# Rubber traction tire things keep coming off



## ChessieSystem (Sep 17, 2015)

It might be a weird question, but how do you guys keep those little rubber things on the wheels of your trains?
I have a train that they keep coming off and my grandpa's Big Boy keeps having trouble too (one actually got caught on some moving parts and 'tripped' the train!). Is there a glue to keep them on or will it be the endless battle to keep slipping them back on the wheels?


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## Volphin (Dec 7, 2015)

If they are coming off, they ned to be replaced. Sometimes they dry out and get brittle in storage. I had an MTH E8 set I scored on the bay, and it threw all the tires in short order when I put her on the layout. Those were a bear to change! Steamers are easier as a general rule.


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## empire builder (Apr 12, 2014)

as to the big boy not sure which one you have but the VL BB of 2014 I find that the smoke fluid causes them to swell if overfilled I tried using only 10 drops of smoke fluid so far it has helped!

as to the other issue remove old traction tires make sure the wheel is clean no left over debris within the traction tire grove.
carefully use a very small flat bladed screw driver to reinstall new traction tire/s do not over stretch them.
they should stay on for a long time.
is this a MTH or a Lionel product? I sometimes find using MTH traction tires seem to work better on Lionel engines.
hope this helps you


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

If you installed new tires and they keep coming off, they may be the wrong size. I have an MTH Railking 2-8-8-2. When I replaced the tires with the size MTH had specified, they wouldn’t stay on. Turns out MTH had the wrong size listed for replacement. When I used the right size, they stayed on.


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## Dano (Aug 26, 2012)

A drop of CA glue will hold them in place.


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## Prewar Pappy (Jul 26, 2015)

*Let's Face It*

Only one thing will cause this to happen over and over repeatedly. The shoes were installed incorrectly causing them to be stretched beyond their limits of usefulness.


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## L0stS0ul (Feb 6, 2015)

I bought an engine that someone had CA'd the traction tires to. What a horrible mess that was. The train would just bump down the track because the one spot he ca'd was completely hard. I do not recommend gluing traction tires.

I have many many hours of runtime on my MTH engines and I have not had to replace traction tires yet. I only run my trains at a scale 5-10 mph generally though. I like to them to be creeping around the layout.


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## phillyreading (Aug 25, 2015)

I have an MTH steam engine that I have put 2 sets of replacement traction tires on. DON'T use glue as it usually don't help! Replace the traction tire!
MTH steam engines use traction tires like a real steam engine uses water, a whole lot of them.

Lee Fritz


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## sjm9911 (Dec 20, 2012)

And dont buy frog snot, its not a good product. Only advice I have it to keep track and wheels clean, and replace tires when stretched out. They are a pain.


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## c.midland (Sep 22, 2015)

I haven't had a problem with Lionel yet, but MTH tires seem to be made to stretch. I don't think I have a MTH engine with traction tires on it anymore. Fortunately my layout is small and level. I was able to purchase replacements at a train show, but so far am just running without them.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I have run the crap out of my Legacy U-boats, the tires are still on there. FWIW, I use MTH tires when I replace tires, they're thinner and they seem to stay on better.


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## ChessieSystem (Sep 17, 2015)

The Big Boy is a Lionel engine. 4006. 
I don't know how much smoke fluid he puts in it (I doubt he overfills. He is very careful with his trains) 
I appreciate the advice


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## SDIV Tim (Nov 19, 2015)

I dry the heck out of the tire with paper towels, then I put 2 drops of bullfrog snot the tire, secured and won't come off for a while.


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## PatKn (Jul 14, 2015)

If you are pulling a very heavy load, you can stretch the tires and they will come off. Make sure you don't overload the engine or double head.


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## laz57 (Sep 19, 2015)

Do what al these GUYZ suggested and replace the traction tires One of the first places I visit at YORK is the MTH parts booth and pick up about 20 of them. They usually are a buck apiece and I store them in a zip lock bag. Seems like everytime I put an engine that hasn't been run in some time, I have to replace a tire or two.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

I've seriously abused the traction tires on some of my locomotives, and rarely do I have a problem. The two Legacy U-Boats that I pulled the 115 car consist with had little tiny orange peel flakes from track joints, but they're still solid, I figure normal running will just wear those little peels off.


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## Volphin (Dec 7, 2015)

I actually had my PE 1225 get stuck on a Fastrack switch when I wasn't paying attention. It was like she got high centered… wheels were turning and the sounds were just chuffing along. It tweaked the traction tires pretty good from all the friction, but they stayed on there. In fact they are still on. Just a little less "tread" LOL.


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