Attempting to Resurrect this 43 Year Old Bachmann "N" Gauge
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 เม.ย. 2023
- This Locomotive and matching set was brought to me in need of servicing and repair. Belongs to a great Family here in my home town. Let's see if I can get this 1980's Bachmann running the rails again.
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@classicmodeltrains
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I’ve been in N scale from 2003. So 20 years in the smalls. Always enjoy seeing the HO and larger guys struggle with what has become second nature to me by now. Enjoy the fun of no space to work.
Well guess I should have waited till the end to comment. Pull the wheels off the tender again and take them off the pegs. Check the pegs and the wheel hubs. They do like to ware out there. A little 600 grit sandpaper around the pegs and inside the wheel’s normally brakes loose all the dirt and grime as well as the oxide that build’s inside them that stops the wheels from rolling. Next apply some atlas conductive lube on the pegs only a drop or two. And replace the wheels. If they spin on the peg your good. If they bind. Go for another round with the sandpaper. Sorry there’s no fast way to do this as the metal they used on the pegs actually grows with oxidation. Making it grab the nickel wheels. And yea. Even the brand new Bachmann N scale even spectrum locomotives all are shelf divas or trash can express locomotives in my book. At least you got the good motor there not the new sealed can with cat whiskers for brushes that break the second you put the model in reverse and sends it right to the shelf or the trash.
Agreed! Between no weight or just crappy manufacturing Bachmann locomotives are not good. I have a number of Spectrum Dash 8s, Sd-40s and nice looking F-7s that all have clicking nylon gear issues. The Atlas/Kato RS-3/11s run fantastic! Early to mid 90s Atlas/Kato are my fave locomotives. I have two of these American Type Bachmanns and they don’t work worth a darn, sadly.
I avoid Bachmann as much as I can. I have two Spectrum HO GP-30s, one of which will work well.
@@ecidaho if you can find them. Model power recently released a 4-4-0 more of a 1900s model that has DCC and sound and are grate runners with the motors in the locomotive and tender pickup. I have one and it is a grate model. But there now out of production.
@nfordf450. the wheels and pegs are clean. No dirt or grime to be found. They also roll seemingly easy enough with finger pressure. The wheel sets all seem to be suffering from "walrus-vision" the way there engineered, they are all pointing off in different directions, different heights from the spring/pickup devices. Just a hot mess in my book.
Thanks for the lol's this morning watching! Nice to know I'm not the only one who can fiddle with a loco for hours and not get the result I wanted. Frustrating! Thanks for posting it up regardless of the outcome. Have a great one!!
Thanks for watching and commenting Jason!!
Hi Ron,
I discovered your channel about 2 months ago and have been thoroughly entertained.
I've gone back and watched from the start.
I've only been back in the hobby for a short time. I was hesitant to tinker with my old locos, but you are FEARLESS and it has inspired me to give it a go.
Thanks for posting such funny , informative, and entertaining videos .... ok, gotta go attack a few Mantua Pacific locos !!
Good thing a test track was handy!!
My friend, in my 60+ years learning how to do and not do certain tasks, I have found the answer for me, when I get into a situation like that itty bitty tender wheels problem!
First, I try to fix the problem using common sense.
If that doesn’t work.
Then I use an uncommon sense approach.
Finally, if that doesn’t work, I apply “High Speed Compression”, usually a 9 pound hammer.
Every time I apply the “High Speed Compression” solution, I never have to worry about that problem again.
I have to warn you, the “High Speed Compression” maneuver doesn’t work to well on people! They just seem to get upset and ya get in more trouble…so I refrain from using it until I have no other recourse!
TTFN
I like your third approach of "high speed compression". In the past, I've used "sudden and rapid de-acceleration" to obtain the same results :-)
Hello Ron, Steven from Steve's trains & Repair's I use to have an s gauge repair center for a couple of local trains stores I might have a good set of N gauge trucks that might work for you. Also, so what I find that works well rather than mineral spirts is 91% alcohol., it does not leave an oil residue behind to attract dust and dirt. On your o gauge track contacts and wheel wipers I find that four ott steel wool works the best it polishes everything nice. and then just take a small can of air and blow them off good. Thanks for your channel and good work!! Steven
Hello Steven, Thanks for reaching out. Pretty cool running into a S gauge fixer Feller. I really like them A.F's. Well engineered and look pretty decent also. I'm good on them trucks. The lady who owns the loco has it back in her possession. Thanks for your kind words Sir!!
You have my sympathies. I spent many hours attempting to revive an N scale Bachmann 2-8-0 of the same era, and I not only gave up, but threw out all the parts -- something I've never done with any other engine (I just didn't want to be reminded of the epic futility of the experience). Great video (as usual), entertaining and instructive!
White box Bachmann are garbage. The Spectrum 2-8-0 is a completely different loco and one of the best ones in N scale, believe it or not.
Threw it all away.....To funny!! I can see how a guy would be so mad at it to do that :-). Thanks for your kind words
@@pathvalleyrailroad9277 Agree -- there's no comparison (I was working on the old 2-8-0 (nice body but terrible innards).
