The axle holes of my Hudson tender side frames are worn such that when the locomotive crosses a turn-out the side frames short out and kick the reverse unit into neutral. I have tried putting eyelets into the side frame holes but that has not helped. Other than replacing the side frames, does anyone know of another solution? I was wondering if filing/grinding down the bottom of the frames a little bit would work.
The only real fix is to epoxy the holes and redrill them, then use the eyelet. Being somewhat lazy and always looking for a quick fix, I just put a strip of black electrical tape on the bottom of the sideframe. This was for some engines I wanted to run on a Christmas layout. They are still working after 10 years, but easy to replace the tape if needed. I could not bring myself to grind off the bottom of the sideframe.
1 Like
Don’t say “lazy”, innovative sounds better. I had thought about trying tape or painting on something like Flex Seal but was not sure if it would stay on during the running session. For as often as I would run this engine it sounds like tape is the best solution.
Thank you.
Some brands of electrical tape are stickier than others. Mine remained on. There is also nothing to catch an edge and peel it off.
Sometimes the right answer takes a lot of work. About four years ago I was tired of seeing the Lionel AF cars with big gaps between them and wobbling along the track. I bought six cartons of the replacement 6-49081 70T all metal, sprung roller bearing trucks and replaced all the trucks on the Lionel AF cars on my layout. It was a lot of work, but no more big gaps, no more wobbling, they roll as well as the AM and SHS cars, and they look far better than the original trucks.
1 Like
Today I applied the electrical tape to the side frames. It took a couple of tries to make sure the offending areas were covered, but now the loco will pass over turnouts every time. I’m very happy with the results. A simple but effective solution!
Community sharing of information and knowledge is what makes this hobby great.
Its great that it worked for you.