheel…….

Pat

I measured several of the Weaver and Williams brass that came through here, and some did have up to 44:1 gear ratios.  With the motor screaming at 8,000 RPM, they were doing around 38 scale MPH.  I never saw one with 72:1 gear ratio, that wouldn't have much of a top end I suspect!

@harmonyards posted:

The worm wheel in the pics of that locomotive has very fine teeth. If it were 16:1 those teeth would be far fewer, and further apart,….I’m not seeing 16:1 with that worm wheel…….

Right you are, that looks like the ones I'm talking about.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

I measured several of the Weaver and Williams brass that came through here, and some did have up to 44:1 gear ratios.  With the motor screaming at 8,000 RPM, they were doing around 38 scale MPH.  I never saw one with 72:1 gear ratio, that wouldn't have much of a top end I suspect!

Right you are, that looks like the ones I'm talking about.

Yes, the caveat being the die cast 2-8-0 that Weaver built with the integral gear box as part of the frame. That locomotive has a better gear ratio not quite as steep as we see in the brass engines……I wanna say the die cast 2-8-0’s are in the 20:1 ratio,…..but clearly the OP’s model is a brass engine, with a fully divorced gear box,…

Pat

You guys are right.  I just took one of the Weaver brass H10s models apart and measured the gear ratio.  It was not 16:1, but rather 19:1.  That concludes this part of the discussion.