I get paid tomorrow, so I can finally order in some new parts. My 2 truck has been in the backshop for a very long time (timeframe was 10months after they first got released until, well, now I guess)

VTBob

Small accuracy? The Flying Scotsman (A3 class) is a Pacific (4-6-2) & is still in the LNER paint scheme.

VTBob

Quote from: ebtnut on January 15, 2019, 10:29:19 AM
In may case there were cracked gears in two of the three trucks.  I ordered the complete set of replacement trucks with metal gears from Bachmann.  IIRC, they were about $33 each.  Your description of the issue mirrors what mine was doing. 

In your 2 or 3truck one? I suspect the trucks are the problem in the 2 truck, but not the 3truck (they're still all tight, so I suspect the 3truck lockup is in the gearbox itself)

VTBob

I did call the service dept, but they told me I was long out of warranty, & so that I might be better off fixing them myself, or if I sent them in, then they couldn't guarantee that I'd be getting either of them back. I might end up with yet another 3 truck shay instead.  I'm fairly mechanically inclined, having been an auto mechanic for the last 20yrs, & so thought I'll take a whack at fixing them myself. I just want to know if anyone's had the same issues as I am, & if so what parts to replace.

Thanks,
VTBob

So I'm going to try my hand at repairing the 2 climaxes that i have, but I want to ask for advice on what parts I need to order from the parts dept..

1. DCC-No Sound 3 truck Climax: It moves 3/4ters of a revolution on the outside valve train before jamming up. When placed in reverse, the same thing happens. Would this be the "Driveline to the cylinders" gearbox piece? Link is: https://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=68_153&products_id=10180&zenid=qs7qijkjusg0p6jn1b9dhkc420

2. Original run 2 truck Climax: cylinders runs great, however unit doesn't move at all. Shaft going to the trucks doesn't move, front or back, however when fed with a 9V battery upside-down, the shaft in the gearbox is indeed turning, however the wheels/trucks aren't. Would this be the truck gearing, or the universal assemblies cracked? Would it be better to purchase a pair of assembled trucks, or is it an easier task to fix?

Thanks, & I've finally got my workshop back together so I can repair my equipment once again.

VTBob

Is it possible to shell swap certain Bachmann sound equipped locomotives? Case in point, I was looking at my FA & wondering if the RS3 shell would fit over the running gear of it. I don't want to take it all apart if it won't fit, that just seems like overkill if it won't fit. Has anyone here done this or tried to attempt it?

Sounds like a dumb question, but I've been pondering it for a couple days, figured it doesn't hurt to ask.

Thanks,
VTBob

It's a tank. I got the non-DCC version, but dropped in a T1 decoder for club running.

Rob

The 0-6-0T Saddle tanker is a very light locomotive, but I haven't had any trouble with it. I added about 3 'sticky' wheel weights (1/4 ouncers) in the cab & nose of it, & it pulls about 6 Walthers iron ore cars (retrofitted with metal wheels) on a flat level surface. I have to ease the throttle out because it likes to spin on the start. It's a very light locomotive, much like its prototype. Only difference is that the prototype gets to use sand for traction, whereas the model doesn't have that 'function"

VTBob

EDIT: Can't put all the weight in the cab otherwise the balance gets thrown off & it likes to lift off the front.

I still use the horn hooks on my passenger fleet which is mostly mid to early 80's Athearn cars. Kadees have a way of coming apart at the slightest rack rise or other imperfection.

You can usually find ziplok bags of them really cheap at swap meets.

VTBob

I'd like to see more Canadian steam Locomotives. The only market that I've found is brass for them. they are poor runners, unless you dump alot of money into them, & modifications for dcc/sound units.

VTBob

I have one of these. They normally run off of track power, however on the underside of the bridge, I rewired mine to a separate 9VDC transformer (basically a "wall wart" style from an old answering machine)

VTBob

Mine are the exact opposite:

2-6-0 runs jerky (slow speed) with the DCC on board (no sound), so it's regulated to the fast(ish) freights, where as my 2-10-0 runs like a swiss watch & does my switching & slow speeds. I put a T1 decoder(from tony's trains) in the 2-10-0, because it was a first run standard DC Spectrum model.

My 4-4-0 (DCC on board no sound) managed to smoke out the decoder after about 15 minutes out of the box, but I took the decoder out & turned it into Standard DC instead. Runs much better.

VTBob

Quote from: jward on May 28, 2018, 09:46:54 AM
My local hobby shop sells Athearn replacement wheelsets that will fit the BL2s, and many other P2K locomotives. They come completely assembled, all you have to do is drop them in.

My state no longer has a local hobby shop in it. I actually have long distance plans to try & open one, but the taxes are absolutly killer. I've been looking online to find the wheelsets, but everyone has that "out of stock" & "discontinued product" labels.

Do they make metal gears for these? I have several, but all are cursed with that jumpy split gear issue. And it's not just Bachmann getting the raw deal with the split gear issue, I have 5 LL-Proto2K BL2's that have the split gear as well, but the problem there is that they discontinued the gear/wheelset replacements so I'm stuck until I can find a few basket case athearns to take apart for the wheels sets with the gears.

I ended up removing the burned out board, & re-wiring it like this:

M+ to The red wire & the black wire attached at Board L

M- to The black wires attached at Board R

I didn't hook up the lights, simply cut & tapes them off. Then I added 1 oz of sticky weights to the tender because it was always derailing in the front. The drawbar & wires tension would lift it up enough to derail the front truck.

She runs like new now, & I'm going to try to replace the headlight with a GOW bulb for better lighting. I didn't like the orange led it had before. She also seems to pull considerably more then she did with the decoder. I'm finding that most of the DCC locomotives pull considerably more when rewired to straight DC. Why is that?

Thanks,
VT Bob