I am looking at a Williams engine, but in general, could you remove the flywheels from todays DC motors with no ill effects?
Rob

Yes you can remove the flywheels from most motors as they are press fit. The challenge is trying not to bend the motor shaft in the process. Williams locomotives from the 80's and early 90's did not always have flywheels to start.

Obviously the motor then will only run based on the current flowing through it. In many an old HO locomotive from my youth, those power off emergency braking situations led to some pretty spectacular pile ups of cars!

I spent time and money putting flywheels ON my old Williams engines. Why would you want to take them OFF ?

In my opinion it would be a bad move to remove the flywheel on a locomotive. Used in a different purpose the flywheel getting in the way might be a reason to press it off with a puller...

The reason the Williams engines sit so high above the trucks now is because the flywheels are right up near the top of the cabs on F3 units. I was looking at various ways of improving that. Removing the flywheel may be one way. Old lionel did not have or need them.

Rob

Old Lionel will coast if the power is killed or speed adjustments are made. If you remove the flywheel, you could find yourself with rather poor operating characteristics- not very smooth at all.

I have 10 Williams engines. All but one have the flywheels. The oldest one which happens to be my best running, does not have flywheels or rubber tires. You don't want to do an emergency stop with this 4 motor F3 AA unit. It's like running into a wall. Like Jonathan said..."emergency braking situations led to some pretty spectacular pile ups of cars!" I will never take flywheels off. Of course, I won't add them to the old one because of how well it runs.

Dennis

Seriously, IF you don't want the flywheels, just replace the flywheel can motor with the older and very powerful mabuchi can motor found on any pre 1990 Williams diesel. Those williams locos go for cheap since there was no electronics and most details were plastic hich many people hate. they are not hard to find at shows and some shops or on the bay. The worm gear from the mabuchi is the same as the worm gear on the newer flywheels.... just don't try to swap a weaver flywheel motor with a williams mabuchi motor, the gears are different.

There is a Williams question I have: If you pull the power off a diesel, the engine wheels seems to "lock" where they do not move without power. Why?

Only reason I would ever consider removing a flywheel is to add a bigger one...Even then, I would have to think twice on that.

I have reshaped flywheels, by removing the motor from the chassis. Block any air holes on the motor with masking tape. Then hook the motor up to a DC power source of 12 to 15 volts. run the motor and hold the flywheel against a file. I have used this method when there was not enough room for the flywheel. If you do this carefully, you will not loose the balance of the fly wheel.

quote:

Originally posted by DominicMazoch:
There is a Williams question I have: If you pull the power off a diesel, the engine wheels seems to "lock" where they do not move without power. Why?

Worm gear mated to a straight cut gear.

Gene Anstine

Worm gears with a relatively coarse pitch angle can be driven by the axle gear. This is demonstrated by the 2332 GG1 and the f units and just about all the postwar Lionel steamers as I recall. This allows the locos to drift to a smooth stop and also be pushed along the track without sliding the wheels.

When the worm pitch angle is decreased, meaning a finer pitch, there is a "magic" pitch angle that, below this angle, will not allow the driven axle gear to backdrive the worm, thus prohibiting any coasting effects.

Tony

quote:

Originally posted by Lisa Marie Tahtaras:
I have reshaped flywheels, by removing the motor from the chassis. Block any air holes on the motor with masking tape. Then hook the motor up to a DC power source of 12 to 15 volts. run the motor and hold the flywheel against a file. I have used this method when there was not enough room for the flywheel. If you do this carefully, you will not loose the balance of the fly wheel.

Amen to that lisa. Also when you are doing that, put a file on the outside edge of the flywheel for afew seconds and see if the file hit 100% of the full face of the wheel. dollars to donuts it will not. the flywheel is out of round and can cause a growl or lack of coasting effect. leave the file on until the entire face of the wheel is shinny and you will have a perfect round wheel= quiter running, more slow speed perfromance and less current draw.

Winky2,

You are right. When truing up the flywheel, the file needs to be placed lightly on the outside edge. The heavier side of the flywheel will tend to bounce against the file, until it is gone.

I saw a picture of a really nice flywheel set up on a scratch built O scale steam loco. The flywheel was hollow except for one side. It was mounted so that the weight of the flywheel was around the outside of the motor. This allows the use of a flywheel, in limited space. Most of the inertia, that the flywheel provides is from the outside edge anyway.

Remind me of when I was into N gauge back in the 60's and 70's. I put flywheels in some engines by making a little cardboard form and pouring molten lead into it. Drilled a hole slightly smaller than the motor shaft, pressed the crude flywheel onto the shaft, powered up the motor and then used an Xacto knife as a cutting tool to turn the flywheel down. I sold all the N gauge except for a 2-8-4 Berkshire that has a Sagami can motor and lead flywheel. Runs at a scale 3 mph.
I wonder how much more coasting you could get with lead flywheels in O?