Great minds think alike.....

Have you seen this site ?  http://spookshow.net/locos.html

S4 loco...http://spookshow.net/loco/bachs4.html


near bottom of page above...To remove the shell, insert a small screwdriver between the chassis and the sidesill and pry the shell upwards slightly. Once raised up from the base of the chassis, the shell should pull off readily.

Mark has probably the best location on the net for N scale loco information.....HTH.

I don't have one of these locos, but is it possible to file the cylinders just a bit for clearance ? I do remember some HO locos came this way. Also a very small piece of tape placed on the cylinders would keep the wheels from shorting.  I think if you remove the pilot truck you may be able to file down the flanges a bit. An Atlas plastic freight car wheel set might possibly be able to be substituted for the stock metal wheels also. ....Mike

  The Western Maryland also had 10 of them. I would probably buy one if they were made......Mike

 No,I believe you're curves are fine too. Pretty sure it has something to do with the front truck of the loco. Can you move the truck assembly freely left to right and tilt it easy up and down ? It should move freely in all directions. Can you compare the wheels with the wheels on one of the cars ? Look to see if one of the wheels is a bit wider than the others.

 It,s very possible that the wheels are out of gauge on the loco. They may be just a hair too wide. You would need an N scale NMRA wheel and track gauge to check this though. Will it run OK through the curves by itself, or in reverse ?

John Moore at Trainboard did an extensive rebuild of these last year. Here is the thread.   
http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?148882-Improving-the-electrical-pick-up-of-the-Bmann-4-4-0&highlight=bachmann+4-4-0

Just trim the roadbed on the connecting track where it interferes. As long as you're careful you will never notice it.....Mike

 Guess I'd try the reset. If the light works at first, I am guessing that its a decoder issue......Mike

 Chris , Bullfrog snot is a real product. Comes in a small bottle and does work to help add traction. http://www.bullfrogsnot.com/   I believe you have more of a problem though. The tender trucks are made of a cheap potmetal that tends to expand with age. The truck frames are, I'm guessing, pinching the wheels and causing them not to turn. There was a discussion on Trainboard.com a couple months ago where a gentleman was having problems with a couple older 4-4-0s. He tried just about everything to get them to spin freely, but had little success. You could try fileing the frames a bit, but I wouldn't expect too much. Sorry.  It may be possible to send your loco in to Bachmanns service dept. where they may replace it for you.....Mike

 I agree. I added a Spectrum tender to mine for better pick-up, and added a decoder also. The loco could really use better cylinders and boiler.   Would be nice to see the old 4-8-4 upgraded also.  How about a Spectrum 2-8-2 ...Mike

 I would try to find some decoder wire somewhere instead of using the phone wire. The phone wire I think is a bit too stiff and you may have problems with it not being able to flex between the loco and tender....Mike

Very nice !! I don't suppose you have a "how to" in the works ??Mike

Don't add any more oil. Too much oil is just as bad as not enough. Too much oil will leak out all over the track making for poor electrical contact, not to mention it will be slippery. LOL  I would just give it some time to run -in . Do you know about how old this loco is? Does it have the wires between the loco and tender.  This site http://spookshow.net/classj.html will tell you just about everything you might want to know about these locos. The newer ones are supposed to run real well. Its always possible though that you got a lemmon......mike

Run it around on you're track in both directions for a couple hours. That usually helps to get locos to run better. As far as oil goes Bachmann locos usually come pretty well oiled, but you can carefully remove the bottom cover on the loco and put a drop or two on the gears. The oil will make it up to the worm by itself. If you can see a slot with a gear on the bottom of the loco you can add the oil there and you won't have to take the cover off.....Mike