2.8.0 Connie,

dennis

Registered
had to fit new drive axle with brass gear, on dismantling one of the long strips that hold the axles and brake rigging in place came off in pieces, I`m sure it was already in pieces before I started, anyhow getting a new one seems to be impossible. Anyone else had this problem, how did you fix it ? a strip of tape on the back, or fabricate two new strips in brass ?
 
I've not had any problems with the loco end of Connie. Had to do a tender mod only.

Have you contacted Bachmann Europe direct (email)? I've found them helpful with parts in the past.

Failing that, copper strip may be easier to get hold of than brass :think::think::think:
 
Can you post a piccie of the fault, just for interest?

Like Rhinochugger I've not had problems with the loco. I did have issues in the early days with the tender bogie frames falling apart because the screws were too short. That was simple to fix. Think I also slightly modified the shape of the fall-plate to cope with my S curves better when loco and tender coupled closely.

I've got an axle & brass gear in stock but not had to fit it yet.
 
Did manage to get hold of some brass strip, but having had time to think about it decided that it would be overkill, after all when the engine is on the track there is no weight on that strip. The top pic shows almost how it came off, part of it was partially broken and the rest separated when handling. I also noticed that the brake shoes were rubbing on a couple of the rims, someone else noticed the same problem, which may also contribute to the broken gear.
I removed the brake system and cut two pieces of 2mm plasticard using the original strip, taped together with masking tape, as a pattern and screwed them into place to hold the axles, bottom pic, just noticed the brake hangar has slipped out of line.

Then salvaging the broken pieces of the two strips I cut out the pieces with holes in, enlarged the holes too 2mm, and superglued them in place for the brake spindles to sit in, this cured the rubbing, not pretty but not really noticeable when running.

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Yerst, have seen these break with careless handling.

It's one of the difficulties in this gauge - what to grip when picking up a loco :worried::worried::worried:
 
Apart from the broken piece were there any other issues with replacing the axle and gear?

Replacing the axle/gear assembly is on my to do list for this year.

Any pitfalls to look out for greatly appreciated.
 
Pretty straightforward. Just mind that the little axle support springs don't "ping" out of their holes and go missing when you take out the axles and make sure they are still in place when you put it back together. Max
 
Yes those springs do jump out and they aren't easy to find when they do. The other thing that i found is you will have to put a drop of loctite or similar on the screws holding the wheels in place. Assuming your Connie goes mainly forward you will find one side is fine but the wheels come loose on the other side. That's what happened to me anyway. The trick is to use a very small amount otherwise you will never undo it again.
 
Yes those springs do jump out and they aren't easy to find when they do. The other thing that i found is you will have to put a drop of loctite or similar on the screws holding the wheels in place. Assuming your Connie goes mainly forward you will find one side is fine but the wheels come loose on the other side. That's what happened to me anyway. The trick is to use a very small amount otherwise you will never undo it again.

Then I suggest you are using the wrong type of thread locking compound?

To free threads 'locked' with red Loctite, use heat.. A micro blowtorch is good for this..
Then throw away (or only use on the car) your red Loctite!
 
Yeah - blue stuff is the gizmo.

When I bought my Connie, I'd heard all sorts of disaster stories about this and that coming undone. I put blue Loctite on all motion, wheels and gearbox mounting bolts.

All my bits remain in place :p:p:p:p:p:p
 
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