Slipping wheels

[Tony Clarke]

Has anyone found a solution to wheels that spin on some Chassis? I have built models utilising both the Kato bogie chassis 11-107 and a Chinese Caramel chassis. Both work very well as just a loco but if I attach a couple of wagons which do not have pin point bearings the wheels spin. I have put lead in the loco.
Is it just a case of adding more weight or is there a way of roughening the surface of the wheels?
As an aside, has anyone ever fitted pinpoint bearings to the Parkside Dundas slate wagons?
Tony Clarke

[rod335]

The Caramel/Carmel chassis is only single axle drive and as such, no matter how much weightyou put in/on it, it will always be prone to slipping. On the plus side you now own a pretty efficient rail polisher! If is 20 years + since I built any Parkside slate wagons but the ones I built did have pinpoint axle bearings.

[Andre Anderson]

Greetings,

Over here in the states we have a product called "Bull Frog Snot"  ::) :o http://www.bullfrogsnot.com/ and I have used it and it helps a lot. If you put it on only one wheel it will help but that wheel will no longer pick up power as you have just coated it in rubber.

Andre

[JulienW]

You can make the Caramel chassis 4 wheel drive usind some onf the drive belts that Nigel Lawton sells.

This is my Caramel loco...


And this shot shows the drive belts I've added


I've added two belts to even out the forces on the axles and axle boxes, and you can see the pins (plastic rod) added to stop the belts moving along the axle and getting tangled up in the worm.

Unfortunately I can't recall the critical thing which is what size drive belts you need!

[B.Meldon]

The belt drive tip was in 009 News a couple of years ago, I can not recall the belt size, and I wrote it! I will look it up and let you know.

As to wheel slip in 009 locos weight is the key. In fact as much weight as possible is the key.

Often when building a loco body the choice of the materials used in its construction need to be considered to give the loco sufficient weight. For example a thin wall tube will be better for a boiler than thick wall plastic as you can get more lead in the space. Often there are spaces that are only accessible during the building that can be filled with lead during the build but not when the loco is complete.
Other tricks include making boiler fittings, tool boxes and even buffer beams out of lead or using white metal castings. Even using white metal figures for the driver helps with some locos.

But balancing the weight on the driving wheels is also important and often you will find that with some white metal kits it is best to make the cab roof and even the back of the cab with plastic rather than use the white metal parts to ensure the weight is balanced on the driving wheels.
There are also things that make the loco wheels slip more. For example using graphite on the rails, this will aid with electrical pick up but it will make the locos slip.

The way you clean the track also makes a difference, if you use fluids to clean the track this keeps the rail surface very smooth that helps with electrical pick up and reduces the need to clean the track. However if you use a track rubber this will make tiny groves on the rail and although you may need to clean the track more often it will help with adhesion.

It is all a bit of a compromise and you will find that each of us goes about this in a different way depending on the layout and what works for them.

Brian Meldon

[Tony Clarke]

Thank you for the replies. I will be interested in the suggested belt size for the Caramel chassis

Tony Clarke

[B.Meldon]

Found it.......

This previously appeared in 009 News

Here are three simple steps to convert the Pro-Hobby micro Chassis from two to four wheel drive.

1. Remove the wheel sets and fix (glue) them to the correct gauge for 9mm track. From the factory they are all too narrow.
2. With a sharp knife cut away the lower protrusions on the underside of the plastic chassis block on one side of the motor worm. Do not cut all the way through the plastic.
3. Re-fit the wheel sets with a Nigel Lawton 10mm ID drive belt between the two plastic axles, ensuring that it is not twisted.

Nigel Lawton's drive belts work better if they are run on a 'V' grove pulley but in this case the axels are sufficient.



Brian Meldon

[Tony Clarke]

Thank you

Tony Clarke

[Alan Feldon]

Re pin point bearings
PD supply bearings under their n guage section,and i fit these to all my plastic kits with metal axle wheel sets.
They are very tiny (so buy more than you need)
I put these into place with tweezers and then insert the axles.
You will probably find initially these will be stiffer.
What i do is put the wagon on its side with the axle boxes on a piece of metal and tap the axle box with a small hammer a couple of times and then reverse the process on the other side.
This has the effect of driving the bearings back into the plastic .sounds drastic but it works and you end up with smooth running wagons.

[Tony Clarke]

Thank you for the suggestion. I tried fitting the brass bearings I had once but they were far too big. I will give it a try

Tony Clarke

[Frank]

I have fitted bearings to 3mm standard gauge wagon kits from PD.    The "recommended" way to do it is to open the hole in the W iron to take the bearings using a suitable size drill.   Seems to work OK.

You can get different sized bearings, some with top-hats, some just plain thimbles, from 3SMR
http://www.3smr.com/motors.html



Frank

[Alan Feldon]

Yes you are right Frank,but actually two drills are required.One for the pin point and one for the shoulder.As well ,if you drill too deep you could ruin the axle boxes.
My method.though cruder,is quicker and works.

[David Prime]

Sand on the track ? Applied by a flexible 4 mm scale person sitting at the front?