There was recent post that someone had made regarding traction tires and through that thread a suggestion was made re: o rings.
That light bulb never went off in my head when I asked in the forum months ago about traction tires but alot of suggestions were made for using all sort of other things (dental rubber bands, checking e-bay, call the manufacturer, etc). I ended up "making" the tires out of a fine cotten thread a silicon caulk and this has worked ok, but good or perfect would be better :).
I've become frustrated by the lack of response (only e-mailed, will be calling next week) from Bachmann re: traction tires. I've sent three e-mails regarding the 2 engines I've purchased asking if I can purchase either the wheel, the entire truck w/ wheels, just the rubber o ring, yet not even 1 response. The parts list doesn't even list the trucks / wheels that have the traction tires.
So I did a google search for o rings and found this site: http://www.oringswest.com/
I need to get up to speed on how to actually measure the o rings I've got but I don't have anything that "fine".
I'm trying to find out if anyone has used o-rings, who they bought them from, how you go about knowing what ones to buy, as well as if they've ever found a way to get o-rings from the manufacturer (i.e. bachmann).
What scale traction tires are you trying to locate? In HO scale, a company called Stewart Products sells both steam and diesel traction tires and they are listed in the Walthers catalog as items 683-504 through 683-515, depending on intended application.
I think o-rings would not be a suitable substitute because traction tires are flat and o-rings are round.
Oops, I forgot the scale, it is N scale, my bad.
I'll check the walthers catalog again, I've got the '07 n scale book. I didn't see them in there but perhaps I've overlooked it.
cacole wrote: What scale traction tires are you trying to locate? In HO scale, a company called Stewart Products sells both steam and diesel traction tires and they are listed in the Walthers catalog as items 683-504 through 683-515, depending on intended application.I think o-rings would not be a suitable substitute because traction tires are flat and o-rings are round.
The O rings may work in a pinch, But I feel you should replace them with the proper traction tire.
As mentioned, the tires cross section is a rectangle. An O ring that is wide enough to fill the groove may be too tall and cause derailments or lift other driving wheels also posibly affecting electrical PU. A smaller diameter O ring will walk around in the wheel groove and may cause other issues.
You could try them, but the proper replacement is the proper fix.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
Maybe I'm just blind I went through book but I'm not seeing them in there. Could they go by another name than traction tires?
Anyone ever have issues getting the items from the manufacturer. It seems a lot of folks have had good sucess with Bachmann, I'm disappointed they've yet to respond any query of mine via e-mail.
I hear you on the o-rings, I wasn't sure if they made some that are "flat".
http://www.1stplacehobbies.com/allparts.asp?sc=N&mfg=0&keys=traction+tires&walthers=&sp=1&cp=1&lid=0
You didn't say steam or deisel. This is the only N deisel I could find. Found quite a few steam links.
You can probably use O-rings and have them work fine, But, I would get one that fills the groove width wise, and then it is most likely going to need to be trimmed down height wise to match the wheel diameter. A lot of care and a steady hand with a Dremel tool can save a lot of time here. An X-acto knife can also help. The Stewart replacement traction tires can usually benefit from a little fitting too.
Don't forget to glue the O-ring in the groove so it doesn't slide, too. A tiny bit of Superglue on a pin and put in the groove in three places has worked well for me.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?quick=traction%20tires&start=30
Here's the Walthers link.
If you're having trouble getting a response from Bachmann try the Bachmann Forum. Here's the address:
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php
There's a guy who runs the forum for Bachmann and often when someone posts a complaint with one of Bachmann's products he'll step in with personal help/advice. You might give that a try.
gn goat
selector wrote:I am positive this has been done before, but could you find some tubing, maybe even a small inner tube, and pressing it down hard to keep both sides against a cutting surface, use a sharp knife and metal straigthedge to cut sized rings out of the tubing? If it is a bit small, you can stretch it over the wheel rims, and if cut to the right thickness, it will sit nicely inside the channel on the rim.
You got me thinking. Shrink tubing from Radio Shack. Comes in all kinds of small sizes. Shrink it down and trim it to fit.
cacole wrote:What scale traction tires are you trying to locate? In HO scale, a company called Stewart Products sells both steam and diesel traction tires and they are listed in the Walthers catalog as items 683-504 through 683-515, depending on intended application.I think o-rings would not be a suitable substitute because traction tires are flat and o-rings are round.
Was just at a train show earlier today and discovered that the Stewart line of traction tires & accessories has been picked up by a company called Calumet Trains LLC. A line to one source for them is:
http://www.enginetender.com/192m.htm
Good luck...
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Gary M. Collins gmcrailgNOSPAM@gmail.com
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"Common Sense, Ain't!" -- G. M. Collins
http://fhn.site90.net
I agree with jsoderq , call them. They have an excellent service department and often provide the parts at no charge.
A lot of companies have problems with email, with all the spamming they often have to set their filtering on high and therefore many emails just don't get through. A phone call is always better and more personal.
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums
I have used Heat Shrink Tubing with very good success on a Bachmann N scale 2-6-6-2 that I machined a recess in the drivers to accept.
I cut the tubing to width on a NW short-line Chopper to get a uniform tire width.
There is a vast variety of temperatures that this tubing will shrink at and some take a very high heat to obtain the shrinking effect.
I chose tubing that shrank at 125 degrees F. therefore you can get it to shrink in hot water and not harm the drivers plastic driver hub, also that lets you get an even shrink keeping the tire round.
The other issue if you chose to go this way is the thickness of the tubing, you do not want something that is so thick that it causes the rest of the drivers to lift way off the track.
The tubing that I used was purchased from Harbor Freight, they had an assortment package that was from small diameters to quite large and when it was shrunk on stayed soft and offered very good traction.
However the best way to go would be with the OEM's replacement traction tires if you can.
Just to put some closure to it.
It took 3 calls to Bachmann, got disconnected by service twice (it happens I'm not really complaining). Said it would be $7.50 for 10 of the tires for the locos I have EMD GP40's.
The costs aren't that big a deal, I'd probably spend that anyway trying to find a less than better way. I was expecting at least some for free but again, no biggie.
1 215 533-1600 asked for service, thanks for the info.
Needed tires for my J and Balwin steamers. Called Bachman and checked the web site, both tires unavailable and they could not tell me when, or if they would be available again. My impression of Bachman is that they do not support their products. Email from their parts dept suggested using Frog Snot. If all else fails I guess I'll try it.