Minitrix Traction Tyres

Having dipped my toe in the water with a couple of contributions to this news group, I'm after some help from the experts. I've purchased a couple of Minitrix locomotives off Ebay (Sir Nigel Gresley and Flying Scotsman) and between them they've shed a total of three traction tyres within 10 minutes of running them. In each case they basically disintegrated as soon as I tried to untangle them from the conn rood. FS is now left with just 1 and SNG is left with 2 on 1 side! Now for the help:-

1) Should I leave the remainder on or should I remove them totally?

2) Are they needed anyway?

3) Where do I source them from if I have to replace them?

4) How do I remove the conn rods to fit them?

5) How many should I fit? i.e. all six driving wheels or just the front and back drivers?

Thanks in advance,

Kevin

Reply to
Kevin Harper
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Remove them, they are obviously old and oil and oxygen have done their dirty work. But you can't run the engine without them. You'll see that each driver fitted with a traction tire has a groove in the tread into which the tire is supposed to fit. These grooves do tend to catch at points and frogs. :-)

IMO, if a loco comes with traction tires, it should have traction tires. But see below for a workable substitute.

I don't know about sources of traction tires in the UK, I'm sure someone will give you the necessary info.

There are either small screws, about the size used on spectacles, or else pins. Either way, be careful not to lose or break them. If in doubt, leave it alone until you have a source of replacement parts. IIRC, Minitrix used plastic for a lot of the motion, so it's easy to break the bits. You may want to find a person who is willing to do the work for you - it's a bit tricky.

As many as were on the locomotive to start with.

If you can't get any replacement tires, you can substitute epoxy. Just fill the traction tire groove with the stuff, let it set, and file it down gently while the engine is running (hold it upside down in a soft cloth cradle.) Obviously easier said than done, but I have done it, albeit with an HO engine. Worked OK.

HTH

Reply to
Wolf

Wolf wrote in news:45c7a589$0$7453$ snipped-for-privacy@news.newshosting.com:

...

What about trying solder/white metal? Appreciating that it's quite a soft material and will wear ... however anything it leaves on the tracks will at least be conductive rather than epoxy residue?

Just a thought

Reply to
Chris Wilson

A very slight variation, I would **turn** the residue off the tyres, not file.

Make a graver - a sharp pointed implement with a handle. eg: Grind down the end of an old file, then hold it in a suitable handle.

Arrange it so that you can bring the graver into the wheel at 90 degrees to the tread (ie. directly along a radius line from the centre).

Run the loco under power (clip leads to motor if necessary).

Now bring the graver gently into the wheel and skim off a small amounts of epoxy until the tyre is flat.

You may need magnification to see what you are doing, depends on your eyes. You will need lots of light.

And, whether using a file or graver, WEAR EYE PROTECTION.

- Nigel

Reply to
Nigel Cliffe

If you are very quick it might work. But remember the centres are plastic. It will wear fairly quickly, and still needs turning down (see other post).

If using epoxy, and if I had a choice on the shelf, I would be tempted towards one with a low amount of filler, and slow setting. Unfortunately the stuff in tubes tends to have quite a bit of filler, thought the slower setting types (24hr) are probably OK. If using epoxy, degrease the wheels (alcohol on cotton bud) thoroughly before applying.

I would investigate if you can find suitable rings as traction tyres. Whilst Minitrix spares are hard to come by, you may find something by Fleischmann has the same wheel sizes ??

- Nigel

Reply to
Nigel Cliffe

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