Newbie here with a most likely dumb question... apologies.

[smithtrainz]

We purchased our first Bachmann set (the Cargo King seen at: http://www.amazon.com/Bachmann-Cargo-Complete-Ready-Electric/dp/B0045J9CWE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294343424&sr=8-1) over the holidays and it ran great for two days.  On the third day, we went to run it and when we turned it on we could hear the power going to the engine but it doesn't move, not a smidge.  After 8-10 seconds of this sound, the remote shuts itself off.  I've tried it many times and have moved the engine to different spots on the track and made sure that the wheels are on the track correctly, and checked over the tracks and the wiring for any noticable culprits to no avail. 

I'm hoping this is something easy to figure out and to learn a lot here on the forums over time.  I appreciate any suggestions you may have.

[ACY]

If the power source is shutting itself off there is likely either a short or an overload. The short can be caused by any metallic/conductive materials on the track or wheels that are not insulated or facing the wrong way. The overload could be caused by a wide variety of things.

[bobwrgt]

Try just the engine only with no cars. Does the light come on??
If it does then you are getting power to the track OK. Check the drive truck of the engine to see if there is anything in the gears locking the wheels up. It might be Fuzz or could have picked up anything. Don't turn the power all the way up or you could burn out the motor.
Try starting slow fwd and then rev if it does not move. This may free up the drive gears.

Make sure the wires on the remote are connected and not shorted.
Bob

[smithtrainz]

Thanks.  I did try the engine with no other cars and I know I heard the sound of the power at the engine, but I don't remember if the light came on so I will try it again tonight.

I have checked all the wires, disconnected and reconnected, and looked at the wheels on the engine but I will check again for any fuzz, etc. that I may have missed.  The wheels don't appear to even turn on this piece, so I'm sure they are the right way.  I'll take all these suggestions and see if I come up with anything else tonight.  Thanks for your help.

[smithtrainz]

I'm still at a loss.  The light does come on in the engine, so I believe this means the power is making its way through the tracks, which would line up with the fact that I can hear the power at the engine.  One more question - should the wheels on the engine move freely when I push it with my fingers?  The wheels do not spin, and I wonder if they should move when I try to spin them or if they only move when power is applied.

[RGC]

The drive wheels may move a small amount, but not spin free when you push on them. I don't think you'll see much movement of the wheels if your pushing the engine on the track.

[jward]

the wheels are geared to the motor through a worm gear. this worm will prevent the easy turning of the wheels  by hand.

you say you can hear the motor turning, but the wheels won't move. you also say that you can turn the wheels by hand. do both trucks, front and back, turn or just one? if you have one truck not connected to the motor, and the other one is, the locomotive will be trying to drag itself around the track, which it may not be able to do. if so, you should be able to see the wheels turn on the one truck.

no matter what, you will have to take the body shell off. there should have been a blow up drawing of the locomotive that shows how to do this. once you have the body off, you'll need to checque for:

1. are the universal shafts that connect the motor to the trucks loose? if so, put them back in place.

2. are the worm gears not seated properly?

3. if neither of the above is the problem, the most likely problem is a gear stripped or missing teeth in the trucks. this will require a complete disassembly of the affected truck to be sure.

bachmann locomotives have a warranty. it may be simpler for you to make arrangements to send it in for servicing.

[pjsdad]

If it is brand new i'd be looking into the warranty process before you take it apart.