Removing traction tyres

A

adeshers

More sense than money .. more stupidity than sense
I've read several times that removing traction tyres from the wheels of locos helps with electrical pick-up and can protect plastic/nylon cogs in the gear train. To remove the tyres is it just a simple case of cutting them off or do you have to replace the wheel/wheelset??
 
If you remove the tyre you are left with a wheel with a groove in it which doesn't run very well. The only satisfactory way is to change the wheel for one without a groove. Not always easy to obtain with the current LGB situation.
If you can find a replacement wheel I think its worth doing as I have modified nearly all my locos.
 
They may be prised off without even cutting them.
Steam locos, whizzy cranks or other rodded locos will need the rods removing unless you cut the tyres though.
The wheel(s) concerned will have a groove in, I'm sure I read on here or GSM that this doesn't appear to have any detrimental effect.
 
Just cut them! But remember they were put on to help with traction. If pickups are a problem try putting a wagon behind the loco an fit pickup wheels and then jump leads into the rear power socket
 
My Fa1 had tyres missing, and it kept derailing because of the grooves, where the tyres should have been.
 
never had a problem with derailments? I just take them off and throw them in the parts bin....
 
As the good doctor always said, "When in doubt, rip it out".

I don't particularly subscribe to the good doctors medicine ideas. I feel that removing the tires is going to cause problems, especially at points.
 
I swear by my traction tyres (***++---*!!) as I need them for my heavy gradients. I recently swapped traction tyre wheelsets into my Sumpter Valley and Uintah Mallets. There are the non traction tyre LGB wheelsets available try www.champex-linden.de.
 
I would have thought id need traction tyres on my locos given the gradients i have. But having said that, none of my usat locos have tyres on them, but are almost unstoppable on my grades. Yet my dads Austrian Rod driver is pretty much hopeless with smaller trains and it has traction tyres. I dont get it, is it due to the wheel size, ie smaller wheels have more traction?
 
duncan1_9_8_4 said:
I would have thought id need traction tyres on my locos given the gradients i have. But having said that, none of my usat locos have tyres on them, but are almost unstoppable on my grades. Yet my dads Austrian Rod driver is pretty much hopeless with smaller trains and it has traction tyres. I dont get it, is it due to the wheel size, ie smaller wheels have more traction?
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Perhaps more likely that the weight of the loco is the key? Paul's gradients are pretty severe and include R1 curves (just about the toughest test there is) yet his locos without traction tyres, but with plenty of additional weight, climb them without problems.

See Peter's recent Ruritanian Railways post too.
 
duncan1_9_8_4 said:
I would have thought id need traction tyres on my locos given the gradients i have. But having said that, none of my usat locos have tyres on them, but are almost unstoppable on my grades. Yet my dads Austrian Rod driver is pretty much hopeless with smaller trains and it has traction tyres. I dont get it, is it due to the wheel size, ie smaller wheels have more traction?
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I also run USAT locos (as well as LGB, Accucraft, Aristocraft and Bachmann) and tripple head them when pulling 6 or 7 aluminium streamline coaches or a string of about 15+ freight cars. This is due to my grades. All the USATs have traction tyres. I have tried adding weight to other locos and this does help a bit but when pulling a string of cars the wheels still slip or there is not enough power getting to the wheels.
I mentioned previously that I have added traction tyres to the LGB Uintah and Sumpter Valley mallets and this has increased their pulling power greatly.
I find traction tyres work fine and electrical contact is fine on the other wheels. Some have mentioned that the traction tyres leave crud on the railhead but I have not noticed any more crud than get gets there naturally from rain, mud, birds etc.
 
MR.SPOCKIE mite can help u with it...coz he is the expert on them..drop him a line.
 
I have a mix of both and found that there is little difference in dragging power but I dont have any steep gradients, the GP7 has tyres and that now has one gearbox problems as it stalled with a load on it , small locos would need something either weight or tyres, but a reasonable load should be ok, my 44 tonner had two motor trucks and four tyres and would shift ten boxcars, it now has one motor truck and no tyres and moves eight box cars, horses for courses, ​
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I have tried taking the tyres off and running in the groove, but it does make the loco rattle through turnouts a bit,
duncan1_9_8_4 said:
My usat nw-2 has no tyres, and its un-stopable.............
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I have noticed that the usat locos i have, have alot smaller wheels than Aristo and LGB locos. In real life, freight locos typicaly have smaller wheels, to pull heavier and longer tains, where as passenger locos are not as powerful as they typically have larger wheels for faster running. The wheight issue, well the lgb austrian rod driver is comparible to my usat gp38, and the gp38 dont have traction tyres........... i think the wheel size might be a big part in pulling power, as on real railways.
 
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