[texmaster]

Hi folks,

Haven't run this engine in a very long time and I picked up this sound as it was running. I'm assuming it just needs some oil but I thought I would ask folks with more experience.

It was recently repaired (lower front wheels replaced) and shipped back but the guy who does my work is a real pro so I don't attribute this to him at all.

Its MTH's first HO guage engine.

 

[wvgca]

don't know ... it's very consistent and follows the rotation of the drivers ..

 

[65446]

I may be wrong, but the radius of the curve looks too tight for the heavy rigid frame [what, 4-6-2 ?] loco..IE. the wheelbase of the drivers may be getting squeezed/ grabbed and binding at their flanges. At 0:22 it looks like the rear driver is not on the rail.. How does it run on straight track ? If not OK on straightaway, perhaps the drivers are 'out of quarter', which will cause the side rods to bind..
M

 

[prrfan]

Hi folks,

Haven't run this engine in a very long time and I picked up this sound as it was running. I'm assuming it just needs some oil but I thought I would ask folks with more experience.

It was recently repaired (lower front wheels replaced) and shipped back but the guy who does my work is a real pro so I don't attribute this to him at all.

Its MTH's first HO guage engine.

Any locomotive that hasn’t been run in a long time usually can do with a cleaning and lube.
Some suggestions if you want an accurate assessment of an abnormal sound:
Shoot the video from the side, not from above, so the drivers and running gear can be seen clearly. Preferably both sides.
Don’t have any background sound or music going on during the video.
Show the loco running on straight track as well as into and out of a curve.
I agree with Telltale, the curve looks pretty tight for that sized loco,
(Some of the video issues may be with my viewing it on a phone, but I think a side shot would help.)
Hope you get it sorted.

 

[mesenteria]

My guess:

As the others have opined, the curve is very sharp. Steamers are made so that they will take what would be ridiculous curves on our layouts with a lot of lateral motion designed. For example, the pins representing the cranks, and the linkages holding the various rods and levers together in the running gear, are sloppy by design for that very reason. Also, the axles can slide sideways in both directions for about 1/16" or more, especially the middle one(s).

The periodic clicking at only one point in the revolution tells me that part of the valve gear or side rods is making contact with the spokes in one of the driver wheels, and that the driver wheel, itself, might be slightly out of true on the axle. If I am wrong about the true, it's just the counterweight, which has a smooth outer surface, doesn't make any noise when the same item runs across it.

Widen the curve to something closer to 20" and I think you'll find the noise goes away.

 

[Jscullans]

That sounds like a rod noise to me. Check for scratches on the wheels or anywhere that the paint or metal looks polished a little bit more than normal possibly?

 

[texmaster]

I really appreciate all the feedback. I'm sorry but someone not to be named gave me t he flu after I took care of her.

Here is a video of it only on straight track

 

[Lemonhawk]

Any way you can remove the motor and try just the wheels and drive rods pushing with your fingers? Could be the worm to spur gear connection as the noise is almost continuous. Looking for ware marks on the drive rods as mentioned is also a great idea.

 

[J.Albert1949]

Just a guess, but the "frequency" of that chirping suggests some of it is originating with "motor driveshaft speeds". I'd be looking around the worm gear/gearbox (if there is one) that connects to "the main driver" (with the gear on it)...

 

[mesenteria]

I still think it's related to the driver spokes and something on the running gear striking the spokes, but only in a partial arc of a complete driver revolution.

Please invert the loco in a cradle, under good light, and make sure it is vertical...wheels are vertical and their axles are level across, parallel to the table or counter.

Stand over the locomotive, looking from the rear of it towards the pins and levers, and then from the pilot toward the pins and levers, head about 18" above the model. Are the crosshead guides parallel and true...running parallel to the major axis of the boiler?

Could a pin holding the rods together, one of them be making contact with the spokes of one of the drivers?

I say this because if it were a gear, and one doesn't show up partially stripped with a few clipped teeth consecutive to each other (which would account for the clicking that is periodic), it would be a steady clicking. This is not steady.

It would really help if you could place feeder wires on two different trucks of the tender while you have it cradled upside down, and power the tender. Make the drivers turn with a couple of speed steps and watch all those levers and rods. You might spot something, but chances are good that it only happens when the locomotive is set upon its drivers and the running gear hangs differently.

 

[texmaster]

Hey guys. I took all of your suggestions back to my train repair guy (if it was a computer I could rebuild it but trains...no ) and this is what he found:

Scope of work:
• Turns out the motor is on a plate that has spring to it and when pressed down (assembled with boiler and frame, the flywheel was contacting the cosmetic driver springs on the frame. (so it was a factory related mfg issue). The driver leave springs there have now been trimmed back and no longer make contact.

Thanks again for all the suggestions.