Thanks Jim! I read your note after dissasembling both trucks. One axle did have a loose crown/drive gear. The side frames were out of alignment badly! The side frames were pretty bent up, which caused binding. I have straightened the frames, aligned the axles and squared up the wheels so all rest on a flat surface evenly. One truck remains a bit too stiff from my view. So I have more fiddling to do. Thanks for the suggestion to use Loctite...I was thinking I needed to find a spot welder with small equipment since the other three gears are tacked on with one spot weld. http://community.webshots.com/user/raltzenthor Click on Garden RR Model Trestle and look at the end of the picture album for three pictures of this sad little loco. At least I got it running! ~Gary
> Hi Gary. > > I've got one too. Thhe sort of crabbing sounds like the drive train is > causing it to happen. - Been there. Check the sliding joints and the > universals are free to move well and freely - on sharp curves the drive > torque can stop the the sliding joints in the drive shafts, from sliding > and that prevents the trucks from straightening up. This is a known > problem of the 12"=1 foot scale Shays too! > > Also check if any drive gears have come loose on either the axles or the > drive shafts - that can do funny things too. Fix with Loctite. > > Finally are the adjustable wheels set centrally and in line with each other? > > Jim Gregg. >
