Subject:
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Re: Question about the new trains
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Mon, 4 Aug 2003 15:41:29 GMT
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Viewed:
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1425 times
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IMHO, the problem lies in this theory:
* The axles are made of metal.
* Metal is harder than plastic.
* When putting metal in direct contact with plastic, the plastic will wear.
* Check the spot where the point of the metal axle meets the plastic "hole"
on the frame. You should see some wear... That is making the wheels ride
up and into the frame.
Which leads me to some questions of my own:
* Why do the gray ones erode when the black ones do not (as fast)?
* Is gray ABS softer than black ABS?
* is there a new mold that is the problem?
* Can I trade my gray wheelsets in for ones tht work (assuming the problem
is fixed)?
Rob
"Paul S. D'Urbano" <durbano@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:HJ3o5E.zEI@lugnet.com...
> In lugnet.trains, Gail Meagher wrote:
> > I was hoping someone who has bought the new trains (4511 High Speed
> > Train or 4512 Cargo Train) could answer this question. Have the wheels
> > been fixed?
> >
> > I hope LEGO has sorted out the problem with them sticking, but
> > considering the way quality control has slipped, I'd like to know for
> > sure. Considering I don't need any more speed controllers or curved
> > track, if the wheels are not good I'd be hard pressed to buy these.
> >
> > Gail Meagher
>
> Good question! I've been wondering this myself. I just recently went • through
> the grueling process of filing down the plastic in all 28 gray wheel-sets • of my
> Santa Fe Kit. What an improvement! I got the train set last fall and the • first
> time I built it didn't behave too poorly so I left the wheels alone. This • time
> I built it all again, setup my track, and called my 3-year old daughter • over and
> said, "look honey, Daddy's going to make this train go around the track." • I
> turned the controller all the way up and the thing just sat there • pathetically
> whining and shaking but not going anywhere. Seeing the disappointment on • my
> daughter's face I knew it was time to break out the jeweler's file and get • to
> work. Several hours later I was happily pulling the five cars and the • unpowered
> second locomotive with a single motor in the first locomotive. It still • had a
> little trouble at the lowest power settings but I attribute that to the • sheer
> weight of the whole thing (2,700 pieces pulled by a single train motor!).
> Motorizing the second locomotive gave it all the boost it needed to run • smooth
> at all speeds, which I think is a reasonable requirement for a train of • that
> size.
>
> Not sure why the performance was worse than when it was new but I have a • theory:
>
> We've established that the main problem is that the outer edge of the • wheel rubs
> on the housing above it at the 2 o'clock and 10 o'clock areas. These are • the
> two areas I filed away to make it work better. I found that I had to file • away
> a good amount of material, more than I expected, to stop it from rubbing. • I
> think when the wheels are new, the very edge of the wheel (called the • flange?)
> is very thin and kind of comes to a point, so the surface area that rubs • against
> the housing is relatively small. As time goes on the contact with the • housing
> wears down that pointiness and the surface area that makes contact gets • bigger.
> I believe this results in more friction, meaning the more you use the • wheels the
> worse the problem becomes. Just a theory...
>
> Anyway, I really hope TLC fixed the problem with the new wheel-sets before • they
> started producing the new 2003 train sets. As much as it was a pain to • file all
> of those things down, the end result was worth it. Those Santa Fe sets • are just
> fantastic and I'm looking forward to more sets like them. It would be • great if
> with my next LEGO train purchases I can leave my file in the toolbox and • get
> right to the fun of running my layout.
>
> Regards,
> Paul
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: Question about the new trains
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| (...) Yikes! Hadn't thought of that. I'll have to check this out on my wheel-sets. If this is true it means that over time I'll be back in the same mess again! From Cary Clark's reply to my post it sounds like this could be the case that perhaps the (...) (22 years ago, 4-Aug-03, to lugnet.trains, lugnet.lego.direct)
| | | Re: Question about the new trains
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| (...) In fixing my wheelsets, I've observed that the gray wheelsets are made of a softer (more butter-like) plastic. Instead of a file, I use a hobby knife to cut out a small portion of the frame where the rubbing occurs. It's easier to cut the gray (...) (22 years ago, 4-Aug-03, to lugnet.trains)
| | | Re: Question about the new trains
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| In lugnet.trains, Rob Hendrix wrote: Hi Rob, additinally to your theory there is another problem with the wheelsets: they are partly moulded wrong, as you easiely can recognise in this picture (2 URLs) Jake has told us long ago this was a mistake by (...) (22 years ago, 6-Aug-03, to lugnet.trains, lugnet.lego.direct, FTX)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Question about the new trains
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| (...) Good question! I've been wondering this myself. I just recently went through the grueling process of filing down the plastic in all 28 gray wheel-sets of my Santa Fe Kit. What an improvement! I got the train set last fall and the first time I (...) (22 years ago, 4-Aug-03, to lugnet.trains)
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