I removed the bottom plate on my newly inherited older style Trix 2-10-0 Decapod to clean out some debris from the gears and clean…When I put all the works back together, the wheel mechanism binds (a couple wheels pull up off the track) when I try to run the engine and it stops. If you look at the wheelsets from the bottom, should the pivot points on each wheel line up exact on either side??? because mine seem offset a few degrees. Sliderods and all other parts are free and work fine and the engine ran before. I am brand new to steam and could use some advice on what I should do to get this loco back to normal. Thanks! ----Rob
The crankpins on one side of the engine should be about 90 degrees out of phase with the ones on the opposite side of the locomotive. This is why it is called quarter (as in one quarter of a circle). I say approximate, because on a model the degrees do not matter so much as that all the crankpins on each side line up exactly. “In quarter” if you will.
I would suspect you may have some rods out of line. All the rods except for the main rod should line up in a straight line on each side. Work gently, and do not force anything. When you have everything lined up right everything will drop into place perfectly. You may have to take it apart again to get things right without messing up. Never twist on the drivers. If you do get them out of quarter, you could have a real fun time getting them straight again.