Tyres

Dear fellow enthusiastsI Have recently purchased a 2nd hand Hornby Fowler 4F R2545 from Hatton's. It was advertised as having one (1) loose traction tyre which I found inside the packaging on delivery. On closer inspection I can see that the tender has 5 wheels which are recessed for tyres . . . 3 on the driven side and 2 on the non-driven side. In between the two on the non-driven side is a wheel without the tyre recess. So what happens is that the tender rocks back and forwards on the centre two wheels.My question for the Hornby experts on this forum is . . .1. There service sheet which I found online is not very informative . . should the tender have 3 or 5 tyres?2. I am having difficulty in obtaining the Hornby X8331 tyres here in Australia. I can get them from the UK but the cost of postage is prohibitive. Does anyone know of a replacement for the X8331, possibly another brand?3. Does anyone have any other suggestions?Regards,Bruce F.

Hi Bruce,

Take a look at Bullfrog Snot at bullfrogsnot.com the performance replacement for traction tyres.

Best,

Bill

Hi Bill,
Yeah I have seen a Youtube video on that stuff. At AU$50 a tub its an expensive option.

Thanks for your reply,

Cheers,

Bruce F

Can't help you regarding traction tyres Bruce - having had just 1 loco with them many years ago,  from then on, I avoided them like the plague.

I understand the theory and they (traction tyres) sounded like a good idea but, like many theoretical ideas, they were a PITA in practice - IMHO of course ……

The reason for this post is to ask how Bullfrog Snot replaces traction tyres…. 

Wheels have grooves cut into them for the tyres - grooves which, if memory serves me right,  was about the same width as the railhead on Code 100 track.  Without the tyres, the groove therefore allowed the wheel to drop, straddling the railhead where, on anything less than dead straight track, it jammed in the groove …..

Does Bullfrog Snot fill this groove ?

I'm also not a user of traction tyres Peter and am just trying to help. However, take a look at the FAQs on the Bull Snot webpages regarding traction tyres.

 One jar of product will naturally serve to replace many sets of traction tyres, so may be good value in the long run.

Cheers,

Bill

I have a jar of 'Snot' bought many moons ago at an exhibition ( remember them ?  :roll: )Put simply It works! a bit fiddly to apply but it does the Job and yes it IS a lifetimes supply in one Jar. ( Just checked it as its not been opened for 3+ years ? And its still good  :thumbs)

 I also have a pack of generic replacement tyres in three different sizes bought, lost and promptly found again AFTER I had bought and applied the 'Snot' to the two loco's that needed it. 

How much is postage for a simple letter to Aus ??

Cheers

Matt

Thankyou everyone who replied to my questions.

I have found some Fleishmann HO gauge tyres from an Australian supplier so I might give them a go before trying the 'snot'.

Thanks all once again.

Cheers.

Hi Matt,
From what I can find, the cost of posting a simple letter from the UK to Oz is £1.70

As mentioned below, I have found some Fleishmann HO scale tyres 648002 from an Australian supplier so I might give them ago first. 

The size quoted is: 13.6mm x 2mm wide. I'm not sure if that is 13.6 OD or ID.

Cheers.

Let me know if they don't work Bruce and Ill post out some of what I have. They are just sitting in the spares drawer anyway   :thumbs
Cheers

Matt

For those of you who may be interested here is an update on my Hornby Fowler 4F traction tyres.

It took a little while for the Fleishmann HO scale 648002 traction tyres to arrive and I have only just fit them . . . I'm pleased to say that they work a treat  :) 

The 4F runs smoothly now without the tender 'rocking and rolling' and negotiates the single slip nicely.

In the process of replacing the tyres I found that my initial confusion in regard to how many tyres are actually needed was resolved when I removed the tyre that was on one of the centre pair pair of wheels. It revealed neither of the two centre wheels have grooves for tyres. So only four (4) tyres are required, not 5 or even 6 as someone suggested (not here).

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions.

Regards,

BF

Great result Bruce, well done and I hope you get many years of good service.

Bill

So do you think whoever had it before got confused and thought all the traction tyres needed to be on one side only ? Something to do with isolating the electrics ?? Confused . Com  :hmm

Cheers

Matt
Glad you got it sorted Bruce and good to know for the future that the HO ones worked  :thumbs

As Bill and Matt have said, that's an excellent result Bruce.

I must admit, when you initially said there were 5 tyres, it threw me.  In my day, most railway vehicles had a wheel at each end of an axle so there had to be an even number ……..

Also, interesting that HO tyres fit OO wheels - saves the manufacturers making 2 sets of wheels a tad apart in scale terms.  I wonder which is accurate ?