Locomotive help!!

[newfiegod]

Pretty new at this hobby....my son was just playing with our set up and after he was done i noticed there was what looked like two small rubber bands on the board. From what i could see they came off of two of the drive wheels......are bands very importand and if they are can they be put back on?

[GlennW]

We need to know what loco they came off of to be sure.

They could be Traction tires. Used on the 4-4-0 American Drive Wheels. You may need to click on the Product Reference section above to get a diagram of your loco. The Traction Tires will slip back on the drive wheels they came off.

THe Traction Tires are used for some steamers to provide better traction between the drive wheels & the track. They also prevent any electric connection from the rail into the motor. You may find the loco runs fine without them but can't pull as well.

[newfiegod]

its a diesel loco which came in the bachmann explorer set.....Sante Fe. i'll try to find more info

[taz-of-boyds]

Wheels that have traction tires have a groove cut into the metal wheel the size of the traction tire to hold it in place.  If the treads of al the wheels look the same then the things you found must not go to the loco.  But look closely and you can run your finger nail from the flange out to the edge of the wheel tread.  If there is a groove, your nail should catch near the edge of the tread.
Charles

[GlennW]

I'm surprised the F units in the Explorer set have traction tires.

In any event, you can try to substitute FT's from MTL or other F units from IM. You can also find some cab units (Alco FA1, FA2, F-M's), from LifeLike. You may find a F9 made by LifeLike.

Other great F units are made by Kato. Your best choice would be to get a Santa Fe unit from Atlas or Kato.

[brokemoto]

I was not aware that the latest versions of the Standard Line F-9s had traction tyres.  I have an older version that lacks them.

I do not have the later version, but the older versions were not the best runners and had a nasty habit of frying the motors.  They appear to be out-of-scale, although I have never taken calipers to one.

Substituting other power may not be a bad idea.

Intermountain sells FTs, F-3s and F-7s in various ATSF schemes.  Compared to the prices of the B-mann power, IM power is not inexpensive.  The IM F-units  do run very nicely and pull well.

Micro-Trains also sells FTs in ATSF.  They run well, pull well, but are not inexpensive, either.

ATSF had no ALCo freight cabs units.   They had ALCo passenger cabs:  DL-109s and PA-1s.  Life-Like sells both, Kato sells the PAs, Con-Cor sold both.  If you want a passenger cab, the old LL plastic frame can be had for good prices, and is not a bad runner and an excellent puller.  The C-Cs were good for their time, but are now dated.  The split frame LLs and the Katos are not inexpensive.

LL sold Fairbanks-Morse Erie builts in ATSF.  These are excellent power, but are difficult to find.  They are quite large (as are the  ALCo passenger cabs), and may really be more than you want for trainset trackage.

You may want to consider a switcher or road switcher.  Atlas, LL, Kato and B-mann sell the above.  LL sells SWs in various ATSF schemes.  They are not expensive and may be the best for your purposes, at this time.  The Atlas Baldwin switchers and Kato NWs are the best of the yard goats.  The Atlas GP-7s, GP-9s, RS-3s, RSD-4s and the Kato RS-2 are the best of the road switchers, at least those with which I have experience.

I may have omitted a few items.

Then, there is always steam............................................

The B-mann SPECTRUM 2-8-0 may be the best steam for your purposes