Good afternoon,
The good news is that the 90037 set that you have comes with the Version 5 locomotive chassis, so if properly cleaned and lubricated, it should give you good service.  Long-term, you will want to plan on replacing your steel track with brass if you plan to run the train year-round; just keep an eye on those curved sections for premature wear.  As others have mentioned, a more powerful transformer is also a good idea.  The Bridgewerks units are about as good as you can buy, but MRC also makes good units that are easier on the budget.  I'm running a no-frills MRC 20-amp transformer that is plenty for most needs.  Others will chime in with more options.
Best of luck,
Jay

I have a few 70 Tonners with bad gears.
Would the truck assembly for the 44 Tonner be the same?
Or do you know of another source for the gears?
That would the version with DCC on board.

Thanks
Canadisle

Quote from: Fred Klein on April 14, 2024, 11:56:44 PMDave, my memory is a bit rusty since its been a while since I used my coupler height gauge. Yes, the two raised areas on the gauge are meant to go between the rails and they are a tight fit, as in you need to put one side  in and then exert a little sideways pressure to seat the other side. They are definitely not a drop-in fit; they are supposed to be snug. One thing you might try is to mount the gauge to different pieces of track - some are looser than others due to normal manufacturing tolerances. Hope this helps.

Ill check it out and let you know the outcome.

Thanks so much guys. I've got a lot to do and check - thanks to your help and input.

Here is the train I have:

https://a.co/d/9DZFh6l

I'm not sure if that link will work, if not, it's the Bachmann Night Before Christmas Ready to Run G Scale.

I bought extra Bachmann track, same as what came with the set. Some of what I purchased was used - maybe that wasn't a good idea?

As far as the radius - the track support has already been built and installed into the wall, so changing the track with new radius won't work.

I'll look into getting a more powerful transformer. Anyone have any specific recommendations for a 60' track G scale train? If not I'll head over to mylargescale and see what they think.

Thanks so much for your help!

Quote from: CMO99 on April 14, 2024, 04:52:11 PMI was able to get it going by turning it to max speed and physically pushing

Quote from: CMO99 on April 15, 2024, 06:27:57 PMDo you think I should purchase a more powerful transformer?

If it runs when you push, then it is not the transformer. (A better transformer wouldn't hurt.)

I am assuming this is a Bachmann Christmas set, with a 4-6-0 loco and you are using the regular Bachmann transformer? Those locos have been continually improved over the years, and you may have an old one with only a few wheel pickups. Take a look underneath and see if you have a rubber plug between the rear driving wheels - that's an access for greasing the gears - and also check the front truck for wires, which are an extra set of wheel pickups. Let us know which you have.

Are you using the original 'steel' rails that came with the set? Two problems here - they rust fairly quickly and the corner radius is very tight, causing wear on the wheels. For long term reliability, a wider corner radius will be a great help - 4' radius / 8' diameter is recommended.  LGB 16000 track is about 4' radius, or you can use flexible track.

You did oil all the axles before you started running it?

Mike's (Railman63) comments above are probably your next step. Clean the wheels and the track and see if that improves things.

I think Chaz and Mulfred both hit it on the head: Despite Gator being a good character with a relatively good render (and a potential tooling that appears simple enough), he wasn't seen at all after TOTB/S18. Compare that to Stanley, whose only big role was The Great Discovery, he still made frequent appearances, even if most of them were in the background or minor speaking roles. He was seen right up until the final season, which makes sense to produce a model of him.

I liked Gator, but I think his main purpose was to sell toys for 2014. I commend them for still producing merch of him afterwards, but he served his function. TOTB is ten years old now. Gator is more of a forgotten memory than Rebecca (I only used her because her model is currently in production...).

Hi.
Yes your track can get dirty pretty fast sometimes.
The problem is friction between the metal wheels and rails.
As I understand it, the black gunk that builds up over time is fine ground metal from both the track and wheels.
It forms a "greasy" film that will stop your train from running if it gets bad enough.
You may be able to make a cleaning tool by using a broom stick, or other long pole, with a Scotchbrite pad attached to it.
Use the tool to scrub the track down, and see if it helps.
Of course, you could look into a track cleaning car, but those can be rather expensive...
For that, I would check Ebay.
I would also advise cleaning all the wheel flanges on the locomotive.
For this, I use a Q-tip dipped in 91% Isopropyl alcohol.
Works great!
I would look into a better power supply for such a large track.
There are many different makers of them so you would probably be better off to ask that particular question over on the mylargescale.com forum.
You'll get lots of help, and personal opinions there!
LOL!
Personally, I use a Bridgewerks 3 amp power supply for almost all of my trains.
Of course , I only run on a 4x5 foot oval indoor track currently, so even a 1 amp transformer is plenty for running simple freights over such a modest layout.
Good luck!

Mike

I just bought the yard boss set at hobby lobby over the weekend. The caboose will not couple together regardless of the way I put it on the track. I have to left the car up slide the couplers together and then set the wheels on the track. I have to do the reverse when I put the train away. So I'm not impressed with the quality of the couplers that came with the set and I'm having a hard time finding the right part number for the existing couplers so I can cross reference them with other brands to,look at what replacements are available that fit the loco and rolling stock.
Also can the loco be fitted with a DCC decoder in the future as that is what I want my layout to run with? It's no big deal if it can't but I can't seem to find much info on this loco.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I've read that I need to maintain the track and engine. But, this is a brand new set up, just one month old. Should this have happened in that short of a time? Do you think I should purchase a more powerful transformer?

Gator would be cool but idk he really only appeared in a movie and maybe like 3 episodes characters like whiff are better options for another large tank engine