Rubber band drive part for Lionel post war HO 0564 C&O Alco FA-1

[DerekO]

Hello - I've been given a gem of a diesel engine. Just been tested since it was bought in 1958 - motor works great but the rubber bands linking the driveshaft to wheel truck gear assembly have rotted away.

Anyone have ideas or sources for this part. To date I've been told to try things like surgical hose or urethane hose that is 2-7/8" x 1/16" (72mm x 2mm).

Appreciate the input. Thanks.

Derek.

[Anonymous]

I believe these were made for Lionel by Athern so you should be able to find Athern rubber bands.

http://www.davishobby.com/athearn1.htm

ATH90101 HO DRIVE BELTS(RUBBER BANDS)24 PCS..... 3.60

[cbq9911a]

The Athearn drive belts work fine for Lionel belt drive HO locos. They just don't last that long.

[brianel027]

Oh I am sorry, but this just gets my mind rolling. Imagine this weekend at YORK and say someone at Lionel is unvailing the latest high end super detailed locomotive while the ooohs and aaahs are coming from the audience.

And then the locomotive shell is removed to show TMCC version 17.6 and all of a sudden you can hear a pin drop. And there it is: a rubber band drive powered by a small rodent running on a belt - all for $1,200.00.

MIght make some interesting service calls:
Customer: "Hello, my new locomotive came with a dead rodent."
Service Rep: "I'm sorry but were out of warranty replacement rodents. We're currently breeding a whole new batch which should be mature in a few months."

Of course, then there's the service instruction sheet.... "Please use only Lionel bred rodents for your drive belt. Using ordinary alley bred rodents will void this warranty."

[:D]

[Anonymous]

I usually use rubber bands from from the Dollar Store or Walmart and they work just fine on my Athern diesels. I believe the rubberbands are #10s

[DerekO]

Thanks everyone for the input, ideas and humour! My brain is swelling with anticipation to see if a #10 rubber band fits around the rodents neck!

Derek