Well, got home from work.  I had the motor previously taken off the chasis the last time I looked at it.  Well I got the tinkering around again, and realize that one bushing wasnt in.  The spring from the top bushing was putting a bind in the shaft.  Needless to say, mechanical problem solved!  Thanks for the help, just needed some time and thought put into it. 

Now to start thinking of a paint scheme....

I have a Roundhouse "Improved Power Drive" RS3 that I have acquired, actually 2 of them.  One runs really good but one truck "clicks".  The other one, the motor is ceased up and is hard to turn, but it will.  The question is, would it be safe to use electric motor cleaner to try to free it up.  What else can be used to get the motor to run like new, besides a new one?

I have happened to acquire a few of these here latelyand the last one is in pieces and getting a decoder installed and the other 2 have gone through this process.  In hind sight and before I wrap this project up, what can be done to make these beasts run quieter?  They seem to have a growl to them and it's very noticeable at high speed. 

Just looking for some tips and pondering while I can't work on them...

Kinda a little off topic here, but why is the UP shell the only one that is not lettered?  The rest are lettered I do believe.

I do believe that the FT and the F7/F9 shell are interchangeable.  They vary slightly on height, but not length.

Right, all very good thoughts.  Like I said, I was just wondering about the possibility of it while I had time at work to think.  O how I have heard that the Bachmann Standard line (former Spectrum) 2-8-0 and how great it is and would like to acquire one some day.  I was just wanting to entertain my mind with it though. 

Work can give you a lot of time to think, and today's thought was "I wonder how hard it will be to convert a older Bachmann 2-8-2 (actually a Reading 2-8-0 with a trailing truck added) that has a pancake motor to one that has a can motor".  Im just trying to figure it out, just for curiosities sake.  Thanks for the help and advice.  I'm also assuming that none of these were ever made with a can motor and all of them were pancaked.

I have taken apart 2 of them.  I have yet to find what makes them hang up after the screw is out. I've always put a little heave to it, and soon afterwards off pops the shell.  It somehow breaks the smoke unit but it's no loss there because I was taking it out anyways.

I cannot tell about the 0-6-0 that comes with DCC, but the shell is a snug fit an no matter how gentle I am taking one off for the frat time with one of these locomotives its almost impossible to do. I have always ran out of patience and heaved it off, breaking the smoke unit, but it opens finally.  I don't use the smoke unit nor will I because of all the gunk the oil from it collects.  But anyways, that's how I have had to take the shell off.

Why are you taking the shell off anyways?  The locomotive already has DCC.  Maybe we can help you with it so you don't have to take it off.

I would have to say my first ever steam locomotive, a IHC 4-6-2.  My favorite Bachmann is going to have to be a tie between the Heavy Mountain and the Berkshire.  Now if I could only get the 4-6-0..., in te UP scheme of course.

When I first entered this hobby I was started off with a life-like train set.  Pancake motor GP38-2, horn hook couplers, the works of everything obsolete.  My secondly locomotive was another pancake drive, so I was really beginning to think that's how the locomotives were supposed to sound, loud and noisy, and it really was a turn off. I got a IHC 4-6-2 about a year later And I was blown away, WOW that's quiet!!! A bachmann white box F9 with a can motor quickly parked everything else that wasn't of quality.

Today the fleet looks a lot different, knuckle couplers and a lot more trains. But the climb to get to where I'm at now. I applaud Bachmann for having their starter sets at a reasonable price and decent quaility. One would hope that's how everyone else would be, but sadly its not.  The 00's product are better than the 90's. My basic message is, if you give someone something good in a train set, but if the quality is bad they might not buy again.

Doneldon thanks for adding that point. There is no front coupler, but that doesn't mean that one can't be added. If I can figure out how to upload pictures on here I will be happy to show how. But as for now, it's biology...

Yes I have done the conversion before. It was a few years ago though and some of the details escape me, but it's pretty simple once it's all taken apart.  Remember to add electrical pickups to the tender.  I did it to where one truck picks up from one and the the other truck the opposite. Never had a problem with that arrangement.

I do have a bachmann 2-6-0 torn down and it awaiting a decoder installation, repainting and lettering, so as time allows I can complete that project and pass along pointers.

Quote from: Doneldon on January 15, 2011, 02:43:45 AM
rocky-

Years ago (I won't say how many) lots of modelers who couldn't afford brass locos bought Mantua, Tyco and Bowser cast zamac kits and then detailed them with lost wax brass castings. IIRC, Cary L W, Hobbytown and Max L Gray also sold the zamac models. They pulled like a team of oxen and were very reliable though not overly prototypical.

Hence my interests in these models in a nutshell.  Easy to add details galore and won't break the bank when I do it either. 

So what are these models cast with anyways?

It can be done, it just takes a little time and patience. It's not too terribly hard, but you have to make sure you isolate your motor from the frame. Also, electrical pickup on the tender will greatly improve the performance of the 0-6-0, 2-6-0, and 2-6-2. Working the split the frame to isolate the motor with the valve gear in place will be a challenge, but when it's all done it's a pretty smooth mechanism.

Thanks doneldon for the tip there. I generally use the stock decoder wires the bridge the gap between the locomotive and tender and have yet to have a problem with that setup.  One of the biggest gripes I have about the castings is the poor headlight details. I'm gonna have to replace the headlight for sure (wonder if a bachmann light would look good) and as for the tender I haven't decided.

From what I have seen the Mikado is pretty generic, but hey the only person I have to keep happy in this hobby is me. Prototypical relevance is not really a factor because the vast majority of the people who see my layout can't tell the difference between steam and diesel. But is it just me or do both cabs look under-sized?