New train isn't working

[CampIdaho]

I am brand new to model trains.  I received a Durango Silverton set today and set it up.  The train ran about 2 feet and quit.  I cleaned the track, checked all the connections and tried again.  Now the train will only move about a quarter of an inch, forward and reverse.  The headlight comes on.  Any ideas of what to try next?  Thank you.

[trainman203]

The locomotive comes with that set is the consolidation.  Bachmann makes beautiful steam locomotive models, but for some reason, the choice of alloy for the driver tires and the tender wheels is one that oxidizes fairly rapidly and heavily.

Translation:  Your locomotive and tender wheels are probably incredibly dirty.  Train sets can sit in a warehouse for years before they are sold, as well as individual locomotives.  I have at least 30 Bachmann steam locomotives and every one of them has needed heavy wheel cleaning treatment upon purchase.

To clean the drivers, place a paper towel moistened with isopropyl alcohol across both rails.  Place the locomotive on the rails covered by the paper towel and the tender on the track behind the paper towel and apply full power.  The wheels should spin rapidly.  If not, jiggle both back-and-forth until contact is made and the wheels spin.  Apply only the very lightest pressure to the engine that still allows the wheels to spin rapidly and push gently side to side to clean the entire surface, and be amazed at all the black crud comes off of your wheels.  You may have to do this a couple of times on successively clean surfaces of towel to get it all off.  Then, place the towel behind the tender and roll it back-and-forth gently pressing down and gently pushing side to side to clean as well. They will be equally as oxidized certainly.

Try this and report back.  If this doesn't work, we will move to Plan B.  This forum has many experienced model railroaders who enjoy helping new people.

[CampIdaho]

Thank you!  That helped quite a bit.  Now the train will go around the track in reverse but if I run it forward, it stops.  What could possibly cause that to happen?  I turned the train around on the track to see if that helped.  It still runs backward and hangs up on forward.

[trainman203]

I forgot to say that the giveaway in this episode is that the headlight is on, but the engine won't move.  This definitively shows that the engine is not getting full power, enough to light the headlight, but not enough to make the motor turn.  Since you've checked everything else, this 99.99% points to dirty wheels as the culprit.

[trainman203]

You probably still need to clean your wheels some more. Sometimes that stuff gets lodged in such a way that it will only allow traveling in One Direction.  Work on it some more and see if that helps some.

Another thing you can do is get a can of keyboard spray air, and spray up inside the locomotive frame between the drivers.  There may be some more
Foreign matter in there that would blow out.  It's incredible how many places these engines can have Compromised electrical contact.

[trainman203]

And one other thing you can do is look under the tender And see the little phosphor bronze wipers on the axles that pick up electricity.  They can get Oxidized too, Although they usually don't get very bad until you run a while.  They can be removed and cleaned but since you are a beginner, I wouldn't do that yet. Try getting the tiniest little drop of alcohol on the end of a toothpick And deposit it where the wiper meets the axle and roll back-and-forth. 

[CampIdaho]

Thank you so much!  I will try everything and let you know what happens.  I'm so happy to get it moving even if it is backwards!

[CampIdaho]

I think part of the problem is a metal tab that is hanging up on the track. It is T shaped and is attached at the same place as the front wheels, You cannot view this attachment. I hope you can pick it out in the attached photo.  It appears to be bent.  I'm not sure where it should be.  Thanks again.

[trainman203]

That T-shaped black shadow is a spring to hold the front idler wheels ("pony truck" in railroad speak) on the track.  It should be not be off to the side, but rather centered over the pony truck, pushing down with very light pressure.   But it also looks like it has been installed upside down. You need to remove the truck, flip the spring over so it now is pushing down on the truck, and reattach it to the underframe in the same order it came apart. Look at the attached parts diagram to see how the spring should actually be installed.

https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/H836-IS001.PDF

Hint:  do this work with the engine inside some kind of box top with a lid around the edge.  If that screw rolls off the table and down onto the floor, you will never find it.  I've lost count how many parts are still on my floor that have gone into some kind of black hole.  You hear them hit the floor and then that's the end of it, they completely disappear into an unknown dimension.

This is not a big operation, model railroading is full of fix-it stuff every day, every day it seems like.  But your engine should've been put together right in the beginning.

I've been with Model Train over 60 years now and it seems like every time I want to run the train I have to fix something somewhere. I just spent this morning, trying to reactivate a dead spot in my track somewhere so I could operate at all.

[CampIdaho]

I got the spring back in place and the train ran great, both directions.  I added the rest of the cars and ran it around the track several times.  I went back after about an hour and now I'm back to a small lurch forward and backward again.  I cleaned the track and the wheels, no joy.  What would be the next thing to try?  By the way, how did you know you had a dead spot in your track?  Thank you so much for your time and expertise.

[trainman203]

You probably just need to run the train a lot.  I had an engine that sat up a long time without use and when I finally put it on the track again, it did a lurching jerking thing when starting, then ran smoothly after a couple of minutes of that. I just put that engine in Service and ran none of my others for about four days and it finally smoothed out.  I think that within the motor there was some oxidation that finally wore off after a fair amount of use.

I knew I had a dead spot in the track because the train would stop dead there, even after all the cleaning we've discussed.

[CampIdaho]

Thanks again.  I'll keep at it!

[CampIdaho]

I'm sorry to be such a pest but I am stuck.  I have cleaned everything again but am still not getting anything except a quarter of an inch movement in both directions.  Light still comes on.  I am afraid to take anything apart.  I live in a very rural area so a local train store isn't an option.  Should I just contact Bachmann and send it in for repair?  Do you have anything else I should try.  Thanks again.

[Len]

Check the side rides to see if anything is loose, or bent, and binding as the locomotive moves. After dirty wheels, side rod binding is the main cause of steam locos not moving.

Len

[CampIdaho]

Len, thanks for your help.  Everything looks good.  The train was running great, I turned it off and unplugged the controller.  About an hour later a friend stopped by and when we went to run the train, it was back to barely moving and only the light coming on.  Nothing had been touched except for unplugging and plugging back in the power.