Anyone know where to obtain replacement geared wheel sets (part #962010) for Kato locomotives/drives as Kato web site lists that part as “out of stock”? Being this isn’t the first time the plastic/delrin? axles on these wheel sets have cracked, might someone know if there is a better after market replacement part? The problem began on my Stewart/Kato drive locos but now my Kato locos are also cracking. Though all of these locos are getting up there in age they have been well taken care of and don’t have a huge amount of hours on them. Tried a forum search and google, but no luck. Any help would be well appreciated as I’ve waited till the last minute again and the grandkids will be here soon for their summer visit. Thanks
What I did on an older loco was count the teeth on the gear. Then I took a chance and ordered gears from Atlas. Most axle gears have 12 teeth, and most are interchangeable. Most axle diameters are the same. The loco I had was an old Roundhouse RS-3, and the gears I ordered were for a newer locomotive. Atlas usually has fairly good pictures of the parts. The wheelsets I had were split axle, so I was halfway confident that they would work. Of course they may not have worked at all, so I would have been out a few bucks, but sometimes it’s worth a shot.
Elmer -
Just curious, but what does “split axle” mean?
- Harry
Thanks Elmer for the Atlas suggestion for my cracked gear axles, I will certainly head down that path later. At least I have enough good and marginal geared wheel sets that there will be a few locomotives for my grandsons to operate during their visit.
Kato informed me by email today that their factory will no longer provide individual component parts for their locomotives and that they will be only receiving complete truck assemblies in the future. Don’t know if this pertains to just their older locomotives but at $20 per truck my replacement costs will rise fast and I’ll be stuck with a bunch of parts I don’t need. I suppose I should feel fortunate that parts are available at all for these older locomotives, but somehow I don’t. Regards, Peter
Each metal wheel has a short metal axle mounted in it. (A wheel and half an axle) The gear is a plastic molded piece that has a shoulder axle on each side of the gear. To make a complete wheel set you press in a metal wheel & axle on each end of the shouldered gear. The metal axles do not touch in the center, so the wheels are still insulated from each other. Thus, the wheel set is “split” and called a split axle configuration. Most common in HO diesel locos.