@@StephenCarlBaldwin After reading your comment, all I could think of was today's classic model Kitten after she ate at Taco Bell. Nice body but terrible innards 🙂
'N' scale 'rage' the same as 'road rage'
Since you promoted it, I now love using Kleen Strip Odorless Mineral Spirits. ;-)
Thank you very Much @Marklinzeit! I will pin this post at the top!!!
Amen -- I clean my N scale and O tubular track with Kleen Strip and also use it as an all-round cleaner when working on old Lionels -- the chemists out there say it's better for track cleaning than isopropyl alcohol. As Ron says, "make sure you put the can in a place where you can tip it over." Seriously -- don't!
I work with both HO and N scale, my first real N scale set was the passenger counterpart to that set, "The American" back in 1997, that came with the 119. I later got the Jupiter as part of the "Frontiersman" in 2000. Eventually, I got the newer tooling models and sold off my old ones.
The newer stuff is quite a bit better for sure
Watching how small these parts reminds me of all the watch/pocket watch repair videos. Really enjoying your content.
Thank you! I cant imagine being a pocket watch fixing Feller.
God bless ya Ron, I wouldn't have the patience to work on that tiny thing, it is a cool looking loc. Thanks for another great video!
Thanks for watching :-)
My brother got one new for Christmas, thats about as good as it was new. Strong work
most replies state this was a very poor runner
@@classicmodeltrains yeah, they look great until you turn the power on.
Love your channel and love to see you getting all those old Tycos and stuff running better than they did new. That’s the stuff I cut my teeth on too.
Thank you :-)
Great job Ron
Thanks Joe. Too bad I didnt get this one fixed
Thanks for the mineral spirits tip for cleaning. I bought a giant bottle back when I needed the tiniest amount to thin some oil paint. I have been using IPA for this job, but reluctantly because I would rather save every drop of it for doing my scenery. And yes I am with you on not putting my pennies into Bachmann for the same reasons. Great video Ron, hopefully, someone has a sneaky tip to help with the tender. All the best!
Thanks for watching and commenting Dave!!
Would be careful about using Mineral spirits around small plastic parts.
Very nice work with the loco, very cool!
Thank you very much!
Awesome video Ron thoroughly. Enjoy your show. Great to see trains being fixed up and running again Thanks 👍🏻🚂TSM
Thanks for watching
That's a first-generation engine. The one you started with was missing its cab weight. Luckily , your donor had it. I've had mine since the eighties. The main problem I've had with it was that the tender wheels would short out against the coupler plate. I wound up displaying it in the museum module on my T-trak layout.
Bachmann has made some freaking tanks, though. Their 44 tonner and doodlebug (2nd run w/ dcc built in) are solid performers that have ran for hours at train shows.
Some club members have used bullfrog snot before and have commented that it needs to be evenly applied.
I do have. Great Northern Spectrum N Doodlebug that looks great and runs well. I do try to avoid Bachmann at all costs, though I have seen in videos and heard that Bachmann UK, though expensive, make really good British locomotives and rolling stack.
Both locomotives had weights in the boiler. I disassembled the donor off camera. I figured the first locomotive was a older model. The motor was more beefier than the donor. Thanks for sharing some good information.
Thanks for addressing N scale. You're entertaining and so informative! I'll try a Super Thanks again.
I have a few more N scales coming up :-)
That thumb down was for Bachmann, not for you! You gave it hell ! I bought a bachmann set when I first got into N scale. Couldn’t get rid of it fast enough! 😂 Nice job trying to bring it back.
WOW, all that work. Makes me even more appreciate HO scale. Seems there has just GOT to be some way to make the tender wheels turn easier.
I'm guessing remove the boiler pressure relief valve and back a different manufacturers model under it :-) That "O" gauge stuff was looking pretty good to me by the end of this repair!!
I literally just switched from N scale to HO for a variety of reasons, such as variety of supplies, accessibility, but most importantly, I had this sudden thought a few weeks ago of me hunched over a workbench as an old man, cussing at missing springs and tiny little screws, and wasting more time finding them than playing with trains. I'm only 35, but I feel like I made a good choice for my future sanity, and not a moment too soon.
As long as your model railroading the joy will continue. Them N gauge guys will buy up your old stuff no problem.
Thanks!
Thank you so much Kevin! I really appreciate your support of the channel!!! :-)
Great to see someone working on N Scale. Yes the smaller scales are more difficult to work on, but, you have the tools and talent to repair this problem. The question is, what is wrong?
I've had N scale trains running smoothly for years moving forward or backward and nary a problem on derailments or continuity.
Stay focused and you will figure out this problem.
Thanks 👍
Your video was invaluable. Got one today and it ran quite poorly. Your video was a good tear down guide to avoid frustrations. Thank you! One thing I have noticed is that it really does need all 4 traction tires for grip and balance and make sure the running gear is tight and level, as simple as it is one off kilter definitely affects the roll of the locomotive. Thanks to your video i delayed the frustration of taking apart the tender for another time. A little lube later and it runs as “good” as I expect a 40 year old Bachmann engine to run.
Glad it was able to help you out. Sounds like you "won" the battle against the Bachmann.
Don’t Stop Working on Those Engines Keep Your Edge Buddy.
