Don't do anything with the traction tires until they break.  They last for a very long time.  Once they break, remove any side frames or drive rods, slip the new tire on over the rim of the wheel and into the slot in the wheel.  Replace the side frames, or drive rod and you are good to go.  I think that I have had to do this once or twice in 30 years and I used to run my LGB engines a lot.

Chuck N

My recollection is that the Flagstaff engine is standard gauge.  The Sumpter Valley (ex-Uintah) is narrow gauge.

That is a neat engine.  It is on the way out of town just before you get to the Museum of Northern Arizona.

Chuck

This all depends upon your intended use.  I over sprayed my Climax last year and had the same effect.  If you are going to put it on a shelf as a center of attraction, you are in deep doo.  If on the other hand your are planning to run it on a railroad inside or out, it will be a lot less noticeable.  

Since my intended use was to to pull some log cars, the blistering of the paint turned out to be not a big problem.

One thing to remember if you are running it, is the 10' rule.  If it is not easily seen at a distance of 10' it is not as bad as you think it is.  This is especially true if the train is moving.  It will look a lot worse to you than to anyone else.

Next time use very thin and light over sprays.  I learned the hard way.

Chuck

Doug:

When I just clicked on it I got the same result you did.  I must have copied only part of the url.

Sorry about that, try this link:

http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aff/14/aft/102396/afv/topic/afpgj/1/Default.aspx

On my PC you can click directly on the above link.  If it is blue you should be able to get to it without cutting and pasting.

Chuck

Just checked it and it seems to work for me.  The pictures of the cars with the new decals are near the end of the thread.  You will have to scroll through several pages to my August 1, 2009 comment.

Stan Cedarleaf is on mylargescale.com  He is very active over there.

I have had him produce decals for me several times.  They are excellent and his prices are reasonable.  We have worked together to make the decals that I needed.  

Chuck N

Here is a thread on Mylargescale.com that if you go through it you will see how I modified stock LGB ore cars with Stan's decals.

http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/afv/grid/afgt/mytopics/Default.aspx

If you cut and paste this into your browser you will see it.  There are several pages to go through before you will see pictures of the DM&IR decals on the cars.

Why don't you contact Aristo.  I solved my problems with the Aristo wide radius switches by replacing them with LGB 18000 series switches.

Seriously though, you can set up external springs to control the switches.  It may not be attractive, but it will work.

Chuck

James:

Glad to see that you were able to fix Thomas' eyes.

Chuck

James:

My Thomas didn't arrive cross-eyed, but after looking for a polarity switch, I put his face on so that he became cross-eyed.

Gently pull the face off and then carefully align the tabs on the back of the eyes with the two bars coming out of the engine block. Then push the face back on.  This may take a couple of tries, but it will work.  I'm currently in Arizona and my Thomas is in Virginia so I can't post any pictures of the process. 

It can be done, just don't force anything.

Chuck

With the existing couplers they aren't happy campers on R1.  The coupler assembly needs to be able to pivot for that tight a curve.  Some people have converted to Kadees and others have used wire extensions to increase the distance between the cars.  Another 1/4 to 1/2 inch separation should be enough.   Both of these seem to have solved the problem.

Chuck

Len: 

Go to the "Product Review" forum at Mylargescale.com and scroll down the list of topics to a one with the following subject:  "Teaching Thomas to run in the same direction as his new friends."  In that thread you will find a lot of discussion about Thomas and friends and their derailing and modifications some have used to solve the problem.

This topic was started in mid-December.  You will have to scroll back to before Christmas.

We have a Sears Hardware Store near us and they have a large assortment of "O" rings.  I think that is something you could find in most hardware stores.

Chuck

If you want help, tell us what kind of engine you have.  This has happened to most if not all of us at one time or another.  Can you get into the tender and see where the wire came from?  If so it should be relatively easy to solder in a patch.  If not send a picture of where the problem wire is in the tender and someone here will probably know where to reattach it.

Soldering irons and volt meters are two necessary tools to have if you are into model railroading, especially "G" gauge.

Chuck

My rule of thumb, is, if the wheels on the engine start to slip you are pulling too many cars.  The diameter of curves and percent of grade will change what an engine will pull.  I know that some people add weight to their engine for better traction, but after replacing the idler gear on several LGB moguls I removed any extra weight that I had added to my engines.

Chuck N

Doug:

Not only to mention an added a car with lights or and engine with smoke.  Starter set transformers are are just that.  Anything beyond a single motor, with lights, will tax the power supply.  Tight curves (R1), smoke, lights, and a few additional cars and you need a new power supply.

Chuck

Tooserious:

A couple of weeks ago several of us offered you suggestions as to what might be causing your problem. 

Was any of the information helpful? 

Those of us who try to help people could use some feedback.  Were we off the wall, or did we of help?

Chuck

If anything is over taxed in your setup it will be the power supply.  My guess is that the top voltage on your HO power supply is significantly lower than the 20 to 24 volts a typical G gauge power supply puts out.  After running for a while, feel the engine and the power supply to see if one or the other is warm or hot.  In the absence of a volt meter this will give you a hint as to where the weak link is located. 

As Joe says, get yourself a volt meter.  They are very useful in studying problems such as this.  They aren't expensive.  You can get a good one for less than $30 at RadioShack. 

Chuck