the MRH Forum

BLI Wheel Problem(s),...corrosion? Locos and rolling stock
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Prolific poster 8,726 posts railandsail Prolific poster 8,726 posts
railandsail

Yesterday I got out of storage the first articulated steam loco I ever bought,...a BLI 2-6-6-4, N&W Class A. Its been in storage for a long time as I experienced some wheel discoloration/corrosion problems with it not long after I got it, .....and I haven't had a layout to operate my locos on for a long time.

The wheel discoloration problems is still there,....and short initial test on a roller track, it appears to affect its electrical pick-up.

Brian

1) First Ideas: Help Designing Dbl-Deck Plan in Dedicated Shed
2) Next Idea: Another Interesting Trackplan to Consider
3) Final Plan: Trans-Continental Connector
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Russ Bellinis Prolific poster 3,335 posts
Russ Bellinis

Sounds like you have corrosion on the wheels.

You need to clean the wheel treads where they make contact with the rails.
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railandsail Prolific poster 8,726 posts
railandsail

  ...a posting I made on

 
 

...a posting I made on another forum back then (but I have not located those photos I took yet?

Quote:

I've got two IHC C&O heavy mountains that just run their heart out....just no problems. I had them weathered and they look great...some think they are brass from only a short distance away. I can run them double-headed without DCC. Of course the vandy tenders were wrong shape.


So I bought two Bachmann C&O versions with that great new vandy tender. I hope to put a real nice sound and dcc system in these and have a real nice pair as well. I have not run them to any great degree, so can't comment on this quality about them. (I'll take any good hints at speaker installations in these vandy tenders)

Originally my first BLI was the 2-6-6-4 ClassA. What a great sounding engine, even on just straight dc. But after awhile I noticed the driver wheel corrosion...sort of a zinc colored appearance of the rims of the drivers, and the discoloration of the running surfaces of these wheels. When the loco suddenly wouldn't run I assumed that this corrosion was not allowing electrical contact. I sent it back to the factory and was told they reset the decoder, and that the wheel discoloration would make no difference. Turns out to be true on this loco, the discoloration does not seem to effect the electrical pickup so far.

Since then I've bought a number of their Blueline diesels and steam locos, and I've run into this wheel corrosion problem with a vengeance on a few of the diesels. Check this other subject thread out:
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?p=133533#post133533
http://www.broadway-limited2.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1452&sid=8099de4afa54b94f0cc4436a535bf039

I can't say this will or will not occur on the steam locos as they are still in their new boxes. The detail on these locos is great. I was disappointed to hear on this subject thread that they are more difficult to repair by one's self due to odd size axles, etc.

One final point, look at the condition of the driver wheels on that 'less expensive' IHC Mountain loco that has been running and running and setting on this layout for over 6 years...the compare it with the wheels on that 2-6-6-4 BLI. BTW I have a friend whose train shop just took one of these ClassA locos in trade and it has this same 'car battery terminal' look to it's drivers??

Suggestions?

That posting above was part of this discussion, https://modelrailroadforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/best-quality-ho-steam.9823/page-2

https://modelrailroadforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/wheel-corrosion-broadway-locomotives.9810/page-2

Some interesting contributions where made....

I will post some current photos tomorrow. It does appear to have NOT accelerated, but its still there?

Brian

1) First Ideas: Help Designing Dbl-Deck Plan in Dedicated Shed
2) Next Idea: Another Interesting Trackplan to Consider
3) Final Plan: Trans-Continental Connector
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railandsail Prolific poster 8,726 posts
railandsail

Older Photos

Just found some older photos I took when I first found the problem

mage(61).png 

 

 

 

71717-4.jpeg 

 

 

71810-5.jpeg 

 

71919-6.jpeg 

 

(I had at least 5 more pics, but they didn't upload correctly)

Brian

1) First Ideas: Help Designing Dbl-Deck Plan in Dedicated Shed
2) Next Idea: Another Interesting Trackplan to Consider
3) Final Plan: Trans-Continental Connector
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railandsail Prolific poster 8,726 posts
railandsail

Interesting Postings/Potential Solutions

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/polish-those-athearn-wheels-12195538

particularly this one, Wheel Polishing,..
https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/polish-those-athearn-wheels-12195538

Brian

1) First Ideas: Help Designing Dbl-Deck Plan in Dedicated Shed
2) Next Idea: Another Interesting Trackplan to Consider
3) Final Plan: Trans-Continental Connector
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railandsail Prolific poster 8,726 posts
railandsail

Updates to that 'polishing idea'

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/polish-those-athearn-wheels-12195538

Brian

1) First Ideas: Help Designing Dbl-Deck Plan in Dedicated Shed
2) Next Idea: Another Interesting Trackplan to Consider
3) Final Plan: Trans-Continental Connector
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DrJolS Frequent poster 625 posts
DrJolS

Blacken It

https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/18682

 

You could clean/polish the gunk away, then use Blacken It to apply a deliberate dark corrosion layer that conducts electricity. The link above is from the magic SEARCH box.

 

DrJolS
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Graham Line Prolific poster 1,165 posts
Graham Line

Polishing

This is an area where the Kadee rail-powered wheel cleaning brush looks like it would help in knocking oxidation off the tread.  See https://www.kadee.com/ho-scale-tools-and-accessories-c-272_230_237/236-speedi-loco-driver-cleaner-hon3-to-o-scale-dc-dcc-p-327.htm
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railandsail Prolific poster 8,726 posts
railandsail

Polish

Yesterday I decided to try a little polish. I had some Mequiar's PlastX and some p1200 very fine sand paper. I turned the engine upside down and ran it under its own power. It did a fair job, but I may want to work on it a bit more at a later date.

I took some photos but they did not turn out that good. Will try to get better ones without a flash.

And just to protect the work I did I went ahead and added a coating of no-ox.

Brian

1) First Ideas: Help Designing Dbl-Deck Plan in Dedicated Shed
2) Next Idea: Another Interesting Trackplan to Consider
3) Final Plan: Trans-Continental Connector
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railandsail Prolific poster 8,726 posts
railandsail

Photos

Here are some photos of that wheel cleaning effort. It turned out pretty good.
01229-1.jpeg 

01311-2.jpeg 

01340-3.jpeg 

01408-4.jpeg 

Brian

1) First Ideas: Help Designing Dbl-Deck Plan in Dedicated Shed
2) Next Idea: Another Interesting Trackplan to Consider
3) Final Plan: Trans-Continental Connector
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DrJolS Frequent poster 625 posts
DrJolS

How long will it last?

Brian,

The No-Ox is of more than casual interest. I look forward to news of how long it lasts, and does it prevent recurrence of the corrosion. Maybe every couple months, unless it fails sooner?

Thank you,

DrJolS
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railandsail Prolific poster 8,726 posts
railandsail

I'll try to keep an eye on

I'll try to keep an eye on that, and report back here.

One item I think I noticed but can't confirm it. I think the appearance of the wheels improved after sitting several days before I got back to getting a decent photo?

 

 

Brian

1) First Ideas: Help Designing Dbl-Deck Plan in Dedicated Shed
2) Next Idea: Another Interesting Trackplan to Consider
3) Final Plan: Trans-Continental Connector
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