Thanks
Hi Ron came across your channel and this video short. Loved it and thought it was great. I don't know if you still want to get the "little feller" going again but from my experience as a problem solver in electrical/mechanical engineering and working with model trains for 40 years, I would recommend replacing the tender trucks with a Micro Trains set and rework the electrical pickup with wipers on the back side of the trucks either on the tender or the engine just like they do on brass steam locomotives. The unit may also have a torque problem too. The turning of the motor may cause one side of the tender to lift and not stick to the rails. This little ditty got my engineering brain going and I am going deliberately look for this engine at a train show, buy it and see if my idea works! If someone beats me to it- congrats!
Hello, Great idea's you have there. A lot of work to put into a poorly designed product, but as an experiment it would make an interesting story for sure.
Thanks for sharing. Made my eyes hurt just thinking of working on N scale. My luck with HO scale bachmann has not been much better.
Thanks for commenting. my Bachmann HO luck sounds the same as yours.
I can’t tell you what episode it was. But N-Scale magazine had an article about someone who fixed all the things that were problematic. Good luck.
Good thing I gathered from your video was which screws to undo to do a coupler conversion. I was impressed with your disassembly and re-assembly. Been in n-scale since 1987 . Yup bachmann / lifelike ,and model power from the 80’s were sketchy.
Glad you enjoyed my video
worked a little with a friend's N scale Bachmann Amfleets of a similar vintage I think. They had similar stuff going on with springs pressing down to transmit power from the trucks, but for lighting. Well, those parts created so much friction my friend had removed them from some of his cars and I ended up removing the rest because I just couldn't get those cars to roll otherwise.
Thanks for the info!
I’m relatively new to your channel also, very cool. I knew that Bachmann Jupiter locomotive looked familiar, I have the exact same one in HO. Haven’t ran it in years, going to try it out again soon, along with my old tyco & AHM trains. You’ve inspired me Ron, thanks
Glad I helped get your old loco's out and running the rails soon :-)
Been wanting to get the ole girls out for a while, you definitely inspired me. Keep up the great videos…
Sorry Ron! I avoid Bachmann as much as I can. I have two Spectrum HO GP-30s, one of which will work well. You stumped me on this weeks Classic Model. Had never heard of her myself. Great video tbh. I have one of those 4-4-0s torn apart for repaint. Crossing fingers to put it back together and this video will really help! Thanks Ron!
Hello Erick! Cant believe you got stumped. This gal's work is sorta late 50's thru 60's I believe. Interesting name she has, but that "girl next door" kinda look was most impressive. I hope your 4-4-0 performs better than this one.
@@classicmodeltrains me too though don’t have a ton of confidence it will
Got this exact engine as new for Christmas back in the early 1980’s. Literally pulled it out of the box and put it on track and it couldn’t even pull the cars it came with. I’ve never been able to get it to run decently. So we just use it as a static display in one of our towns on the layout. I was so disappointed as it’s a cool rendition of an American 4-4-0.
Thats a pretty sad story. Glad it didnt sour you to model RRing.
I had issues ,the same as this one. I went and replaced the tender trucks with N scale freight car trucks and just used standard insulated metal wheels with a simple copper contact strip . (basically an N scale version of the HO models tender).
Thanks for this great information. I was thinking about that same kind of setup last night. Sounds like it is do-able :-)
So Ron after watching your video I ran downstairs into the train room, I know I have a few of these engines. I found three, and there were 2 more on my shelves for a total of 5. I tested out the three and yes they were all finicky runners. Thanks to your video I fixed a broken coupler on one. I also got It running smoothly. One problem with these engines is the cow-catcher in the front. It bends down, and gets caught up on crossings. I was able to fix it and actually got it running and hauling 6 40’ boxcars. I’ll let you know how I make out with the rest of them.
WOW!! glad you got one running pretty good it sounds. good luck on the others. Glad I helped out in a way ;-)
I almost purchased one of these from a local collector who had a massive collection. Unfortunately when we got it on the test track it kept jumping off and barely ran. Found a couple other nice things to buy but I had to pass on this one.
Good thing a test track was handy!!
@@classicmodeltrains I’ve learned a thing or two about testing trains before you buy them. I may have been out of the hobby for a while but I don’t plan on getting ripped off anytime soon.
I bought a couple of these Bachmann n-scale 4-4-0s in the 1980s when they sold for about $20. They were crap then but they were the only n-scale 4-4-0s available at the time. I replaced the lousy stock motors with Japanese Sagami brand can motors and replaced the stock tender and cab weights with some I made from lead. I then cut off the plastic top of cab and replaced it with a thicker one made I also from lead. With the proper lubrication, extra weight, and Japanese can motors they ran much more smoothly and slowly than they ever did out of the box. They also lost no traction at all, even when pulling 10 cars.
WOW! Sounds like you did a lot of work to them. Very cool!!
TY
:-)
I definitely enjoy my n scale. I just turned 39, so seeing them isn’t too bad.
The first couple locos I got were Minitrix F units and they were great introductions to how power goes into them and how they all work. Now I’ve got some newer atlas stuff as well as a BLI, but I still like to putz around with the older ones.
Right on Andrew!! I have not heard of Minitrix. Shall keep my eye out for them. Atlas and BLI are real nice runners for sure.
