Yankee 616 has no traction

[tthdr]

I bought a Yankee 616 with a whistle and have it up and running well.  It runs fast by itself and will pull one car easily.  It slows with two and will sit and spin its wheels with three.  I am not sure if the whistle is original.  I wondered if the whistle was off weighting the wheels or if the engine should be weighted with ballast somehow.  Any idea or suggestions would be appreciated.  thanks

[servoguy]

 I recommend you lube all the car wheels and clean the oil off of the track and engine wheels with isopropyl alcohol.  It doesn't take much oil to make the track very slippery.  What I have done in the past is attach 2 or 3 paper towels to a heavy car using rubber bands, then wet the towels with isopropyl alcohol and pull the car around the track to clean it.  When I first started doing this, I had to use several towels to get the track clean.  This was new Fastrack.  Once I got it clean, the NH electric (single motor, magne traction) would pull 21 cars.  The cars are 11 postwar and 10 new cars with the high angle wheels. 

[barrister2u]

I would check the wheels on the motorized loco. They have grooves along the side. They may be wearing out or even broken. I recently replaced the wheels on two yankees I have (the black top and red top). They run fine now. They had no traction previously. I acquired the black top yankee in 1994 and the red top this year. The black top had issues about the wheels (my previous mechanic, now deceased, advised me back in 1994). When I acquired the red top one, my new mechanic recommended replacing the wheels on the red one and I gave him the black one to repair, as well. The wheels are unlike post war, with the grooves. As you run the train, the grooves get worn. Also, the wheels may be cracked.  When that happens, the train will not run, as  the wheels cannot grab onto the motor, however it is connected. That's my understanding.

 

Best, Mark

[ADCX Rob]

 Another solution is to put traction tires on the aft/rear pair of powered wheels.  Using a dab of Walther's Goo to hold it on,  slip/stretch a 222-108 tire over the wheel.

Rob