My 1997 Doodlebug has a knock in the gear box and my repair man tells me it has a crack in the gear/axle drive,and spare parts are not available .
He has tried world wide to no avail.
Recently he did a repair on my 1975 Fleischmann DB 103 Electric,requiring a similar part,and after some waiting,the loco back on roster.
The Doodlebug still runs,it is a very nice model,any suggestions ?
What road name do you have? Bachmann is re-releasing the Doodlebugs in B&O, Ma & Pa, Boston and Main, and a few others.
Try www.nwl.com (http://www.nwl.com).
Northwest Shortline specializes in all types of gears, etc. and they may be able to provide exactly the gearing you need.
lanny nicolet
B&O RR Fan. Hi, My model is Santa Fe Green Black roof.Thanks for reply
Ianny Hi, Thanks for the tip re NWSLine
Quite a few are sold on eBay; you might get one for replacement parts.
John has a good idea. there are doodlebugs (original style) available on eBay at pretty reasonable prices. If you can get one without split gears, that would be great for parts replacements ... probably a very prototypical thing to do, as no doubt, the railroads probably all did a fair amount of 'cannabalizing' to keep equipment running.
The only drawback is that both the old style Spec 44 tonner and the Spec doodlebug have a nasty tendency to eventually have axle gears split, not so much because of usage, but simply because of age.
If your doodlebug is one you don't want to part with, again, I would suggest going to all metal gears available through NWSL.
best wishes on getting it taken care of
lanny nicolet