@@classicmodeltrains try tri Ang the first N scale actually called OOO by them from the early 60s with rubber band drives. Not bad runners if the rubber bands are in good shape. A lot of fun to work on when there not tho.
my dad purchased a dozen of those locos in the 1990's. Most ran like yours , except for 3. His layout was large by N gauge standards. Based on the Virginia & Truckee. The 3 that ran didn't for long after several hundred feet of track work. He did like the 4-4-0 american locos but after the Bachmann debacle. He switched to using MINITRIX and KATO locos. The Kato's ran the best the Minitrix ran well for a good length of time . But when they broke they were done. Love your Show.
Thanks for your kind words, and a great story/info from back in the day :-)
Hello Ron, (big Fan) I was surfing TH-cam and found your channel and subscribed, and I have watched about a dozen of your vlogs it's nice to see someone else has issues in repairs like I do! (Ha ha) I am jealous of where you live in Montana, big sky country, I live in the rat race called Las Vegas. We have no more hoppy shops one small train shop not too much in it, what you need in the way of parts and such, so I have to buy everything on E-bay which gets really old after a while. Take care be safe, Steven.
Hello Steven! Thanks for your kind words :-)
Hey Ron, you got me on the model celebrity. Wanted to let you know they make a synthetic bullfrog snot that actually works pretty good. See ya' later.
So is there 2 kinds of BF snot? the original and the synthetic? Still seems like a poor way to correct a missing traction tire to me. Liquid miracle chemical repairs have never served me well :-)
Working on N scale models requires a good eye, a steady hand and a lot of patience. However, it is a lot of fun and very satisfying when you pull it off. My more ambitious project in N scale custom building/painting was taking an Atlas RS11 and modifying it into a MLW RS18 in BC Rail/PGE configuration back when I was in university. That project was a learning curve, but it came out quite well.
I agree with you on N scale projects. Sounds like you made up a pretty nice one!!
I use to have a 'MADE IN ITALY' 'N' scale Lima/Ahm set once back in 1971 which was too small. and, not much when it came to accessories. then i tried 'HO' scale and i didn't look back.
Yup. N scale extra stuff is a bit hard to find
@@classicmodeltrains Thank you for answering my reply.
Very entertaining video Ron. I gave up N sales years ago for HO. 10% due to vision issues and 90% to save my sanity. (Wife is is certain it didn't work in either case)
Thanks. As a child I wanted N gauge. I'm still happy I never went down that road.
I work with mostly N scale stuff and the worst experience I've had taking apart a locomotive was a Bachmann 0-6-0 road number 3283. Just taking off the wheels requires bending out a small piece of plastic that feels like it's going to snap at any moment. The worst part is trying to get it back together; It's a split-body design which means it needs insulators between the halves. This is fine except for two square insulators that go on the worm gear which do not have centered holes. Getting those two squares rotated correctly and trying to squish the body back together without them moving took me forever. And then I took it apart again to try and install a tiny custom DCC decoder, which lasted me a couple of hours before it died. Now it just sits on my display case.
If you ever want to try more N scale stuff, go with Kato or Atlas for some easier disassemblies.
Thanks for the repair "horror" story :-D. sorry to hear after all that work it failed on you. I agree Kato and Atlas all the way for me.
I have an N Scale layout, too. Sometimes, I don't know why, lol. Like the cool kids, I guess😅
I though about building a little N layout. Now im not so sure :-D
Well we learned a lot here. Skip Bachmann old school and stick with Atlas or Athearn.
I recently took apart some old N scale locos, I learned a lot.
Entertaining as well as informative video.
I still don’t know who the classic model is, in this one. lol.
Keep up the great work Ron
Yup, them Bachmann N's aint worth their weight in salt.
Hi Ron. I've tried Nscale, but it's to small for my big fingers. So I sold it all lol, but I stuck with HO scale. I agree with about the Bachmann stuff, I have some never stuff that runs awesome. I remember in the early 1980s I bought a Bachmann Santa fe n scale set, I opened it and it never ran. It had axle problems before I opened it. Great video.
Thanks for the info and your kind words!
I have a lot of those Bachmann white box locos. That was my childhood. My family couldn’t afford the Athearn blue boxes.
Did they run pretty good for you when they were new?
Hi Ron,
After watching your tender problems on this one I went back and looked at a couple of key points in the tender truck assembly, and while my eyes are a bit older than yours I noticed that at 16:14 in the video the tires don't appear to line up from the right side to the left side. Maybe check this with a straight edge and/or a wheel gauge tool and check again for correct assembly checking step by step for proper wheel rotation. Also I noticed at 17:57 in the video the tender front trucks do not appear to be on the tracks which no doubt is not helping matters.
There is no doubt that some stuff is just crap...but if anyone can fix this one I believe it is you...I often remind myself about the definition of madness as 'doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results'. Maybe you can try again in a different way...after putting it down for a while to calm down enough to think it through and take another angle to try repairing it.
Also wanted to thank you for the best model railroad videos, tips, and the inspiration to finally get around to reviving my old locos and cars...most of which are from the late 60's and early 70's
Rich...
