0-4-0 Side Rod Gas Mechanical Binding

[ofpvrwy]

I picked up the subject loco at a swap meet.  Runs very jerking then stalls.  When I remove the wheel assembly, motor runs smoothly. The side rods seem loose and sloppy. Have the holes elongated from wear? or is that normal.  Should I replace the wheel/side rod set?

[2foot6]

To prove the problem,remove the side rods by removing the counter weights from the wheels that the rods are connected to. If the the loco runs ok then the problem is in the rod area.What I would do in that case is refit the rods and counter weights making sure the rods (a 1/4 of a turn difference)are parallel to each other.Wear in the rods won't be a problem as the two sets of wheels are driven by the gears.  Hope this helps .....................................................................Peter

[jkemp]

Thanks for kicking off this post as it is very timely for me.

I just picked up one of these, assuming new-old-stock, i.e. I pulled the wrapping off of the box, and it seems to have similar problems to what you are experiencing.

Minimally, I, would be curious to hear if you are able to resolve your issue, or, OTOH, if you end up having to send it in for service.