Hi everyone, I purchased a polar express 90036 train in 1999, seen use for xmas with the kids, it was only run a few years, I'm looking to repair it from my kids breaking a few parts, the front guide truck on the loco for the power is cracked, anyone know if this is available? Also the tender truck was broken from the tender, the mount post is snapped, what chassis replacement will work there also, I'm not seeing 90036 chassis available. Seems one of the gears is slipping because it has a hard time pulling the cars and sometimes won't at all. Possible gear issue? Thanks in advance
Hi Vince,
Any of the Big Hauler chassis will work fine on your loco. The only differences might be variations in the paint on the wheel rims and cylinders. I definitely recommend a chassis replacement if you are sure the gears are the problem. If you can hear the motor running but the loco is not moving then it is a gear problem. Either chassis 90088 or 90094 will work fine, and are on sale.
Check out this link:
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,30394.msg224039.html#msg224039
As for the tender, chassis are available in the online store. They come without trucks, but include the sound unit and speaker and are somewhat expensive. If the tender truck is ok you could repair the tender chassis by going to a hobby shop and buy a round plastic strip of the same size ast the mounting post an drilling out the chassis and epoxying the new post in its place. If you still have the broken post, you could also try epoxying it back on the chassis. If you do this carefully it should work ok. I have done this on a freight car for a friend and It has held up for many years.
Good luck with your repair, there were not that many Polar Express sets made and it is definitely worth making the repairs.
Loco Bill
Thank you for your reply. I will get the new chassis. I am missing one of the tender trucks and wheels and the post is broken. Are replacement trucks available? I did not find any links to schematics yet with part numbers. The Bachman web site is vast.
Thanks again.
Vince
Vince, You are welcome!
While not cheap, here is a link to the tender chassis with trucks:
http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_69_671_669&products_id=5291
If you need to get things going before christmas this may be your best bet. There is always Ebay! Actually there are several on Ebay right now fairly cheap. Look at this one for $10 bucks just take the top of yours off and put it on this chassis:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Bachman-Bighaulers-White-Pass-Coal-Car-Tender-hopper-car/332462360773?hash=item4d684d08c5:g:Zq0AAOSw0W5aGlc4
Good Luck1
Bill