Hello Rich, Thanks for your kind words on my video's, Really brightens my day. You are correct Sir that the wheel sets do not line up from side to side on the same truck assy. The way it's engineered each wheel set end floats around in the truck frame assembly. This can be seen as I was re-assembling the truck after it fell apart for the 14th time. 2 wheels go onto a small metal bar with 2 axle stubs on it. Then this bar is inserted into the plastic truck frame. do the same on the other side. The small springs, which are like brush springs, hold the wheel assemblies down, or in other words they control the ride height of the wheel sets in the truck assemblies. Seems to be very over engineered, and has poor tolerances. I looked and looked to make sure all the wheels were in the track. Even have different times removed the thing and re-tracked it several times. All the test runs came out with the same results. This particular piece, and many just like it from the comments I have received fall into that category of "crap"......Funny because the company got it's money for them.
Great Job, Ron. I warned you about N scale! You picked one of the hardest ones to start your N career. You might try installing new traction tires. HO Diesel will work on most N steam drive wheels. Nickolas' comment on the pegs is good. I use DeOxIt as you shouldn't run two different types of metals together. It cleans and lubricates. If that doesn't cure the rolling issue, get out the sand paper. i would soften the grit to 1500 so as not to scratch grooves in the pegs, which would cause additional friction issues. Another thought would be aftermarket trucks. Keep the Vids coming! Just an fyi, diesels are a whole lot easier!
Thanks Mr F. Yup, a few mentioned these N's will drive you to insanity. Ive heard the steamers are a bit harder than the diesels. I have a diesel in the que for repairs / video. perhaps I will wait till that one is complete before I send all N gauge stuff the the recycler ;-)
Looking at getting into the hobby and at one point thought about N gauge and then went to a hobby store and looked at one OMFG are you serious HO all the way :)
Great vids I love them
Cheers Mark
Yup them GOOD N scales can be a bit pricey!! Thanks for the compliments Mark :-)
Brings back memories. Had one of these 45+ years ago, never got it to run well but it did make me jump down the Narrow Gauge, scratch build and brass machining rabbit hole. One day I might be able to climb out of that 40+ year deep rabbit hole with a narrow gauge version. The 4-4-0 NG is a classic design that needs to be done. I now wonder if anyone has done it?
Sounds like your quite the modeler, AWESOME :-)
@@classicmodeltrains Only in my dreams:) If I knew how much money and time 'Modeltrains" would consume I might have started a simpler hobby 50 years ago. However "Modeltrains" requires skills in a very wide range of subjects from art to electronics and programming. The new 3D machines now give the accuracy I wanted 40 years ago. However life, marriage n kids became a distraction. Never has it been as "easy" to be a modeler than these days.
Very nicely done. Bummer that full-sized locomotives don't have traction tires. Cheers!
Thank you very much!
The broken N guage trains I use for a 027 guage train in an amusement park, because Track guage is rounded out to 3/8" that subs for 18" guage that is rarely used but close to the 15" and 16" M.T.C. trains. Also if you use G guage, and larger 1:24th scale with 1/2" to 1 Foot then N can represent the 7&1/2" guage that Walt Disney had in the 1950s at his home, and that is also used for the L.A. Live Steamers RR Museum in Griffith Park. THE running engine is my N guage F7A pulling gondols with little seats for the seated figures; and raised tracks for the steaming bays. This system has been used by others in the past, too!! But also use even smaller "Z" scale for the European 5" guages like Great Britain 🇬🇧!! And also the Euro-style guage for T.T. For TABLE TOP like Hornby. But you can take it to the extreme by using Barbie-scales at 2" to Foot and "N" shrinks to almost 2&1/2 " guage like the early steamers of the 1930s on raised tracks with legs hanging over the edge that requires a very good balance, lol 😍!!!!! BEST WISHES!! ALL ABOARD,!! HIGHBALL 👋,!!-! HI IN JUNE 2023A.D.!!!!!-!! PLUS ➕, GOD BLESS AMERICA 🇺🇸 🙏 ❤!!!!! GLORY ALLELUIA 🇺🇸 🙏 ❤!!!!! AMEN ✝️ 🙏 ✝️ 🙏 ✝️ 🙏!!!!!
Kinda cool your using smaller gauge trains as little amusement rides. Very creative!!
My dad has a pretty large collection of N scale, some back to the 1960s. All in storage now. He had a Rapido diesel that I tried to repair for him once. Really easy, it was a shell, motor and wheels! It ran good, then it stopped again even after the repair. His newer LifeLike and Kato engines run great, but the old engines, steam or diesel are pretty grouchy and don't want to run any more. His Bachmann Steamer is for display only.....
I'm hoping to find a "pretty easy" one to work on. I keep hearing Kato as the best ones out there.
For quality and ease of repair in N scale. Kato can't be beat.
I agree
Take a dremmel with a sanding drum attachment without the sander drum on it ( just the rubber inside) tighten it up so it does not spin and hold the tender trucks up it and spin the wheels until they spin easy.they little locomotive doesnt have the weight to break the tender trucks in so help the little guy and beak them In for it.might even add a bit of Weight to it.also run the front steer wheels on the dremmel too.
Thats a great tip you shared there!
Another thing I would try is checking the drive shaft movement and universal joints. If there isn't enough play in the drive shaft couplings, the tender could be lifting the drivers off the track through the drive shaft. Just a thought...
Yup! I thought the same thing and there is no way to shorten the driveline.
Nic3 work
Thank you
Such a great looking locomotive. Unfortunately like you, and others, mentioned they are just a total disaster. I too avoided Bachmann like the plague. Unfortunately most of the trains I grew up with were a total disappointment. I’ll never forget when my model railroading changed forever with my first Athearn locomotive. I ran it so much I wore the brushes out!
