Hello Folks
I just ran my hogwarts express for the first time and noticed the middle set of wheels on the tender dont spin at all. They are extremly tight. Is this normal?. If not does anyone know how to fix this issue. Any info on this would be appreciated.
Thanks
JJ
The ground strap may be too tight. if not try a small drop of oil on the axle ends. the wheels should spin easily.
On mine the middle tender wheels don’t turn because they don’t quite touch the rails. Open the axle slots a bit to let the axle drop a mil or so, use a drill bit or a Dremel or a swiss file but go easy it doesnt take much.
Might want to check to see if there is any clearance between the wheels and the tender body. I have a NYC Lionel RS-3 (front truck powered and rear is a dummy) that had an axle that would not spin, the wheels were on too tight. I had to use a wheel puller carefully to allow the wheels to spin and allow me to enjoy my new loco.
This may be the problem, then again, it may not.
One thing that I have noticed is that the newer stuff that Lionel puts out tends to be junk. I have had 2 diesels have things go wrong (The RS-3 and a GP-38 with a failed reverse unit) along with a polar express obervation car that was in need of re-assembly.
Not sure if any of this helps, but here it is.