Poor traction

[Chrissaf]

Hi,

 

Have you checked that the wheels on the coaches rotate freely? The only other suggestion I have is to add a little weight to the loco.

 

Ray

[Chrissaf]

Hi Schuie here again now have a problem with my class 43 the virgin hst , the loco slips ( POOR TRACTION ) when the engine is on its own it runs fine the moment you connect coaches even just one coach  it slips very badly you can see the motor spinning and and the gears rotating so i replaced the traction tyres which i have with no results  waiting for new tyres from peters spares, could there be something i have overlooked

regards

Schuie

[Puffed Out]

Drive gear on the motor shaft could be spinning when it's under load with coaches attached. If it is, don't bodge it by sticking it with any form of glue..

[Modelnut19]

I suspect you have checked this already but is the track oily?

Otherwise, as someone has already suggested, try checking that everything is running freely and that nothing is catching around corners.

[TheMajor]

I have a similar problem with a new LMS Suburban Passenger Train R3397. The wheels spin even when a little pressure is applied. The loco is new, and the track is Hornby track which has had minimal use. Other older and very worn locos and coaches all run on this track with no difficulty. Any solutions out there?

[Going Spare]

Although new traction tyres may well cure your problem provided the rail surface and ALL wheels on all your stock are clean so that they do not deposit oil and dirt which will be picked up by the new tyres, also check the dummy car and the non-powered bogie on the power car for free running.  The motor itself might be starting to fail - while it can move the power car apparently ok, it may no longer be able to provide sufficient power to cope with the rest of the train.  With the motor powered away from the track, try stopping the wheels turning with your fingers - you should have to apply considerable pressure to do so.  

[Going Spare]

To The Major - check that all the coaches are free running and that all wheels on all your stock and the rail surface are clean.  On the locomotive, also check the pony truck and bogie for free running wheelsets and that they are not pressing down on the track to the extent that they are reducing the friction between the driving wheels and the rails.

[96RAF]

I have an HST which I have supposedly ‘improved’ by getting rid of the traction tyres, adding more pickups and fitting a DVD motor. It slips all the time running solo on my lumpy test track, never mind in train.

 

One other fault I have noticed is the front bogie location ‘hooks‘ can get caught up on the chassis frame and make it sit at an odd angle, which is noticeable from arms length on track. Fiddling with the bogie frees it up again until next time. I need to get in there and fettle it somehow for smoother articulation. The DVD motor is nice and smooth though.

[atom3624]

Not going to help too much, but I've a Virgin super detail 43 - 8WD and never a problem.

 

Can't say I've tried it any distance solo, only to couple up, but flies with up to 10 including trailer connected - if I want it too and seldom slips at all with a full train.

 

It appears the OP is of a single-bogie-powered with traction tyres model?

Are all wheels seating properly on the rails?

 

Al.

[threelink]

Very sensible advice about checking for free running and the like but it might be worth also checking the traction tyres for fit. I had a similar problem on a recently purchased older loco and found that the wheels were rotating inside the tyres because the wheels were oily and the tyres slightly sloppy. Cleaning the wheels and replacing the tyres with the correct size cured the problem. If correct tyres are not immediately available a narrow ring sliced from the rubbery finger grip peeled off a Wilko own brand black biro makes an excellent stop gap. Such rings will stretch to fit most small to medium size wheels. Other makes of biro might serve just as well - a Wilko biro was what I had to hand at the time. Best of luck in finding a solution to the problem.

[The Duke 71000]

TRACTION TYRES

 

Traction tyres and British modellers don't go together !

 

 

Rule 1: Never push a traction tyre fitted vehicle for even ONE INCH along the track, as you risk stretching the traction tyre IMMEDIATELY, which will then be useless. It will rotate around the wheel, and seriously impede any potential of the vehicle to get power down on the rail.

 

 

Traction tyres should be a very tight fit, and many manufacturers also add a type of tacky glue to resist the tyre becoming stretched, and useless. Traction tyres should also fit the wheel slot perfectly both in depth & width. If they do not, then this will also cause problems, and most likely lack of traction, and/or bumpy behaviour when running the model.

 

 

The Duke 71000