Hear ya Jason. A lot of Fellers first Athearn was a great day indeed :-)
Hi. I have one of these and i might have a tip for you to try that helped me get my n scale jupiter to work. While it doesnt run perfectly. It doesnt have much wheel slip anymore. The problem isnt the tender but the weight of the locomotive. You have to have weight on those driving wheels to give the engine some traction. I bought some tungsten putty from hobby lobby and crammed it in every hallow cavity on the locomotive. Mostly underthe dome and in the smokestack. The extra weight pushed the loco down and gave it enough traction to pull the tender and a very small 5 car train but thats about all it can manage. It might give you the results your looking for
Hello, thanks for the information. Off camera I added 1 oz of lead weight. it was stacked up on the cab roof of the loco. It did improve performance by 50%. The size of the added weight was physically larger than the locomotive. These things are soooooo tiny :-)
Spent a lot of money on a Spectrum 80 Ton 3-Truck Shay - which soon would not pull its own weight due to split bevel gears. To the point that NorthWest Short Line makes a metal gear retrofit specifically for this model (but installing them is now beyond my poor old eyes' ability). Yikes! Bachmann really needed to do a better job for its customers!
PS: I have the EXACT same magnifying visor with different lenses & the little round flip-down lens...
Good to hear NWSL has some upgrade kits available to correct the junk some manufacturers put out. Sorry to hear your peeper's don't want to play along and help get them new gears installed.
The green substance on the drivers in bull frog snot, it replaces the old traction tires. It works when applied properly, it looks to me that it needs to be reapplied. It will still be junk regardless.
I Think Bullfrog snot is a poor product. Nobody applies it properly. I agree the Bachmann is a total dumpster fire.
Is that green stuff bullfrog snot, i wondered if it stayed green. Was that loco tender drive? I love this channel, makes me feel better about having O, HO, N and Z scales.
I believe it was dried bullfrog snot. Yes the loco is a tender mounted motor with a drive shaft up to the loco. The loco's drivers provide the propulsion. Thanks for your kind words and support of my channel.
The 2 "N"s in Magnefication are there to help us by saying magneficaion is "N"eeded for "N" Gauge.
Oh. and next time you watch Star Trek the Next Generation remember Captain Piccard was a model railroader cause he was always saying, " N Gauge"
Funny little one liner there Jay :-). P.S. It was nice visiting with you last night!
I was going to suggest dry graphite for the tender wheel issues, but after staring at the ceiling deep in thought for 20 minutes, I realized today was trash day. So after stumbling around outside with the trash can, I decided to do some looking online for differing opinions and such. Nobody really complained about tender trucks specifically, mostly just traction issues, because the whole thing weighs less than a stack of dried butterfly wings.......the one lone traction tire probably snuck out in the middle of the night at some point after getting worn down dragging the tender....... anyhow, so I went to the source, and discovered that Bachmann sells replacement tender trucks (its almost as if they KNOW) for like $12 and change. They look like the non-falling apart kind. So if you wanna go this route, I guess it comes down to if you wanna drop some coin...... AND if they have 'em in stock. Shelf queens are good for only one thing: dust collecting. I'd rather see your fix-it project ride the rails! Whatever you decide to do, I wish you good luck.
"weighs less than a stack of dried butterfly wings"..... I almost spilled my coffee when I read that!! Too funny, and a good analogy. I will have to look into Bachmann and see about them trucks. Cant imagine why they would offer up parts for a 35 year old loco, But it's worth a shot. Thanks for the info :-)
Great video…eyes need some extra ooomph with those Uber-mini parts…hope there’s a work around for those tender wheels…
There was not. All these that were made are shelf queens from all the comments Ive received
The green stuff on the wheels is called frog snot. It's for train wheel traction. I use it but sometimes it makes things worse.
Yup!
I have one of those locos from my late father's estate. Now, I know what I'm dealing with if I ever decide to run it or try to lubricate it.
Glad I could help out :-)
I have two of these locomotives and they do exactly the same thing. It's definitely frustrating.. As far as I could tell there is no fix. It's a definite shelf queen.
Thanks for your input!
I have the same locomotive and it runs exactly the same way it hardly can move itself without any cars attached so I just display it in my case 😂
Cant believe they sold this junk
@@classicmodeltrains yes no quality control whatsoever 😂
You repaired it to run, it just never had the mass ober the drive wheels to work at what a locomotive does...pull stuff.
I had a friend that bought those to do HO 2ft gauge (Maine 2 ft narrow gauge). After he fitted a heavy boiler on it...the thing pulled cars.
That's the best I could suggest. Find a way to add weight. Sheet lead jammed in
the roof of the cab
The smoke stack
Any void in the boiler
Fit heavy metal tanks beneath the walk boards
And it might pull a four car train.
no place for weight. I put a whole ounce on the cab roof and it still would not pull
@@classicmodeltrains I was afraid of that. The entire locomotive has to be die cast for that little watch to work... They didn't work out of the box new either. At best two cars on flat track in 1988.
