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In lugnet.trains, Mark Riley writes:
> There was a thread several months ago dealing with the issue of the
> new train wheels rubbing on the blocks. The thread mostly mentioned
> the problem in relation to the gray wheelsets that come with the Santa Fe
> loco and cars. However, I've also noticed the friction problem with the
> black wheelsets that come with the My Own Train sets.
My modest LEGO train collection consists of one MOT kit, one Santa Fe Kit
(full train, not starter), and one Metroliner kit. These are all sets with
the "new" wheelsets. For the most part I think I lucked out with the MOT
and Santa Fe. Both probably don't perform as well as they could but some
folks have said they couldn't even get the full Santa Fe train to run at
all. Mine run fine, but do display some strain from time to time starting
and on curvy track. My Metroliner, even without the club car, runs only as
well as my full Santa Fe, which probably means I wasn't so lucky there,
since it's only an engine and two cars. Adding the club car doesn't seem to
make it much worse. Again, it's still good enough but I was very surprised
to see such a short train have the wheels slip when I start the throttle and
slow down so noticably in turns and switches.
>
> I've been using a hobby knife to remove a small bit of plastic where the
> wheels rub the block as mentioned in this thread:
>
> http://news.lugnet.com/trains/?n=18127
>
> This mod is easy to perform and allows the wheels to run very smooth
> and noiselessly.
I while back I went out and bought a jeweler's file for the same reason. I
still haven't had the nerve to use it yet. I tend to lean towards being a
purist so deliberately disfiguring my LEGO gives me the creeps. I plan to
wait for a situation where I'm so frustrated that I can't take it anymore.
So far the trains run good enough so I'm happy.
> I guess my questions are:
>
> How have people been dealing with this problem? Performing the
> modification? Doing nothing and not worring? Not noticing a problem?
>
> Also, has there been any further response from Lego concerning this
> issue?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Mark
I cross posted to .lego.direct since this is a good question. In the course
of these discussions some folks have said they called consumer services to
ask for new wheels and received them. I think in most cases the wheels
worked better. Maybe I'm a wimp, but I feel a little uneasy about doing
this. I think my Metroliner is the best case for complaint but there is
nothing noticably wrong with the wheels by visual inspection. If the
plastic was deformed or the axle was bent I'd have no problem calling LEGO
and requesting replacements. But I feel funny saying, "the parts look fine,
but the train just doesn't have the umph that it should, so please send me
14 new wheelsets."
At one point we had reason to believe that the wheelsets were made by a
third party manufacturer and that they modified the spec without TLC's
approval. If this is the case, let's hope they have it fixed before the new
train sets come out this summer or LD introduces a new S@H exclusive like
the Santa Fe (fingers crossed, wishful thinking for more like the Santa Fe! :-).
Regards,
Paul
PS: I just got my Metroliner in December. It came with a couple blue
windows that were supposed to be clear in the instructions. Does anyone
know, is this a mistake, or a parts substition in the Legends version?
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Train Wheel Friction?
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| I contacted Lego Direct and presented the problem to them stating that there was significant drag on the gray wheel sets. In the course of the discussion the lady (name escapes me) who is the customer service rep for trains was not aware of this (...) (22 years ago, 22-Feb-03, to lugnet.trains, lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Train Wheel Friction?
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| (...) a (...) I tried a Dremel tool, a small file and a hobby knife (in that order). Of those, the knife produced the best results by far. Not only is it quicker, but there is little or no collateral damage to the block. Also, for some reason I've (...) (22 years ago, 25-Feb-03, to lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Train Wheel Friction?
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| There was a thread several months ago dealing with the issue of the new train wheels rubbing on the blocks. The thread mostly mentioned the problem in relation to the gray wheelsets that come with the Santa Fe loco and cars. However, I've also (...) (22 years ago, 21-Feb-03, to lugnet.trains)
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