Traction Tires for Diesels and Electrics?

[Tom]

I bought an old Bachmann 4-8-4 (the early ones) on E-bay a while back after inquiring as to whether Doc Wayne might sell his (Deano had already spoken for it). I figured I'd try my hand at remotoring it and detailing it similar to Doc Waynes. I figured, "what the heck", and put it on the layout to see it run (I was mostly just curious to see how well the smoke unit that was advertised on the box worked). Not only did the smoke unit work a lot better than I thought it would, it ran really well. I was surprised. So, I started adding more and more cars to it. Mind you, my layout has a 3% grade on the rear of it, that cheap, old school Bachmann actually pulled 15 cars up that grade, and I prefer to weigh my cars a little heavier than NMRA standards. I then thought "No way", and took it apart to see what kind of motor the previous owner had remotored it with. No dice, original pancake motor from Bachmann. Flipped it over, and nope. No traction tires either. Go figure!

Sometimes, you just get lucky and wind up with a "super" power locomotive. I once had an Athearn SW-1500 (when they came out, I was all excited someone did a WP engine in Perlman green paint!), so I had to have it. Ran REALLY rough. So, I tuned it by completely disassembling the motor, cleaned ALL parts of it and the drive train in alcohol, went over the gears with a fine file where needed, added lead weights in the inside roof of the body, and re-assembled. Thing pulls like a Kato, but runs EVEN SMOOTHER than any Atlas or Kato unit I own. Simply amazing. Everyone who sees it work a cut of cars in the yard wants to know what I remotored it with. When I tell them it is the original small Athearn motor in it, they all call "Bull!!"

Then again, I have had some high end locos (like Proto) that ran like old tired dogs).

Like I said, sometimes you are the windshield, sometimes you are the bug when purchasing locomotives.