Quote from: Biglars on September 18, 2013, 12:38:49 AM
I have not seen this issue on any of the six I have. Does it cause an operational issue!

The only problems I have had is the occasional side rod falling off when the loose pin fell out.  I have taken to putting a small amount of superglue in the pin hole to hold it in.  As far as the split hubs, Only one has been a problem being split wide open and loose and was causing binding problems with the rods, so it was replaced. 

Has anybody had any issues with cracks in the plastic hubs(that hold the side rods) that fit on the ends of the axles on the Davenport 0-4-0 diesel.  I have a dozen of these units and after inspecting them for cracked gears, I have noticed that the plastic hub sleeve where it pushes onto the ends of the axles are cracked on most of my models.  Also, on those same side rod hubs the portion of the hub where the metal pin inserts into to hold the side rods on most of those are splitting or cracked as well. 

Quote from: 2foot6 on July 30, 2013, 07:43:40 AM
Hi Peter,I do have the same problem with my clips after buying replacement drive shafts.I tried gluing but did not work,is there a fix for the problem ? cheers Peter

I just disassembled the trucks and popped the clips out from behind with a micro screwdriver.  Did 5 of my shays this way and never broke a clip.  Takes a bit longer, but again no clip problems.  By doing this also you'll find some tuning can be done to make sure the gears mesh, the wheels turn freely, and also on occasion I had to file some flash off of the axle bearing faces on the sideframes that caused tight fit for the wheels.  I experienced some tightness on about half the trucks I removed.  All five now run like watches.

For smaller power and a ton of kitbashing ideas, either the 2-6-2T Alco  military 600mm tank engine built for the british during WW1 or the 2-6-2T Baldwin for the US forces.  Vulcan and Davenport also built nice versions of 2-6-2T's that were never shipped from the US in time for the war.  Whats nice from a marketing standpoint is that these engines were scattered all over the globe after WW1 for use on plantations, mining lines, road construction in the US, sugar cane lines, etc.  That would make the engines appeal to overseas modelers as well as US modelers and kill two birds with one stone from a marketing standpoint.  They would also be a kitbashers paradise.  But from the same standpoint, any 2-6-2T would have a wide appeal.  Marketing wise worldwide it would be a smart move.