connies with problems

[spla13]

it seems people in new zeland are having problems with final gears. i just received my connie and its good i heard about the problems. the first thing i did was rip it apart and i found all of the gear box screws-gear box cover screws and mount screws very very loose. if i had run it only for an inch i would have destroide the drive train. who would be to blame?- me! as i know that quality controll at bachmann is out to lunch. the only way they can redeem thereselves is to no.1-ship replacement parts real fast for those that whant to fix the problems themselves no.2 offer free shipping both ways (fast) for those who dont want to clean up after bachmann workers. we will keep buying if this is the case. if not i will buy from another manufacturer.

[Cascade Northern]

Only problem with your suggestions that I see is that whom are they buying the locomotives from.  If it is straight from Bachmann, then I could see agreeing with you.  If it is from a previous owner, then it is not Bachmann's problem.

[brian allison]

hi from down under!

in my case, the connie was 'new old stock' from a retailer in the usa who has sold approx 200 of these and is aware of 8 having problems like this.
mine was received still factory wrapped in the original bachmann carton and packed in their usual foam plastic padding.
i knew right away what the problem was as i have encountered other bachmann locos with split final drive gears.

maybe they have a problem with the grease/lubricant reacting with the nylon/plastic.....this loco must have been sitting untouched in it's box for 6-7 years.
Aristocraft had problems with their lubricants cracking journal boxes in their heavyweight cars. maybe this is similar ??
interesting to note the comment from theBach-man that he was not aware of such problems with the connie !!!
still, a great loco, although a static display at present !

[spla13]

snoq. pass r.r. only a moron would possibly think that i was refering to anything other than new in the box from an autherized retailer! who in the heck would hold bachmann to blaim! also after i delt with all the meney problems and i boke it in running light, it is a dam fine running loco. (i use white lithium grease in the gear box and 102 heavy on all other moving parts)

[Cascade Northern]

snoq. pass r.r. only a moron would possibly think that i was refering to anything other than new in the box from an autherized retailer! who in the heck would hold bachmann to blaim!

Actually, there have been many (that I know of) who blam the manufacture for problems when they buy the locomotive from another owner.

[Steve Stockham]

   Guys, I spoke with someone who has some knowledge about these matters and I asked him what was going on. He responded that the 2-8-0 suffered from a quality control issue with the plastic (this has been documented with the tender truck disintegrations) due to "impurities" being introduced into the plastic bins before they are melted down and extruded into parts. Now, the gear cracking may or may not be partially attributable to this but age does make the plastic shrink somewhat and the gear is tight against an unyeilding axle....ergo, it cracks! Before you scream at Bachmann, this has occurred on other manufacturer's products as well!
  The problem may be isolated to a few from a particular batch that suffered the "impurity" problem or it might be systemic! We won't know for a while. It doesn't appear to be a design flaw. At least it doesn't appear that undue stress is being generated due to inadequate adhesion (like the too short screws in the tender trucks.) I would advise Bachmann that they need to seriously address this issue as the 2-8-0 was their flagship locomotive until the introduction of the K-27! How they handle after-initial-sales problems that will only show up years after the fact is a critical indication of the longetivity of Bachmann's products!

[Dave]

Well gentlemen, it would appear that Bachmann do have quite a problem with these plastic gears. I have contacted Bachman through the Website and they have asked me to return the entire Loco for repair. That is all very well if you live in the USA. New Zealand is quite some distance from there so returning a very large and heavy loco plus a $50 service fee is a way over the Top.
            I had a computer generated reply from the service Dept with an E,mail address but when I tried to send a message to them asking for the parts required to repair the Loco myself, the message was returned. ;unable to deliver: Makes you wonder,does'nt it.
     If this message gets to the " Bachmann" at all, can you please consider the plight of people in this part of the Planet and make your service dept a bit more accessable for your many customers in New Zealand.
        All I am wanting is a small final drive gear, is that so difficult?

                           Dave Cole
                            Waikino
                              New Zealand

[brian allison]

hi Dave,
have tried calling your number but no luck if u want, call me on 033298403 evenings.
rgds
Brian Allison
Christchurch,New zealand

[glennk28]

This problem has been known for almost 25 years--NWSL has discussed it in reference to HO brass diesels--Certain engineering plastics like nylon and Delrin tend to shrink for some time after molding.  NWSL  machines their gears from aged delrin.  I called it to the attention of Weaver about 20 years ago--whenI had the trouble with their O Scale ALCo RS-3's--they replaced a lot of gears and drive couplings.  When this first started affecting Bachmann I called the solution to their attentein--but the builders cannot seem to get the idea. 

Drive gears should be the first part molded on any loco.  They should be set aside to age and shrink--several months to a year if necessary.  Then when ready to assemble into the locos, the axle or shaft hole should be reamed to a proper press fit.  If done this way splitting should be avoided.  Meanwhile, I suppose I'd better order a drive gear for my Connie.   gj