I have a pair of ALM locos that are around 40 years old. The motors are good, but they don’t pull well at all, lots of wheelspin.
The driving wheels have grooves in them that hold a sort of a rubber band thing that has dried out, turned very hard, cracked, and in one case, fallen off entirely.
How hard is it to get replacements from any old hobby store? These are diesels with pretty standard looking wheels, do I need to take the wheels with me to the store?
Also what are these rubber bands called and why are they there? Is it insulation? If so, how come the metal flange extends below the band and can touch the rail?
Is it for traction? If so, why are they only on one side of the loco?
It’s for traction, they are called traction tires, not sure about replacements, and not sure about why they are only on 1 side, but it might have something to do with power pickup. They increase traction monumentally, perhaps quadrupling the numbers of cars you can pull.
Matthew
I heard of one guy who used dental rubber bands when he couldn’t get traction tire replacements. You know, like the dentist puts on braces. He had to carefully shave them down (they were a little thick) and adjust them so that everything lined up right. Maybe in a pinch…
Stewart Products makes a traction tire tool for diesel engines that includes 10 traction tires. Walthers catalog number 683-504, priced at $11.95, is shown on page 293 of the 2006 Walthers HO catalog. This Stewart Products company is not the one that makes locomotives and rolling stock, but only replacement and detail parts. Their description in the Walthers catalog is as follows:
“Vinyl traction tires increase pulling power and give a smoother ride with less bounce. These tires can only be used on wheels that had traction tires on them originally. Wheels must be grooved to accept tires.”
They also have an assortment of traction tires for steam engines.
When I checked the Walters web site the Stewart traction tire tool is listed as not currently in stock, but you can back order one. It’s doubtful that a local hobby shop would have one unless it’s a really big shop.
I think the locomotives you have may be from AHM (Associated Hobby Manufacturers), not ALM. AHM is now known as International Hobby Corporation (IHC), and they may have replacement traction tires if you give them a call at 215-634-2122. They are located in Philadelphia, PA.
This may sound laughable, but I hope you’ll cut me some slack; would silicone rubber caulk, spread carefully and really thin, not work for a while. Clearly, rubber, especially in the proper “tire”, would be superior, but if no other reasonable solution can be had, perhaps it is worth a try? If it doesn’t work, one could always pare it off with an exacto-type blade and a hard plastic scrubbing pad like the ones you use on the bar-b-que grill.
(Do I hit “submit reply”, or just slink away? Hmmm…oh well…)
Well Crandell, my dad tried a very similar with a loco some 30+ years ago! So, you are not the only one to have that thought. I can’t really say how it worked, because the loco was pretty much shot, anyway. Even if it had worked “swimmingly” I don’t think we would have known due to other, more serious problems.
Why not throw the antique away, or sit it up on the mantle, and go buy one of the new engines now on the market? They are light years ahead of the junk we had 40 years ago, and you don’t need traction tires!!!
Thanks to all for the answers, and especially to Cacole for setting me straight on the manufacturer and how to contact them. Looks like it may be time for some new reading glasses.
Gtirr, my dad bought those two locos for me, when I was a kid, to add to a set he had given me earlier. I still have much of the old track, two structures, and one gondola from the original set, which was his a very long time ago. Every bit of the stuff that was originally his will find a way into this layout. Since we lost mom a little over a year ago, things like that mean a lot more than they used to.
He gave it to me, and now I’m giving it to my son, along with some newer stuff, and maybe some years down the road, a fourth generation will get some enjoyment out of it. We’ll see.
The yard engine at least, is no slouch. It’ll pull 8 cars up a 4.3% grade with one traction tire gone. It’ll probably pull more than that, but that’s all I have to test it with now. Some new locomotives won’t even climb a grade that steep, much less pull a load while damaged. The F type is a question mark. As I recall, I never did get it to work well, but can’t remember why not. It could have needed new rubber even back then, we’ll see. If that doesn’t fix it, then I’ll just keep plugging until something works.
In any event, now I have an idea what’s it’s going to take to get these guys back on track, and I appreciate the help.
Check out Golf Manor Hobbies in Cincinatti at: www.GOLFMANORHOBBIES.com (they aren’t the greatest for answering email), Ph# (513) 351-3849 3pm-9pm EST. They acrry old Rivarossi parts and maybe some AHM also since Rivarossi was imported under the AHM name for while also.
Silicone doesn’t work. It shreds too fast. I’ve found some O rings from a plasma cutting tourch head that work pretty good. If you were to buy them though they would cost WAY more than real traction tires.
Hi Guys,
I tried the dental rubber bands on a few locos before.
They start to desinigrate from the dirt and oil on the track and don’t last very long.
They also tend to wobble a bit.