trammayo
Interested in vintage commercial vehicle, trams, t
I like Big Haulers and have done all sorts to extend the working lives of the roster that I own.
Latest to develop a fault was another of the Annies - 178 (D&RGW) Bumble Bee. I noticed last year it was running erraticlly but put it down to the wheel plating wearing away or dirty track.
Apologies for photo quality (I`m no Cecil Beaton)!
Having cleaned the wheels and track it seemed to go a little better but, when stopped, it needed a little encouragement (gentle push) to restart.
During another clean and lube, I wondered if there was too much play in the conrod ends. It was then that I discovered the excessive play was actually in the front driving axle - allowing the wheels a few degrees of movement and letting one side or the other out of quarter.
So, taking things apart, I removed the errant wheelset. Having studied the offending item, I wasn`t too sure how it would come apart. So I opened the vice, allowing the wheelset to sit there on a vertical axis, and I used a piece of wood and hammer to seperate the lower wheel from the axle. This process also produced the same result with the wheel sitting on top of the vice jaws!
Once apart, I realised that the wheels and axle were assembled before the plastic (external) overlays were inserted! But, as the screws only retained the nylon bushes, I did no harm.
The cure?
It`s the same as Loctite I suppose.
The wheels and other bits ......
Not easy to make out, but one of the nylon bushes was slightly worn, plus the wheel that engaged with it appeared to also have some wear,
The other bush appeared to be OK but even this yielded a slight movement when the wheel was pushed on...
So, after a thorough clean and degrease, a drop of Bond-it was applied to each side of the `flats` on the axle and the nylon bush pushed on. The other end was given the same treatment and any excess fluid wiped off. Then it was a case of treating the wheel bores in the same way. The bearing brasses being placed on the axle and the bush retaning screws tightened up.
Then it was a case of firmly squeezing on the wheels - the vice was useful - checking the back to back measurement, wiping off any excess Bond-it (didn`t want the brasses to be an interference fit did I?) and then twisting it to gain the correct quartering. It was then a case of leaving it for a few hours to make sure the locking fluid had dried out.
The reassembled wheelset...
The result was a nice tight fit and, once reinstated and the connecting rods fitted, the loco was tested.
Result!
Latest to develop a fault was another of the Annies - 178 (D&RGW) Bumble Bee. I noticed last year it was running erraticlly but put it down to the wheel plating wearing away or dirty track.
Apologies for photo quality (I`m no Cecil Beaton)!
Having cleaned the wheels and track it seemed to go a little better but, when stopped, it needed a little encouragement (gentle push) to restart.
During another clean and lube, I wondered if there was too much play in the conrod ends. It was then that I discovered the excessive play was actually in the front driving axle - allowing the wheels a few degrees of movement and letting one side or the other out of quarter.
So, taking things apart, I removed the errant wheelset. Having studied the offending item, I wasn`t too sure how it would come apart. So I opened the vice, allowing the wheelset to sit there on a vertical axis, and I used a piece of wood and hammer to seperate the lower wheel from the axle. This process also produced the same result with the wheel sitting on top of the vice jaws!
Once apart, I realised that the wheels and axle were assembled before the plastic (external) overlays were inserted! But, as the screws only retained the nylon bushes, I did no harm.
The cure?
It`s the same as Loctite I suppose.
The wheels and other bits ......
Not easy to make out, but one of the nylon bushes was slightly worn, plus the wheel that engaged with it appeared to also have some wear,
The other bush appeared to be OK but even this yielded a slight movement when the wheel was pushed on...
So, after a thorough clean and degrease, a drop of Bond-it was applied to each side of the `flats` on the axle and the nylon bush pushed on. The other end was given the same treatment and any excess fluid wiped off. Then it was a case of treating the wheel bores in the same way. The bearing brasses being placed on the axle and the bush retaning screws tightened up.
Then it was a case of firmly squeezing on the wheels - the vice was useful - checking the back to back measurement, wiping off any excess Bond-it (didn`t want the brasses to be an interference fit did I?) and then twisting it to gain the correct quartering. It was then a case of leaving it for a few hours to make sure the locking fluid had dried out.
The reassembled wheelset...
The result was a nice tight fit and, once reinstated and the connecting rods fitted, the loco was tested.
Result!
