Does anyone have information where you can get replacement rubber tires / wheel grips for Brio electric train engines? (wooden tracks) We have a few electric engines that can no longer climb the hills for bidges because the wheels slip due to the worn rubber treads on the wheels.

If the animation does not work on your train set, turn the train car upside down and make sure that the wheels of your train car are making contact with the gears underneath the train car. Also, make sure that all of the car wheels turn freely without restriction.

carefully remove the drive rod from the wheel, slip traction tire on the wheel and into groove in the wheel, replace drive rod. play with your train!

Depends what you mean by small hills? Has the loco climbed these small hills in the past without problem? A one in twelve (one inch climb for every twelve inches travelled) incline is about as much as this loco could manage I imagine, and even less when loaded with box cars etc. Sadly the traction drive on these loco's seems to have a short life. I have heard that giving the loco a good firm solid whack down onto a hard surface may get the internal gears to settle down and get more traction. There's an average chance it might work. Do not attempt to open it up, this will create a real mess because it's just about impossible to get all the minute loaded springs back into their correct place.

If you must replace the traction tires, go to your nearest local hobby shop that deals in trains and purchase a set of traction tires. If none are available, purchase a bottle of "Bull Frog Snot" and apply the snot in the grooves where the traction tire's would go.
If this is one of the battery powered trains, you might be better off just replacing the locomotive, they can be purchased very inexpensively on the online auction site beginning with an E and ending with a Y.
If it is one of the electric sets, just do the bull frog snot remedy, that way you'll have a bottle of the stuff available for the next time you need it.

2 options.

1.if its the kind that fits on the wooden track look for a screw (philips/star screwdriver) on the underside of Thomas near his face. The body shell should lift off.you will then see the battery.

2 If it's the plastic blue track you have to squeeze the right center wheel and left center wheel. Thomas has 6 wheels so the 2 center/middle wheels, after squeezing this will then make the top portion pop off.

Look in to the funnel. Unscrew and the front comes off and then replace it...

I wish I could help - I have exactly the same problem! Train opened Christmas Day, worked ok. Batteries seemed to gradually die 2-3 days later. Replaced all 3 sets of batteries twice, but nothing. Initially I got sounds, but nothing now.

Hi Tarja, your question is 4 years old, but here is the answer:
You've probably seen the odd shaped tiny screws on the underside of the train. Ignore them - they require specialized tools and only lead to the wheels and gears.
You just need to insert a small cross-tip screwdriver into the exhaust funnel of the engine and remove the screw completely. The black front of the engine comes off and reveals AAA micro batteries which you gently shake out of the engine and replace.
As ever so often - once you know how to do it, it is very easy.
And - no, I didn't find out myself either *grin*

There are bateries all over the place in this toy. two AAs in the remote, two button bateries in the tender and also two AAs in the engine, did you do the ones in the engine?

First off, keep in mind that there are reasons why they make the wheels of this slipper plastic - like reducing the risk of burning out the motor. That said, you know those rubber pedal extenders for infants (the things that come with 2 wooden blocks and a large rubber band, they 'may' be big enough to stretch around your wheels. Also have a look around for LEGO rubber tracks. There are some out there that may be large enough as well. Check here.