I noticed small elastic rings coming off my locomotive. Are these fit to the drive axle? Can I just put them back on or is there a special procedure I need to be aware of?

Also one of my locomotive has the end bits broken off so I cannot pull anything. Are replacement parts available somewhere? The locomotive is almost 20 years old

Thanks

Hi!

Those O rings probably are traction tyres. You can put them back on. If they come off again after short use, the must be replaced.
Procedure to replace them varies by loco model. More information (ref. number of the loco, running number of the loco, prototype class) would be helpful.

Spare parts are available for some locomotives and any dealer can order them for you or you can order directly from Märklin. More information would be helpful.

There's a guy in the UK on Ebay - Peters Spares whose shop has over 9000 Model railway spares of which five (yes five) are Marklin and three of those are traction tyres! Quite reasonable price and postage. There's another guy in Italy whose spares are reasonable and postage very reasonable.

Ditto what everyone else said.

The traction tires ( 'murican spelling) fit into grooves in the driving axel wheels that are designed to accomidate them. You don't put them on non-driving wheels and not on wheels that don't have the groove in them. If they came off, its likely they have stretched and are past end of life. They are elastics and like all elastics, loose their elasticity after some time. Figure out which one you need (from the manual for the lok or by measuring the diameter on the wheel) and order replacements.

The couplers (assumign its not the decorative hoses) can be easy or harder to replace. If the coupler is in a NEM pocket then pulling the rest of the broken coupler out of the pocket and inserting a new NEM compatible coupler is simple (but you have to buy a new coupler ). If its not a NEM setup, then you probably have to unscrew some things to get the coupler out I think, but it can also be replaced. Parts can be found on ebay or ordered via any marklin dealer; even in the EU and shipped to you for not too much (for the time being)

In some models it is necessary to remove the plastic around the wheel, in the case of steam disassembling the lever.
With this model, nothing needs to be removed to put the tires on.
To put on a new gum should be patient because it does not always sit out of the first. I put it in the lower part
wheel in the groove and press with my finger, then carefully with the help of a needle pin or something like a circular pull on the wheel. After sitting down
he needs to look at him not to be overturned somewhere and to be in the groove everywhere.

Not sure if this is correct but look here fro your coupling

https://www.trademe.co.n...r/auction-1467553379.htm

Thank you all for all your useful advice and help! I am ordering the rings over the weekend and will get back to you if I have any problems fitting them.