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4,797 Posts
Mine haven't seen much use since I moved to the Chicago Area.
They can be very reliable if treated gently. They have a lot of torque and can pull trees (slight exaggeration), but will overheat. Keep it down to 2 or 3 cars and it'll be happy.
If it wobbles from side it side, likely the back wheelset has slipped a tooth. Easy to tell. Turn the loco over and look closely at the spokes. You can see if the back wheels are ahead or behind the front. You can fix it easily:
1. Take out the 4 screws on the bottom and remove the bottom plate.
2. Lift the back wheels to clear the gear. Turn a tooth forward or back and put them back down.
3. Replace the bottom plate.
If it has no torque, or has a dead spot, it's burned out a winding in the motor, likely from pulling too many cars continuously. The motor is a 20 minute job to change if you're handy with a screwdriver and soldering iron. All the works are right there under that bottom cover. You can get the motor for 12 to 15 bucks, and it comes with a new set of worms.
My first was Napa Valley red. I thought the red and gold were pretty cool, but the other train guys teased me about my pink loco, so I painted it black and dark green, preserving the gold smoke box and domes.
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They can be very reliable if treated gently. They have a lot of torque and can pull trees (slight exaggeration), but will overheat. Keep it down to 2 or 3 cars and it'll be happy.
If it wobbles from side it side, likely the back wheelset has slipped a tooth. Easy to tell. Turn the loco over and look closely at the spokes. You can see if the back wheels are ahead or behind the front. You can fix it easily:
1. Take out the 4 screws on the bottom and remove the bottom plate.
2. Lift the back wheels to clear the gear. Turn a tooth forward or back and put them back down.
3. Replace the bottom plate.
If it has no torque, or has a dead spot, it's burned out a winding in the motor, likely from pulling too many cars continuously. The motor is a 20 minute job to change if you're handy with a screwdriver and soldering iron. All the works are right there under that bottom cover. You can get the motor for 12 to 15 bucks, and it comes with a new set of worms.
My first was Napa Valley red. I thought the red and gold were pretty cool, but the other train guys teased me about my pink loco, so I painted it black and dark green, preserving the gold smoke box and domes.
