American 4-4-0 Steam Locomotive with tender

[mustng]

I have received as a gift an American 4-4-0 Steam Locomotive with tender.  I have had no experience with other trains.  However as an 82 year old retired engineer I have normal familiarity with mechanical devices.

This unit seems to work correctly except the wheels just spin and no motion seems possible.  I have not used any lubricant and the track is wiped clean.

Is there a trick I am not aware of?  Can anyone offer any advise?
Don

[Conrail Quality]

The unusual thing about these models is that the motor is actually in the tender, and a drive shaft connects the motor to the drive wheels on the locomotive. Has something happened with the drive shaft?

Timothy

[James in FL]

Hi mustng,

I have one here.
The B'mann 4-4-0 came equipped with traction tires on all four drivers.
Similar to an "o" ring but flat in both inside and outside roughly .250 - .300 Dia. and roughly .025 wide.
See if all four are in place on the drivers.

[joakimwo]

I had this very problem. After checking the driveline, rubber tires, and clean all traction surfaces with alchohol and q-tip (you mustn't over do it.) then all you have left is a weight issue. here's what I did. I replaced the tapered portion of the smokestack with a snazzy copper cone that I made on my lathe. You can use a drill and file if you hold it right. Then I removed the weight in the cab and replaced it with a block of lead cut out so that all possible nooks & crannies were filled. I used a milling machine but it could be carved if you wish. this helped considerably. I estimate a 2% grade increase.