Interesting experiments. I guess this falls into what ever floats your boat category. There are some folks that believe magna-traction should be on all locomotives, count me out for that suggestion.

For me, if a dollar per rubber tire caused me heart burn I would just pay the buck and keep the locos running. I do know a few O Gaugers that do use some type of sealants to replace the rubber tires but mainly they just don't want to mess with replacing them over and over.

Bill

 

Thank you. Useful information. I've always used the Plastigrip stuff instead of bullfrog snot.

One thing I also have learned is to test an engine first without traction tires before going to the effort. My Vision CC2 pulls well - at least as well as I need it too, without them. One can argue that, with 16 powered drivers, it should, but the point is that I saved a lot of effort by discovering this and just skipping that. Not only less work now but down the road when the new wear off, etc.

 

Interesting observation Lee, my CC2 needs tires and it looks like a major PITA to put them on! I'll have to give it a run without them and see if I can live without tires.

 

I have no doubt that mine would pull more with traction tires, but like you say they are a PITA to replace and mine pulls around 12-15 good (low friction) cars without slippage on my mainline, which admittedly with 72"+ curves only and mile inclines does not challenge a loco's traction much. I think it would pull more.

I am inherently lazy - show me a shortcut that will even come close to working, like this, and I will take it every time.

There are locos I think must have traction tires, BEEPs being the one type that comes to mind.

 

I've also saw some were that people use the rubber bands they use for braces, not asure strong but I think there cheap. I never tried it. You might need to put a few on to fill the space.

 

My major problem with traction tires is one MTH steam engine, a Reading Lines T-1. It keeps throwing a traction tire about every 3 months if not sooner. No other engine does anything similar.
Personally I would prefer magna-traction.
I will check out plastigrip.

Lee Fritz

 

I've never had to replace a traction tire but reading all of these posts I'm beginning to dread that process when the time comes.

 

Has anyone ever tried 'O' Rings ? They are VERY cheap. They are very sturdy, and should last a LONG time.

Dan

 

yes, and a good hardware store has sizes to fit anything.:sold:

 

O-rings would not sit flush, so the "tire" would be different diameter than the matching wheel. I don't know how well they'd work, but I'll stick to regular flat traction tires.

 

Maybe I don’t run my trains enough or maybe my grades aren’t steep enough or maybe my trains aren’t long enough, but I haven’t had to replace tires too many times. I have replaced tires a few times and it wasn’t difficult. I don’t think $1 for a tire is outlandish. Generally, the price you pay for things is based on what it is worth to you, not what it costs to make.

 

Most traction tires are pretty easy to replace, there are some "stinkers" in the fleet. The CC2 previously mentioned is one, and the cab forward is another.

 

The 'O'rings' Can easily be made flat.
Once you have flattened one side, you can turn the rings inside out put them back on the spindle, and flatten the other side. You will have a small rubber band type ring. 'O' Rings come in many different widths, so you can make them about any width you need.
Dan

 

If you are going to use O rings just avoid common nitrile, aka Buna-N. It doesn't like to be stretched and will crack and fail in a few months. Other compounds you may find in an auto store or industrial supply are Viton and EPDM but I have not tried to stretch these to compare.
I would suggest doing some searches on elastomeric rubber compounds to find out what material would be best.
I have had best results shaping soft plastics and rubber with abrasives.

Pete

 

GAD! I just use traction tires. hwell:

 

Some feel $1.00 each is too expensive.
BTW, That entire process should take no more than 1 hour start to finish.
Dan

 

I wasn't sure how much of a problem they actually were, but anytime I can fabricate, I'm all in. Not cheap, just THRIFTY.

Dan

 

I question if O-Rings are going to work as well as traction tires, my sense is probably not.

 

So many things I can think of that might not be compatible: the right diameter for one -too thick, the right surface area. Not enough contact on the inside to cling. I still like the "leave 'em off" solution best, but given you need them on a loco I will go with either get the right size or use some plastigrip or something like it, although not frogsnot.