Many years ago ( 1950s ) my father told me to never pull a locomotive along the track as it could put flat spots on the wheels. With the metal used in those wheels, it probably would.
Do you think the new locomotives would do the same thing with their better metal?
Frankly, I doubt it did that back then, but maybe so. I doubt even the plastic wheels would flat. Unless he was just trying to add operating realism - in which case it is still a fun thing to do.
Genesee Terminal, freelanced HO in Upstate NY ...hosting Loon Bay Transit Authority, run through Amtrak and CSX Intermodal
CP/D&H, N scale, somewhere on the Canadian Shield
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
If yer talkin' about a few inches to reposition or retrieve, I don't see a problem.
If you are talking about dragging around an oval for an hour (for reasons I can't imagine), I would recommend against.
Ed
Traction tires would probably be damaged more easily than metal wheels. They could be stretched and become loose. Plated wheels may lose their plating sooner if slid.
If the wheels are/were metal, your father is wrong.
.
In order to deform the metal, in addition to dragging, you would need to apply incredible downward force. More force than would be required to rip the rail out of the ties.
The other option is to wear the wheels, but you would need to drag the locomotive for miles. Not "scale miles", real world miles.
Applying valve-lapping compound to the rail surfaces might help, but it would need to be replenished frequently.
By the way... you can't wear flat spots into your front tires by turning the steering wheel while the car is not moving either. You would need to spend days turning the wheel back and forth to accomplish anything.
Your eyes also will not stay that way if you cross them. Swallowing watermelon seeds will not result in a vine growing from your ears. Anything else?
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190Your eyes also will not stay that way if you cross them. Swallowing watermelon seeds will not result in a vine growing from your ears. Anything else?
Thanks for the laugh Kevin!
Cheers!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
On the TV show, California’s Gold, someone let Huell Howser drive a cable car. While going down a step San Francisco hill he locked up the brakes. Sliding the locked up wheels along the rails created a flat spot on the wheels and for the rest of the show you could hear it every rotation of the wheels. I'm sure it made the ride a little more bumpy too. The engineer scolded him for it.
SeeYou190 If the wheels are/were metal, your father is wrong. . In order to deform the metal, in addition to dragging, you would need to apply incredible downward force. More force than would be required to rip the rail out of the ties. . The other option is to wear the wheels, but you would need to drag the locomotive for miles. Not "scale miles", real world miles. . Applying valve-lapping compound to the rail surfaces might help, but it would need to be replenished frequently. . By the way... you can't wear flat spots into your front tires by turning the steering wheel while the car is not moving either. You would need to spend days turning the wheel back and forth to accomplish anything. . Your eyes also will not stay that way if you cross them. Swallowing watermelon seeds will not result in a vine growing from your ears. Anything else? . -Kevin .
Kevin,
You are partially incorrect. I have seen flattened wheels myself on a locomotive. It was infact dragged for miles due to the owner not realizing that it was not running (it was in a old style consist, and the other locomotive had the tractive effort to drag the second locomotive around his layout). Not all model locomotive wheels are/were created equal (made from different metals).
No dragging by hand a few short feet will not likely cause flat spots (but why would you want to?)
BMMECNYCKevin, You are partially incorrect. I have seen flattened wheels myself on a locomotive.
My nephew was running a consisted set of four, Proto 2000 GP-7s. Unbeknownst to me, one of the four decoders had "scrambled" its brain and was no longer responding to the throttle. It really doesn't take very long to wear a good-sized flat spot.
By the time I realized what was going on there had indeed been flat spots worn into the wheel treads. In two places, actually, since the engines were doing some set-outs and while running in two directions a little gear slop allowed the wheel to turn just enough in each direction to wear in two places.
Fortunately—through all the P2K gear/wheel/axle replacements I've done over the years—my stock of spare wheels was more than enough to cover this misadventure.
As a rule I try to observe every locomotive as they pass on the main line to be sure that ALL the engines in a consist are functioning!
Regards, Ed
SouthPenn Many years ago ( 1950s ) my father told me to never pull a locomotive along the track as it could put flat spots on the wheels. With the metal used in those wheels, it probably would. Do you think the new locomotives would do the same thing with their better metal?
I'm not so sure about the 'better' metal, but I do intuitively know that dragging even our light toy locomotives geared to a drive so that they won't free-wheel is a bad idea. For that reason, when I do find it more expedient to slide them from time-to-time, I always take up at least 80% of their weight using my lifting hand before I make any longitudinal movement along the rails. So far so good.
SeeYou190...Swallowing watermelon seeds will not result in a vine growing from your ears....
It wasn't from my ears in the version I was told... and I heard more of the same about cherry pits, too.As a little kid, the fertilizer factor initially made those myths somewhat believable, but I've never required the assistance of an arborist for personal grooming.
Wayne
Well, I always heard as kid, you could grow potatoes in my ears, and something about going blind ?
Mike.
My You Tube
You might drag the gearing on an engine by dragging it, though. Especially if it has worm gears. I have seen kids push/pull trains along on the tracks (especially Bachmann G scale ones) and ruin the gears that way.
Modeling the D&H in 1984: http://dandhcoloniemain.blogspot.com/
I agree with Benjamin that damage to the drive train (or at the very least, not doing the gearing and drive train any good) is likely the most immediate risk to the practice (and wearing traction tires). There are also locomotives like my old Pemco GG1 that had plastic wheels on the insulated side. But even there pushing the engine a few inches to get it out of the way really should not do any harm.
The famous Lionel "scale" Hudson of the 1930s had helical gearing (am I using the right term?) so that you could actually turn the motor by pushing the unpowered locomotive. It also gave the engine a certain amount of natural momentum, without the use of a flywheel. I think some Fleischmann HO engines had the same kind of gearing. It seems like a good idea and I am surprised it has not become more popular, but I imagine it adds some complexity and cost.
That's all I have to add. Now, don't put beans up your nose!
Dave Nelson
When I was a kid my cousins ruined my toy train locomotive by pushing it until they stripped the gears.
dknelson The famous Lionel "scale" Hudson of the 1930s had helical gearing (am I using the right term?) so that you could actually turn the motor by pushing the unpowered locomotive. It also gave the engine a certain amount of natural momentum, without the use of a flywheel.
The famous Lionel "scale" Hudson of the 1930s had helical gearing (am I using the right term?) so that you could actually turn the motor by pushing the unpowered locomotive. It also gave the engine a certain amount of natural momentum, without the use of a flywheel.
That was also true of some of their other engines--my Lionel Berkshire was like that.