To establish if you have a loco with traction tyres, separate the tender from the loco then:
a. The tender should be heavier than the loco
b. Turn the tender over and look at the wheels if on the R/Hand side you see a rubber O ring in a grove you have a tender drive.
"you should not celebrate by dancing this is a very crude motor" but it will tolerate some abuse so swearing is OK
c. Remove the tender top if you have a tender drive this should be loose. A bit of a waggle is all that's needed. Sometimes a gentle tap from underneath with a screw driver will help. Other types of drives have a C/Ks screw underneath which needs to be removed. You should be able to tell where the motor is by
simply holding the loco and establishing where the weight is. If you can turn the wheels of the loco easily then try this with the tender if their tight is a good
chance you have a tender drive or visa versa.
d. Assuming you have a tender drive you should now be able to see a Ringfield motor
"you can't miss it it's large and ugly" "it has the same type of weight as a hand grenade" "some people will tell you it throws better"
e. using gentle pressure of a screw drive (smallish) you should be able to gently lever out the motor from it's frame there are tags at either end of the tender
frame with some gentle leverage the motor will separate from the frame. You may be shocked that some of the wheels flop around don't be that's normal
this isn't a thing of precision it was developed for kids train sets in the 50's you probably have the hightec version
f. if you manage this and you have a spare traction tyre you could now replace it, a little bit of spit will allow you to gently ease the new tyre into the grove
spit is the worlds best lubricant - "no it wasn't developed by NASA"
g. perhaps you should look in the box and see what the instructions say - 100% of tender drives have a little leaflet about the motor, and how you should be
nice to it. There are lots of references on the net to help you
h. traction tyres can be bought from most model shops or Burnley model spares / East Kent models they come in three or four different sizes
i I always keep a few spares they can wear quite a lot, as from time to time customers want decoders in them. Even in it's updated form it's got poor torque
it's a crude motor compared with today's can motors.
j You can keep running on one traction tyre, but start to get spared now, your loco will have zero traction without them
