I Just acquired a Bachmann 4-8-4 Northern Loco. The seller said it ran, but sluggishly. When I received it it would not run. The motor turned but the drive wheels didn't. It looks like the axles are slipping and the rear drivers pull out. Comments I have found say that is always a problem with the old Bachmann steamers. The common fix is to super glcue the axels back in. The problem initially was the quarter was off since the axles slip. Any advice to fix this? I contacted Bachmann service repair. 6 weeks out and no guarantee they can fix it because the loco is too old. Any help is appreciated.
for rigging the running gear:
(https://images46.fotki.net/v1682/fileqvHZ/42710/4/4125954/16375553/Picture1.jpg)
(https://images15.fotki.net/v1685/fileLQzn/42710/4/4125954/16375553/Picture2a.jpg)
(https://images20.fotki.net/v1684/fileIl5J/404b2/4/4125954/16375553/IMG_0942.jpg)
(https://images12.fotki.net/v1686/fileES8V/404b2/4/4125954/16375553/IMG_0941.jpg)
For the axels On mine, I used the same method for reattaching the axels as repairing split gears:
https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,38101.msg278975.html#msg278975 (https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,38101.msg278975.html#msg278975)
NOTE: Git you're rigging right first, then apply the Loctite 271 one wheel at a time verifying the rigging as you go.
NOTE: Bachmann HO US 4-8-4 Replacement Axles & Gear - V2:
https://www.shapeways.com/product/VFFJSVRL7/bachmann-ho-us-4-8-4-replacement-axles-gear-v2?optionId=231823000&li=marketplace (https://www.shapeways.com/product/VFFJSVRL7/bachmann-ho-us-4-8-4-replacement-axles-gear-v2?optionId=231823000&li=marketplace)
NOTE: for working 3D gears see:
https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,38055.msg278679.html#msg278679 (https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,38055.msg278679.html#msg278679)
It's called "quartering" the drivers.
https://dccwiki.com/Quartering
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QMtPjBbKXOI&pp=ygUSUXVhcnRlcmluZyBkcml2ZXJz
There's a dozen other videos too. Pick one out you feel friendly with.
I remember people talking about quartering drivers way back in the 60s when model steam locomotive gearing generally, wasn't worth a flip, and people that really wanted smooth performance had to install their own gear boxes in their engines. Which, of course meant having to remove the driver on the axle were the gearbox was going to go. I remember everyone that did it had to have a jig of some kind to assure accurate quartering so that the running gear would not bind. I'm not sure if this is a job for a relatively new modeler, but if you want to do it, go on and do it. I would consult Northwest Short Lines who have always been the gearbox experts. At one time they did offer a quartering jig. I myself would not try this job without it.
Which leads me to wrap up with the broken record I have to repeat all the time on this forum: Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Avoid the pig in a poke known as the used locomotive, lest thou subject thyself to the troubled horizons of trials, travails, weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Knowest thou not the sufferings and unseen internal injuries it has endured.
At least this seller was upfront about there being a problem. Although I suspect it never ran to begin with.