Model Train Journal

Maroon sent me an Adams mechanism. It was (and is) kind of rough. The drivers were Athearn, with truly wide rims - see Jim’s photo below.

First, I tried to get it to run. The axle holes were so worn out that the worm mesh changed between the test stand and the track test.

So I set it aside. Then a couple days ago I pulled it out and decided to re-bush the drivers. They are quartered with half-shafts held inside a 1/4” sleeve with a set screw - not my favorite way of quartering, but it worked to my advantage as I was re-fitting the axles.

While the drivers were out I took a cut on the l@the, cutting each rim to about half its original width. I am still working on the spokes with Swiss files, as you can see.

So this morning it runs, both on the test stand and the track. The most unusual problem was the driver flanges touching each other on one pair - that was enough to lock it up in one direction only. I note that the original axle holes were a loose fit for a 9/32 drill, which is really, really worn out!

I do have the beginning of a boiler, and thought I had posted a photo in a previous thread - but I cannot find it. I shall get another and post later.

New iPad update, so photos next frame. Scared of hitting the wrong key . . .

First, Jim’s photo, edited so you can sort of see the wide rims:

And here is the re-bushed and rim-narrowed version, after its test run:

bob turner wrote:Maroon sent me an Adams mechanism. It was (and is) kind of rough. The drivers were Athearn, with truly wide rims - see Jim’s photo below.

Athearn made O scale drivers?

Please do continue on....

Bob,

Is the plan to build an SE-3 or 4?

Jay

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:

bob turner wrote:Maroon sent me an Adams mechanism. It was (and is) kind of rough. The drivers were Athearn, with truly wide rims - see Jim’s photo below.

Athearn made O scale drivers?

Please do continue on....

I don't know if Athearn actually made the drivers, but he listed them in his 1940s catalogs along with lots of other parts including what would become boxcar kits.

Charlie

CMorrill wrote:

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:

bob turner wrote:Maroon sent me an Adams mechanism. It was (and is) kind of rough. The drivers were Athearn, with truly wide rims - see Jim’s photo below.

Athearn made O scale drivers?

Please do continue on....

I don't know if Athearn actually made the drivers, but he listed them in his 1940s catalogs along with lots of other parts including what would become boxcar kits.

Charlie

Catalogs list all sorts of stuff, but I'm not sure I've ever actually seen any drivers that could be identified as being Athearn. What would be distinguishing about them?

Jay - not sure. Currently it looks like an SE-4 with 0-6-0 domes and slant cab. It runs smoothly, and is pulling a sausage tender.

On the Athearn drivers - these were hideous, but I sort of fixed them. Normally I expect Athearn drivers to be some kind of cast iron impervious to cutting tools, but these cut like annealed Meehanite.

An Athearn driver is characterized by a firmly fixed axle stub with the inner half cut away to mate with the other half and maintain quarter. These stubs are slid into a tube, and pinned in the middle with a set screw that engages both axle stubs. Sounds hokey, but it works well. You cannot mix and match. Ever.

The other distinguishing feature is the insulated tire - it is stamped, not machined, and on the back face you will see a radius. Peculiar, but again it works!

Most Athearn drivers I have encountered were a bit more realistic looking than these - not as good as Lobaugh or Pearce, but acceptable. I have no idea what sizes were offered. Love to see a catalog page - hint.

Here you go. Cab is from a Lobaugh Mikado. One of my specialties is riveted cabs, and the original Lobaugh parts don't make the grade. And those domes - the sand domes - are from my masters, available from Stevenson.

Yes, they made them.

Biggest difference between theirs, all the others, and how to identify? Similar to the half axles they use on their HO stuff now. Their drivers had axles the were slightly over half the length of a standard O Scale axle but the extra portion was machined with a flat (like we see on most diesel drives). They were machined so that when mated up with the other half (a sleeve slipped over the two half axles) they were automatically in quarter. The worked just fine but weren't really accepted and went away. I had a set I gave away...to Bob I think. Got them from Si.

bob turner wrote:Jay - not sure. Currently it looks like an SE-4 with 0-6-0 domes and slant cab. It runs smoothly, and is pulling a sausage tender.

On the Athearn drivers - these were hideous, but I sort of fixed them. Normally I expect Athearn drivers to be some kind of cast iron impervious to cutting tools, but these cut like annealed Meehanite.

An Athearn driver is characterized by a firmly fixed axle stub with the inner half cut away to mate with the other half and maintain quarter. These stubs are slid into a tube, and pinned in the middle with a set screw that engages both axle stubs. Sounds hokey, but it works well. You cannot mix and match. Ever.

The other distinguishing feature is the insulated tire - it is stamped, not machined, and on the back face you will see a radius. Peculiar, but again it works!

Most Athearn drivers I have encountered were a bit more realistic looking than these - not as good as Lobaugh or Pearce, but acceptable. I have no idea what sizes were offered. Love to see a catalog page - hint.

Now I'll have to remember that info next time I'm rooting about under a table in a box of moldy-oldies.

Love the safety-wire motor mount.

Pilot calls it aviation safety wire. The rest of us call it bailing wire. A Ford guy should know all about it.

Jay Criswell wrote:Pilot calls it aviation safety wire. The rest of us call it bailing wire. A Ford guy should know all about it.

To a certain extent. My Model A had factory safety wire on flywheel bolts, maybe rods, I think mains.
Never saw it on Flathead V-8's...oh, wait...some of the four bolt oil pump cover plates and mounting bolts on earlier V-8's were factory wired. And they never, ever came loose in service.

Bob,
Since you asked: Athearn catalog attached ---- I hope!

Charlie