MSS wheels not suited to tight radii on Peco track

A very popular starting point for Live Steam. With their low cost comes a number of problems which can be discussed here
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Danker Than Clanker
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Re: MSS wheels not suited to tight radii on Peco track

Post by Danker Than Clanker » Sun Sep 01, 2019 5:12 am

CSL wrote: Sat Aug 31, 2019 10:19 pm To be honest, I'm not too surprised. The MSS wheels I initially got looked ropey once I'd realised what was going wrong (at first I thought I'd bent the frames and caused the wheels to bind on them) and made me wonder about production quality at MSS. Replacements didn't improve things either.
Looks like I should steer clear of MSS rolling stock too - a bit of a pity as their ex-Mamod products look better at first sight than new-Mamod (e.g. opening doors).
Right, and that's the thing that irks me. Mamod's old rolling stock looks like it's toy quality, but it's not bland, and it can be modified. The new Mamod stuff, whilst it's bland and uninteresting, it's likely going to be made of heavier gauge stuff. So you're left at that rather annoying junction of "Do I want it to look good, or work?"

I will say once their stock is rolling, with all 2 bits of MSS I got, it runs fine. The wheel's a bit wonky on one axle, but that's a "small" gripe. The axle box does also seem to bind a bit when the axle moves to the one side. I'll drop some weights into it, oil it up, and run it behind my Brunel for an hour or two, and see if it improves it somewhat. If you buy a kit, FFS check the wheels on the track before building the set up. I'm lucky I did that before rebuilding my Mamod SL1. Though, at this point, I think I may just get some Roy Wood wheels. Anyone got experience with them? Are they worth it?

The tolerances on the original Mamod wheels aren't great at all, it's an "It'll do" kind of job, but I'm not even gonna bother checking the MSS ones with my micrometer, just for the sake of my own mental health.

The problems I've had with MSS consist of;
*2 sets of wheels that don't fit O gauge track, and the ones that did were machined pretty roughly, and paint doesn't match on the central hubs.
*The trucks I bought had bent frames, and the metal is clearly thinner. (I've not taken my micrometer to them yet, but it's visibly thinner, I'm guessing about half as thick)
*The uprated safety valve I bought has RUSTED, and the gasket that was on it didn't fit. It was literally rattling around the thing.

Also, do the MSS fuel tabs last less long as the old Mamod ones? Am I getting high off the fumes or something? Because they seem to only last a few minutes at most. Am I hallucinating? Definite gas burner upgrade job I think.

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Re: MSS wheels not suited to tight radii on Peco track

Post by DonW » Sun Sep 01, 2019 12:36 pm

the words Touch and Bargepole spring to mind. I haven't tried Roy Woods wheels but the ones he was selling at Reading in May looked well made. Roy is a nice chap I would give him a ring if I was you and discuss your problem. He may well have been suppling wheels to others with the same problem. What I did buy from him was relacement lubricator and water top up syringes.

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Re: MSS wheels not suited to tight radii on Peco track

Post by CSL » Sun Sep 01, 2019 4:00 pm

Danker Than Clanker wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 5:12 am Though, at this point, I think I may just get some Roy Wood wheels. Anyone got experience with them? Are they worth it?
Yes.
And...
Yes.
It's the MSS ones that are cheap, not the RWM ones that are pricey.
(But remember they're differently quartered than the Mamod/MSS ones, so even if you think you only need one wheelset, you need both.)

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Re: MSS wheels not suited to tight radii on Peco track

Post by CSL » Sun Sep 01, 2019 4:05 pm

Danker Than Clanker wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 5:12 am *The uprated safety valve I bought has RUSTED
Mine too. Bit of a theme here, isn't there? And is it telling that the starter loco comparison in the latest 16mm Today did not feature anything MSS...?

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Re: MSS wheels not suited to tight radii on Peco track

Post by Danker Than Clanker » Mon Sep 02, 2019 2:32 am

DonW wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 12:36 pm the words Touch and Bargepole spring to mind. I haven't tried Roy Woods wheels but the ones he was selling at Reading in May looked well made. Roy is a nice chap I would give him a ring if I was you and discuss your problem. He may well have been suppling wheels to others with the same problem. What I did buy from him was relacement lubricator and water top up syringes.

Don
CSL wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 4:00 pm
Danker Than Clanker wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 5:12 am Though, at this point, I think I may just get some Roy Wood wheels. Anyone got experience with them? Are they worth it?
Yes.
And...
Yes.
It's the MSS ones that are cheap, not the RWM ones that are pricey.
(But remember they're differently quartered than the Mamod/MSS ones, so even if you think you only need one wheelset, you need both.)
Very telling responses. I think I shall contact Roy Wood. I want to get a large scale Youtube channel going where I review engines with humour. I tend to find videos like that are a little dry, so some humour might attract more to the hobby, so I wanna have a word with Roy on the basis of upgrading engines as part of a series.
CSL wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 4:05 pm
Danker Than Clanker wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 5:12 am *The uprated safety valve I bought has RUSTED
Mine too. Bit of a theme here, isn't there? And is it telling that the starter loco comparison in the latest 16mm Today did not feature anything MSS...?
That is rather telling. That said, the afore mentioned series I want to do is going to have an MSS episode where I tear them a new one. I would argue MSS can be a good starter engine, if you're looking to get into model engineering, rather than modelling in the garden. If you're looking to get an engine that just keeps running? Spring the extra cash and buy a higher end Mamod, or Roundhouse Basic. That said, even the Mamod SL1 runs pretty consistently. Lord, I have one that I bought straight from a house fire. It was still black and smelled of smoke when I got the thing and it's my best running oscillator. MSS spares are a no go. I'm tempted to just make my own and sell those, at this point.

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