I retrieved my old Lionel set that I got for Christmas in 1946 from storage and set it up for my grandson. I noticed for the first time that the front and rear "guide" wheels are mounted slightly off-center - in other words, with the engine laying upside down, with the front of the engine pointed away from me, the hole for the screw that attaches the front guide wheels is slightly shifted to the left of the center line. And then I wondered, does that mean it has a preferred turning direction?
Indeed it seems to have a preferred direction. If I run the train clockwise (looking down on the track layout), it runs smoothly with few problems, but if I run it counter-clockwise, the front wheels, and sometimes the rear wheels, of the engine tend to "de-rail".
I was wondering if the off-center was intentional, or just a slip in tolerance in the manufacture?
Oops, I see why it is off-center now. Also, off center are the center-rail contact shoes in the same direction. And the reason is that the drive gears cause the drive wheels to have a larger gap between the side of the motor on one side compared to the other.
So now, I am puzzled why the engine tends to de-rail when going counter-clockwise much more than the other direction. Any guidance about how to fix this problem would be appreciated. Thanks.
Boyd