Athearn RTR SD60


WC3026

WC3026

Member
I have an Athearn SD60 RTR that keeps making get madder and madder. On the front truck the center axle keeps going out of gauge. It is a factory axle that is on there. I wish I could get some NWSL axles for it but dont have the money.

Is there anything I can do to keep this thing in gauge? About every 20 or 30 laps around my layout it jumps at a switch after a curve and shuts down my system because it shorts. I can take and put it back to gauge but I am worried that the more I do it the more it will happen.
 
Usually, the gear being cracked is the only way the gauge will spread like that. Even if it isn't cracked, the inner part of the gear that the wheelsets go in has gotten sloppy enough it won't hold them, and will need to be replaced. Have you tried swapping that wheelset with another in that truck, and make sure the problem follows that wheel/axle assembly?
 
Well it dont spread out it gets skinnier which is confusing the heck out of me I would think it would get bigger.
 
It is baffling why only the one axle does this, but if it is a geared axle, the axle may be split or telescoping and slides together. The only place this can happen is on a curve, including through the points end of a turnout. What may be happening is that the axle is loose under or near the gear, and when the gear is under load it gets 'kept' meshed in a certain alignment with its mating geared surface driving it. However, that axle and gear are meant to slide sideways to allow for tight curves. The gear can't move when under load, but the rails and weight of the loco will force one or both flanges together, thus shortening the gauge.
 
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