HO Shay Universal Drive Shaft Popping Out

[Pdorazio]

Hi, my older Shay with the plastic gears is having an issue with the drive shaft popping out between the 1st and 2nd and 2nd and 3rd trucks.  It is easy to reinsert and seems to happen when I pick it up.  Has anyone fabbed a truck swing limiter to prevent excessive truck swing from causing the shaft to pop out of its place?  Any other potential causes or fixes?  Thanks, Pete

[WoundedBear]

That's the way they are designed. All of mine do the same thing. Be careful when you pick it up and make sure everything is lined up when you place it back on the rails.

Sid

[HoModeler]

Like WoundedBear stated Shay's are a tricky Loco to handle & little problems with there operation like you are experiencing is 1 of the reasons no Shays run on my layout. Not that I don't like Shay's I DO it's just I don't want to deal with there operational issues.

What you can do though take a section of roadbed & attach a section of track to the roadbed & when you are moving your Shay's To & From the track. Just put your made track up against your layout track & slide your Shay onto your layout track same for when you remove the loco... I believe there is a product out on the market that does the same was what I suggested but I don't know the exact name of it...

[DAVE2744]

Another item to check for is the universal ring and cross yoke.  The ring will sometimes elongate, or crack at one of the holes (90 degrees from each other). This lets the slip shaft move laterally, allowing it to fall out of the receiving shaft very easily. The neoprene ring collar is very delicate. It can be hard to see, but check to make sure all four pins of the yoke are seated in their respective holes in the ring collar.  Dave