Quote from: Yampa Bob on August 15, 2008, 10:31:19 PM
Was this a complete set?

Yes , bought the set today

Quote from: Yampa Bob on August 15, 2008, 10:31:19 PMIt would help to know what the locomotive is, brand, part number, steam or diesel.  I'm guessing it's a DC controller and DC locomotive.

It is the EMD GP40 Diesel, with DC controller

Quote from: Yampa Bob on August 15, 2008, 10:31:19 PMSince the light works, the track is getting power.  If you turn the throttle up and down, does the light get brighter and dimmer?  Listen as you advance the throttle to see if the motor is humming.  If it is humming or buzzing, it is trying to do something. There might be something binding keeping the loco from moving. 

There is a possibility of a short circuit somewhere.  Turn the controller on, advance the throttle slightly and let it set a bit.  If the controller overload protection trips, then look for anything that may be shorting out the track.

Check underneath the loco for any foam packing material that may be lodged in the mechanism. Also, see if each drive wheelset will move sideways a bit.  All the mechanism should be fairly loose, so you can jiggle things. With your thumb, gently rock each driver wheelset forward and backward.  With the gear reduction, you won't be able to actually rotate the wheels, but there is a tiny bit of play.

With the throttle at about 1/3, push down slightly on the loco and try to manually make it go forward.  It's ok to let the wheels slide a bit.  Try the same thing with the direction switch set to reverse.  Don't force things, just give it a little assist.

There are more sophisticated ways to test the track and loco, such as using a digital volt-ohm-meter or 12 volt neon or led test light with probes, if you have access to such instruments, but we'll wait to hear your results.

I imagine your 6 year old is anxious to get it running, check a few things and report your findings.  Other forum members will be in shortly to add their assistance.  Let us hope the loco isn't defective, but it does happen.

I will have to try these suggetions in the morning, it is in my son room and he is asleep., thanks for the help so far.

New member here, Not sure I am asking in the right place or not. My 6 year old son is a HUGE train fan, he has had all the little play(push) trains since he was 2. Well today we graduated up to electric trains, he was SO excited, We bought the Bachmann E-Z track system. After we put the track together, the light on the train works but the train itself will not run, I followed the instructions on trouble shooting, made sure track was together correctly, rechecked the wire hookup, made sure cable was plugged in right on the track. Let it set 5 minutes for breaker to auto reset (f that was the problem) but still will not run, any info or help would really make a 6 year old happy.