Kato FEF and Peco code 80 - oh dear.

[peteski]

The exploded diagram doesn't show anything in those holes.  Placing a piece of styrene there will block the springs from flexing.  Maybe that is why they left holes there - just to do that?

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[nkalanaga]

If that's what they had in mind, it's a good design.  If the loco works on your track, you get the benefits of the sprung drivers.  If, for some reason, it doesn't like your track, block the springs, and it runs better.  In the future, if you change track, you can try it again with the working springs, because you haven't removed or modified them.

[randgust]

This reminds of a particularly memorable cab-ride in the 1980's.  A tourist railroad that shall remain nameless had a Baldwin 4-6-0 that was undermaintained, to be kind.   The track was equally bad, and riding in the fireman's seat for the uphill trip was jolting to say the least.  When we arrived at the endpoint, the engineer made the rounds with the oil can and a small sledgehammer.    I watched him pounding in wooden shim wedges and adjusting them in all the leaf springs at the drive boxes to 'square up' the locomotive after the beating it just took getting up there, and he related he had to do this every trip because the springs were so weak.

So there's even a prototype for this.

[Lemosteam]

Instead of blocking the space you could add a drop of pure RTV silicone in there and let it set.  This would in effect make the spring more stiff without blocking the spring's range of motion altogether.

[craigolio1]

Awesome!  I don't even have one of these but I am really happy you solved the problem.  That would be an expensive and disappointing shelf queen.  What an awesome looking machine.

Craig