Bachmann Spectrum GE 45-TON Side Rod Diesel item 81898....

dude2112

dude2112

Registered
Hi all, ;)
I have recently acquired this loco over Christmas. While I think it is a very nice loco I have noticed that one set of drive wheels runs faster than the other set ( it has two separate motors apparently ). It otherwise runs very quietly and smoothly but obviously one motor is pulling the other.
Has anyone else got any experience of this loco and indeed this issue ?

Cheers Andy......
 
No. This suggests a problem with one of the motors.

Bachmann use Pitmann motors. See if they have a spare. Bachmann UK will usually respond to emails asking for help with bits.
 
The resistance of pulling a load may settle the motors. If you run dead slow with a train, can you detect the faster bogie slipping. If yes - either a motor or a binding gear/bearing problem most probably.
 
How much difference - is it really obvious or just a little bit noticeable when the loco is upside down with its wheels in the air? It's not unusual for independent bogies to run slightly different speeds under no load. If it's really obvious even when running on the track (as per Alan's post above) then I'd suggest a good strip down of the motor block and a very light re-lube, see if that makes any difference?
 
Thanks for the answers....... ;)
When I first got the loco I didn't notice any difference but now there is quite a lot of wheel slip from the leading drive before the rear motor picks up..

I will strip the problematic drive and let you all know what I find.

Cheers Andy.
 
dude2112 said:
Thanks for the answers.......
When I first got the loco I didn't notice any difference but now there is quite a lot of wheel slip from the leading drive before the rear motor picks up..

I will strip the problematic drive and let you all know what I find.

Cheers Andy.
Click to expand...

That could take a while - there are some tricky areas. In the end, I settled for breaking off the air cylinders and re-gluing them.

While you're at it, check the brass plunger contacts to the bogie :D
 
As promised I have an update to this post......

Sadly I cannot get into the motor drive by normal measures, i.e. I am used to opening up '00' locos and indeed servicing and fitting decoders etc...

I have looked inside the drive as much as possible but without stripping the covers off I cannot find an answer. I can however say that the brass worm wheels still have the white grease on them.
I have tried relubing them with new oil and indeed cleaning the pickup plungers with track cleaner and adding eletro lube to help power pick up but to no avail.

It may be that I have to put up with this problem, I will however not be buying a used loco again.

Andy......
 
I own a similar loco from Bachmann.
It is a way TOO big with my 1:22,5 ad 1:24 models.
Never run, all additional parts, boxed and inside shipping carton
Any offers? Would exchange part or all for some british elements from BOB, GRS, o what you have.
Regards
Jorge
 
More likely going to an issue with the wipers transferring pick up from he truck to the body. You could try stretching the springs on the plungers above the trucks.
Best to bypass them and hard wire the trucks in place. 4 x wires for each truck.
 
jegametren said:
I own a similar loco from Bachmann.
It is a way TOO big with my 1:22,5 ad 1:24 models.
Never run, all additional parts, boxed and inside shipping carton
Any offers? Would exchange part or all for some british elements from BOB, GRS, o what you have.
Regards
Jorge
Click to expand...

Put it on a diet - I did!
 
Tony Walsham said:
More likely going to an issue with the wipers transferring pick up from he truck to the body. You could try stretching the springs on the plungers above the trucks.
Best to bypass them and hard wire the trucks in place. 4 x wires for each truck.
Click to expand...
Yes, Tony's suggested trouble spot is the most likely. - I've converted mine to battery power, but rely on two of the sprung contacts on each bogie - being a devout bodger, stretching the springs has done it for me in the past.

You can do this modification without taking the motor bogies apart - dismantling the bogies requires magician's skills - or as I said earlier, probably breaking the air cylinders and re-glueing them on completion.

If Tony's suggestion doesn't do the trick, the second place to look is inside the bogie, where the motor is sat in ts cradle, and force fits to the brass contacts, one of those may be bent.

Don't put it away, fix it, because, despite its size (which is to scale), it is a powerful and smooth running loco.
 
Amazing, how topics can suddenly come back to life almost two years later... :angel:
 
Yea, we don't let sleeping horses stay that way for long.....LOL.....Or is that dogs.....:yawn:
 
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