There's a modeler that does NW Georgia 1863 HO mega layout and has a fleet of prototype specific customized Mantua Generals with DCC as the Civil War engines. They run amazingly and pull 20 car scale scratch built link and pin trains, doublehead to pull 50 car trains. It is a sight to behold online.
A die cast boiler is the only way that works.
Just picked up one of these and right off the bat mines in worse shape. At least this one’s motor spun I had to go almost full power for the wheels to make a 1/4 turn than it stopped again
These Bachmanns are not good runners.
@@classicmodeltrains so I’ve discovered, if I hold the loco up with the tender on the track the wheels turn just fine. I’m suspected either a lot of friction in the drive gears or a issue with the tender wheels not making good enough contact with the track for power pickup.
Hi, CMT!!
i think yhe problem is on the wagon's wheels! you could check it again and exchenge them!!
See ya!
the problem is definitely the tender wheels. I did put another set on. they were just as bad as the first set.
Here is my assessment of this. I work in very small scales for a lot of my work. I would gauge the trucks on the tender. Make sure the wheels are actually on the rails. If not then you can make gauge adjustments. From looking at the side view of it running, it appears that the tender trucks are sliding (dragging) on the rails. If they are then the wheels may be running inside the tracks. If the wheels are on the tracks you could try filing off the bottom of the trucks so they don't drag on the rails. Or you could try replacing the wheels with quality full-size n-scale metal wheels with axles. That may require slight modification of the trucks. If you have a jeweler's lathe, you can turn your own wheels from brass. Just at a glance the diameter of the stock wheels is too small. Maybe the gauge is too narrow for the tracks. But the trucks definitely appear to be dragging on the rails. If the wheels are on the rails, I would file off a tiny bit of the truck bottoms as an easy fix.
Hello Russell. You are correct with the problem being the tender wheels. So poorly engineered. I messed with them for hours. Only real cure would be to fabricate a new set-up. These Bachmans are just not worth the time to me. Thanks for the good idea's though :-)
Ive been a N scaler since I first saw it when I was 14. thats now 50 years. I love the improvement in the scale. I would have never envisioned sound and now even steam. Though I'll really never hop on the smoke trains. Yes I even had that set. I likely still have the engine. But since it'll never be able to convert to DCC. It will be a static display on my layout. I'd never try and pull it apart. Laugh. Those parts would end up all over my floor. Laugh.
Long time in the hobby! Glad its gotten better over the years.
I got it...
......substitute "Pabst Blue Ribbon" for the Kleen Strip before even starting 🤓
:-)
Check spring. Presure to wheels and pick up bars
did that as well. used two different tender chassis. same problem. Shit engineering.
I have one of these. I just tried it after watching you. Has not run for about 20 plus years. It still don't. But, if it put my finger on the tender it runs. Not sure I want to try fixing it.
It's doubtful that it will run properly.
Im the same way. I try very hard to avoid bachmann products as much as i can.
Also the tender really needed a new truck system and by the time it’s done you’re in for over $100
Yeah.....No. This loco aint worth putting a Benjamin into. Unfortunate though because it is a nice looking piece :-)
@@classicmodeltrains yea i agree. Especially for the person you’re fixing it for. Personally i have one that ive pretty much rebuilt and used the same idea kato does with their passenger cars for power… it works. However ive also crammed in a small keepalive.
It definitely was not worth the effort haha
What can I do with mine that when I put on the tack I can hear the engine hum but nothing runs
Sounds like the gears or wheels are bound up. Needs a good cleaning and re-lube.
I’ve had 3 of these and all the tenders didn’t roll well, they just don’t. May be the video but it looked like the drawbar between the tender and loco was holding the loco up a bit off of the tracks, just a thought. Maybe some light trimming could remedy that. And I feel the cracked gear thing, even the g scale big haulers suffer from this. I have 2 emmet Kelly jr circus sets from 89, one I’ve had sinse I was a kid, and it stopped working (guess why) and one I just picked up last week, in cosmetology immaculate condition, and I put it on the tracks and once again, she don’t go nowhere! Gonna try and glue the gear back onto the shaft, wish me luck lol
I noticed the loco looked like the rear driver was not in contact with the track much. Kind of seemed like the driveline was too long. Good luck on your repair project.
Main problem of this loco is small weight! Add some metal into the body,and Jupiter will run smoother !🎉
I added a full ounce of weights. stacked them on the roof of the cab. made it a little better.
The front wheel on mine is missing a little piece. I think if I switch it around it will work but I have no idea how to do disconnect it to turn it around.
It spins fine and needs no lube. It needs turned around so the broken wheel isn’t in the front.
All the comments Ive received on this the majority says these were junk straight from the factory
Ron I live your videos. So real. Great job as always. Do you ever work on o gage ?
Thanks Mike! Yes there are some O-27 and one true "O" gauge video out in my vid's
Don’t sneeze you might lose everything! 😊
So true!
I didn’t have much luck with Bachmann either bought a new set off Amazon to get it into the hobby and within a half hour of runtime the locomotive broke, had to send it back.
I hope that experience didn't soil your hobby passion. Learning curves are steep sometimes.
@@classicmodeltrains
Not at all. Lol! Since I bought the Bachmann I’ve added 12 locomotives and about 45 Rolling stock. Built five kit buildings and just purchased a new/used power pack and transformer from eBay.
Ah... Bachmann quality. A thing of legend... and nightmares.
