Greg,
With any handy work one can assume a certain amount of technical knowledge is needed.

there are tools which can unscrew the little bolts or you can use a pair of pliers, (I personally don't recommend).
By unscrewing the bolt on the wheel which houses the rubber tyre you will be able to replace the rubber tyre by using a very small flat screwdriver and lift the rubber tyre out of the recess.
When replacing the Rubber tyre make sure the rubber tyre is evenly p[laced back into the recess.

there are locos (dependent on its catalogue number) which have fixed axles or some may have removable axles.
Removable axles can, when removed, cause the gears & rods to change and result in a malfunction.
Either have an other identical loco handy to see the arrangements of the rods & gears or do one side at the time.

John

Hello Greg,

why poor instruction??

In the picture you have everything you should know. Disassemble the nuts (with the correct tool), replace the traction tires by using a pair of tweezers, assemble the mechanism and the nuts again.

For what do you need a video?

rgds

Stephan

When you tighten up the hex screws after replacing the tyres, prevent the mechanism from turning by holding on to the wheel that you're tightening. Don't be tempted to hold on to its opposite number on the same axle - this can cause wheel slip on the axle and you'll finish up with loose wheels on the axle and the crank pins all out of sync. Bad news.

cheers
Dennis

Hi Greg,

Here are some detailed instruction on how to change traction tyres.

1) Make sure you got a place to put your loco gently on a piece of cloth (smooth cotton) or something like a locomotive cradle
2) Put (very) carefully the loco on one of it's sides, so the wheel with the broken traction tire is facing up
3) Unscrew the bolt on the wheel you want to replace a traction tire. Make sure you don't loose this bolt. Keep in mind the positioning of the running gears. Be very gentle with the running gears parts. Do not rotate the wheel on the axle as the rod's connection-points should be kept in one line.
4) Put the new traction tire on the wheel. In case of having a 70900 toolset, use the pair of tweezers from this set. The easiest way to do so is, put first the tyre on the most difficult part to reach, then use the tweezers to stretch the tyre over the rest of the wheel. Doing so be careful that the tyre doesn't get damaged during using the tweezers.

Important remark: During pulling/stretching the tyre over the wheel, keep in mind and try to avoid in all circumstances that the tyre should NOT get twisted around the wheel. I got that the first time and it's very difficult to remove the tyre afterwards, trying not to damage it...

5) Double check the new changed tyre, does it fit on all spots of the wheel smoothly? No twisted points? If yes, be very careful during removing the tyre try to avoid damaging the tyre (as the tweezers might easily damage a tyre by using it if it's not used gently). A lot of patience is required to remove the tyre gently. Once done, take a deep breath and continue at point 4 again.
6) Once the tyre has been changed successfully the bolt should be put back in place (together with the running gears parts of course). Make sure to secure the bolt but just in a gentle way, don't force to over tighten it.
7) Check out the running gears. It should not be changed and should be able to run smoothly as it (should) did before.
8) Put the locomotive back on the track (or on a test track) and check
the driving characteristics of the loco, should be alright with the new traction tire, especially check the running gears as well.

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
Ranjit

Hi, Nelson!

You can put it back on.

But if it slipped off because it's oily or worn and stretched then it'll slip off again. So sooner or later you'll have to replace it.

If it slipped off because the loco accidentally pushed against a bumper or another loco then it may stay in place for a long time.

So sometimes it's worth one try to put it back on.

Thanks fellas for the help, tips & hints. I've ordered a set of hex drivers and they should arrive in a few days - with the advice you have all given me, I feel much more confident in giving it a go. I know some of you might think that it's a straight forward procedure, however, when you hands work like mine, anything can happen.

Again, thanks for the detail help.

Greg

I don't know if this is worthwhile, but I thought I would mention an alternative solution.There is a product called "Bullfrog Snot" that got a decent review in Model Railroader (I think).It is a liquid plastic that you brush on the wheels instead of using traction tires.Since it is mainly used here for DC layouts, I presume it would work, maybe better, on M trains. This would save the effort and complexity of dissasembling part of the steam loco that is hard to do. I will point out that I have not used it myself;just heard good things about it.I know you can get it in the US and in the UK online.

I suggest you cut the traction tyre with a pair of sciccors and glue it back on the wheel
Then you don't need to use the pliers or loosen the bolts clockwise!!

I use Bullfrog Snot quite a bit. It solved a traction problem I had on a Z-guage set and I used it to increase the traction wheel count on my Scheinenbus. Great stuff! You just have to power the lok with it upside down and run the wheels at a medium rate while you apply it with a toothpick and let it dry. I have not, however, had good luck applying it to traction tires. My ICE-1 (3770) needed new tires and I ordered them. I decided to try this in the meantime and for some reason it did not work well. It does work well on steel, whoever.

I am glad you have the hang of replacing traction tyres, Greg! Enjoy your drink!

Cheers,
Ranjit