Greenway Products sell substitute drivers for many steam locomotives. Have you checked with them?
Carey
Keep it between the Rails
Alabama Central Homepage
Nara member #128
NMRA &SER Life member
SP4460,
Well at least you got part of the parts,from NWSL. Good Luck! on the drivers, I believe,you'll be OK, just take your time. I would try Wayne's method.
Cheers,
Frank
I sent a Email to NorthWest Short Line, and they may have had a special run done way back when, but do not have any now. They can help with leading and training trucks though... so there is that. Looks like the cutoff wheel is going to be my best friend when I get the Cabforward.
Hi Rich,
Generally speaking if the wheel is already round, the grinding down of the flange will pretty much keep it round. If it is not round to begin with, then I agree that the grinding process will just follow the original contour of the flange. Besides, the flange being maybe .001" (or for that matter more) off will absolutely not affect the running capability. I do like the Dremel cutoff wheel approach used on the flat side. If you ever tried using a file on these, you would find out that it would take many hours to cut them down. But as Dr. Wayne said, just move from one wheel to the next so they do not overheat and distort or get destroyed.
Regards, Vic Bitleris
The turned-down flanges, as explained, don't affect the wheel treads at all, only the flange depth is altered. The remaining flanges are, however, no longer thin-edged, and the more flange removed, the thicker the edge - this has no effect on tracking qualities, though, as the contact area of the tread and flange isn't changed. As long as the wheels are turning as you work, and only light pressure is applied, the amount of material removed is pretty uniform around the circumference of the wheel. It's unlikely that the flange depth is exactly the same on all wheels, as I simply removed material until it "looked about right". The whole operation is pretty easy, with the most difficult part shielding the motor and gears from the filings. While it would not be adviseable to submerse the motor, if you suspect that the operation has put filings into the gears, disassemble the loco and place the parts in the sink with some warm water and dish detergent, and use a toothbrush to clean out the gear teeth, bearing surfaces, etc.
Wayne
OK, thanks, Jim. I kinda thought that but I needed to hear that, or read that, or whatever.
Rich
Alton Junction
You do not need perfectly round flanges Rich, but you do need perfectly round wheel treads which is what the locomotive rides on. The process Wayne mentioned does not change the tread. This has been done on old pizza flanges for a long time.
Jim
Still, I cannot imagine that you can maintain perfectly round flanges with this technique.
doctorwayneI turned down the flanges on this IHC Mogul using a cut-off disc in my Dremel. Clip power leads to the motor, and while holding the loco upright, apply power until it's running at about half speed. Lightly touch the face of the running cut-off disc to a wheel flange - don't use the edge of the disc. Maintain light pressure, and don't work overly-long on one wheel, as you don't want to overheat it.
Clip power leads to the motor, and while holding the loco upright, apply power until it's running at about half speed. Lightly touch the face of the running cut-off disc to a wheel flange - don't use the edge of the disc. Maintain light pressure, and don't work overly-long on one wheel, as you don't want to overheat it.
I recently took doctorwayne's advice to remove flanges on the inner wheels of a brass engine using this approach and was very happy with the results.
I used a grinding drum, not a cut-off disc. As he said, by keeping the wheels turning and working slowly, you should be able to turn them down to the size you need.
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
doctorwayne I turned down the flanges on this IHC Mogul using a cut-off disc in my Dremel.
I turned down the flanges on this IHC Mogul using a cut-off disc in my Dremel.
How the heck do you keep the wheels from going out-of-round?
Or, maybe the more precise question is, how do you keep the flanges round?
I turned down the flanges on this IHC Mogul using a cut-off disc in my Dremel. After removing the boiler/cab assembly, masking tape was applied over the motor and a shield of writing paper and masking tape was created around the open gears. Clip power leads to the motor, and while holding the loco upright, apply power until it's running at about half speed. Lightly touch the face of the running cut-off disc to a wheel flange - don't use the edge of the disc. Maintain light pressure, and don't work overly-long on one wheel, as you don't want to overheat it. I worked with my shop vac's nozzle right next to the drivers, and had no problem with filings in the mechanism, but if that happens, disassemble the loco and clean it out. For the lead truck, I simply replaced the wheelset.
Bear,
Believe it, or not, I was not even thinking, about the upside down thing, but now that you mention it,,,
BTW, On another Thread, Chuck, basically said the same thing, but with the Loco, on it's side,with a shop-vac,positioned, on the file.
Gidday Frank, with care, not around the 3 pole motor. To be honest it may not actually be a good idea, its just my warped thought processes.( from being upside down all the time)
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Possibly, a good idea! But only,one flaw, where are the filed shavings going to end up?
This is sorta thinking out loud, I have turned down freight car metal deep flanged wheels using a battery drill, a sharp file and vernier calipers. Happily my old Cab forward doesn't have pizza cutter wheels,but if it did would I be brave enough to put it upside down in a servicing cradle, apply power and gently turn down the flanges using a file????
Rivarossi made the Cab Forward in the later runs with RP25 flanges. I have watched Ebay for one but they ususally want more than I will pay. That's probably the only way to replace them.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
You can find,the year made, maybe model # and get in touch with, NWSL (North West Short Line:
http://www.nwsl.com
Is there any update fix kit thing that I could get to swap out the old deep flange running gear? I have looked but I could not find anything.