I bought that same 4-4-0 back in the 80's, (NOT my finest model train decision.) and had the same problem. There are three serious design flaws in this locomotive. 1) Lack of weight over the drivers. 2) Lack of bearings on the tender wheels. And 3) Friction between the tender wheels and the brass contact strips. Unfortunately there isn't any reliable fix 1 & 3. (As far as I know.)
There is something that can be done for #2, but it's a lot of work and probably (PROBABLY?) not worth it in the end. That would be to cut-off the cast "axels" and replace them with small diameter wire axels (A short length of a straight pin would work.) super-glued into the axel "beams". Then find (or make) tiny nylon bushings to fit inside the tender wheels and ride on the new pin axels. It's basically the same idea as on the 1st generation Hot Wheels, if you remember them. But like I said, it's a lot of work. Kinda like feeding thread through the eye of a needle... only worse. MUCH worse.
Now, in defence of Bachmann (I can't believe I'm defending Bachmann.🤦♂); I have a 4-8-4 Northern and a 2-6-2 Prairie, also from the 1980's. And both run quite well to this day. So not everything that they made was complete trash. Some of it was only mildly trashy.
I agree If a guy wanted to spend hours re-designing the tender wheels and pickups it would / could become a good little runner for a few cars. I just didnt want to spend that kinda time. There are some Fellers out there that swear by Bachmann. I wish I could just get ahold of a decent one.
@@classicmodeltrains "There are some Fellers out there that swear by Bachmann."
But I'll bet there a lot more out there that swear AT Bachmann.
Oh yeah, Bachman N scale. That’ll be a great big “nope. Ain’t going there. Ain’t doing that. I’ll stick with my HO scale trains, thanks.” Always thought about how I could double my layout if I switched scale, but I always resisted and held back. HO is small enough for my big hands and old eyes. If you have N scale you need to raise your table height considerably or you’re always looking down upon your trains as if you were 500-600 feet in the air.
Yup! There a bit tough to work on and get on the tracks
Both of mine have been retired for many years now. I tried to make them work also several times. They are a lost cause I am afraid.
Yup!
Dried out traction tires?
No.
My best compliments (and my great envy 😂😂) for performing a task that is ABSOLUTELY impossible for me! N is nice, but too, too small for my “delicate” fingers and my (blind) eagle eyes…
I'm not going to be standing in any lines to work on another N that's for sure :-)
I think it is really a good idea…
I think it is a weight issue in the tender.
The wheels don't all point forward
I'm thinking may need new traction tires. Just about all my vintage trains that has them need replaced. When I got back into the hobby back in December. I hadn't touched a train since the mid 80's and only had a starter set then. I hate working on the pancake motor drives. The gears are always broken. Steam or diesel It's either split axles or gears. I've bought a Bachman plus steam engine. New old stock sealed. It ran great for 2 days and the plastic axles broke. And Bachman doesn't have parts available. I found a site that 3-D prints the plastic axle pins and gears for the 8 wheel drives but have yet to buy any. I have several locomotives waiting for gears. Even the 3 wheel drive Hudsons use the same plastic axles. Life like also has gear problems but at least with the Proto 2000 Life like locomotives Athearn makes replacements available. I did waste my money on buying a replacement set of drive wheels for my broken axle 2-8-0 Consolidation engine from Bachmann but they were for the newer version.
sounds like you have done a fair bit of research attempting to source parts. If the manufacturers would have just used a little bit better engineering effort.
Did you try running it without the front truck?
Tender wheels were poor design. none of them would track right.
Looks like the side trucks on the tender are riding on the rails, not the wheels.
Tender wheels/truck frames are of a very poor design for sure
Hi Classic Model Trains. Looks like that old pumpkin also exploded all over your white t-shirt. Then you changed into your clean blue shirt. But then you switched back to the orange one. Nice even coverage though. The wheels on the tender look super-dooper chintzy, like who were they trying to fool, I mean what were they trying to pull? Can you take the trucks off an old freight car and use those somehow. You'd have to get power off them. I never used N-gauge so don't know how hard that would be. And I would like to thank you for the tip to use Klean Strip Odorless Mineral Spirits. They have been cleaning away the scoob like nobodies business. I never used it before you mentioned it, and now use it almost daily. (Is that enough to help out with the sponsorship?). I did not know who the model was at all, but instead of Kitten, she looked like Sandy.
The shooting of this video took place over a few days. I had to locate a donor loco and get it here before shooting resumed. Sometimes I make continuity errors. pretty good eye you have there to pick it up. The Little Lady suggested I don't use the orange tee anymore. it kinda of clashes with everything :-) Glad the mineral spirits are working well for ya. When the corporate boys come around I will point out this post :-D
Ron I hate that you got out done on that N scale loco. I could not even try to fix those they are just made too tiny for me to even see those little burgers. That`s why I started to go the Ho route. Don`t try so hard that you become cross eyed on us. Take care my train buddy.
Thanks for watching and stopping by for a quick comment :-)
this is why any thing under an 0-6-0 wheel arrangement is uncommon in N scale and why Kato chose to put the motor in the passenger ca rof it's Pocket line steam set instead of the loco, although another japanese company does offer an 0-4-0 T loco with a motor in it. Tiny little thing too.
Thanks for the info