Contact pickup on ON30 Porter

[bigsteam3]

I just bought a Bachmann ON30 Porter-new in box.
The electrical pickup is very poor.  It acts like the little pins that brush against the wheels are not picking up current properly.  Is there a fix?

[the Bach-man]

Dear Big,
Try a little conductive lube on the wheel treads and backs.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

[Anubis]

Hey bigsteam3,

You are indeed lucky to score a Bachmann Porter, as there seems to be a scarcity of the little thangs at present.

It seems strange that you are having current pick-up problems, as I have had a couple of these Porters for many years now, and have had nothing but faultless running with them...

As the Bach-man said, try some conductive lube, and also ensure that the little phosphor bronze wiper strips are in good contact with the wheel backs, and also check that your track is clean and bright.

Happy Porter-ing!

[railtwister]

Some of the Porters, particularly those from the first run, were known for this problem. It seems the springs on the contact plungers were inadequate, causing poor contact. As the loco ran, this caused arcing and subsequent heat build-up which removed the temper in the springs making them weaker, and worsening the contact until it was lost completely. Supposedly the Porter 0-4-2 Plantation locos didn't have the problem, only the 0-4-0's. Apparently, the pickups on the two are slightly different. There have been posts on other groups about this, and the fix is supposed to be to use the springs from a Kadee O, S, or On3 coupler as replacements. I'm sorry, but I don't know which coupler, or whether it was the knuckle or centering spring that fit (probably the knuckle spring), but if I had to guess, I'd say the On3 coupler is probably the one (On3 couplers and S couplers are the same except for the trip pin length). Kadee sells the springs separately, in envelopes containing a dozen or more, but the coupler packages usually contain extras, too.

Good luck,
Bill

[Rich R]

Some of the Porters, particularly those from the first run, were known for this problem. It seems the springs on the contact plungers were inadequate, causing poor contact. As the loco ran, this caused arcing and subsequent heat build-up which removed the temper in the springs making them weaker, and worsening the contact until it was lost completely. Supposedly the Porter 0-4-2 Plantation locos didn't have the problem, only the 0-4-0's. Apparently, the pickups on the two are slightly different. There have been posts on other groups about this, and the fix is supposed to be to use the springs from a Kadee O, S, or On3 coupler as replacements. I'm sorry, but I don't know which coupler, or whether it was the knuckle or centering spring that fit (probably the knuckle spring), but if I had to guess, I'd say the On3 coupler is probably the one (On3 couplers and S couplers are the same except for the trip pin length). Kadee sells the springs separately, in envelopes containing a dozen or more, but the coupler packages usually contain extras, too.

Good luck,
Bill

I think this was answered by a gent from England some time back. He used springs from Kadee HO trucks rather than coupler springs. Sorry but I don't recall which springs from which trucks he used. Kadee makes two different replacement  sizes.
Using coupler springs is like replacing the already weak copper springs and you'll soon have the same problem again. Getting the little monster apart is the hard part however. As mentioned this only works with the 0-4-0.

Try a search for 0-4-0 pickup spring replacement from a few years ago.

Cheers,
Rich R