Hi everyone I bought an Athearn SW1500 at a train fair and it ran well when tested but when I got it home to my layout it started to run erratically, so I took off the shell and gave it a little oil and as I was working in the oil I noticed the the turning of the motor becomes extremely laboured temporarily and then it makes a little “pop” sound and its turns fine again, This happens maybe once in 20 revolutions or so. Is it shagged?? I do not feel confident enough to open the differentials and have a look. Are these differentials still available?
Thanks for your help, I am very frustraded indeed.
Not sure what you mean by differential? Assume you are refering to the worm gear on the top of the truck. I think the only way you will resolve the problem is to remove and dissasemble the trucks. I could guess at a number of possibilities but in each case you would have to remove the trucks. Go ahead, have some fun.
The caps that hold the worm gear down could be broken. The tabs on the trucks could be broken. The drive shaft couplers could have a broken tab on them. You should disassemble the loco carefully and inspect all these points. It’s not that hard! Just be gentle when poping the covers off. If you need a diagram and parts list let me know, I have one for an SW-9 and it should be about the same as yours. Parts are still available. (I can scan it and send it to you.)
Good luck!
It may be that the worm has too much end play and every so often snags a idler tooth in the truck. First, you need to remove the trucks and see how free rolling they are with the worm and cover removed. the trucks should glide a short distance when pushed on a test track. If good then install the worm w/o the cover, rotate the shaft1/2 to 1 revolution in both directions. You may have to hold the bushing down in place as you do this. This will show the worm walking back and forth. Some play is desired and the worm should move front back slightly. Excessive movement can cause binding- remedy this withshims/ washers. Check the motor and flywheels at this time before reassembly. Make sure there is no flashing on the universals. If for some reason you need to disassemble the trucks you may want to change the wheelsets to a good nickle/ silver (Northwest Shortline or equiv.) at this time. Hope you find the problem.
Bob K.
Ok thanks for the help guys you really know your stuff, I will attempt to find the problem this week sometime.
If someone could post a diagram of how all the running gear is dissassembled I will get stuck into it.
P.s. *** hot in melbourne Australia today LOL so I’m not going anywhere near the garage haha
here’s a few more tips, take a piece of fine grit sandpaper and a pencil eraser and get the motor running on one set of trucks and as the motor runs, take the fine grit sand paper and let it drag against the commutator (the copper thingy sticking out the end of on side of the motor) followed by the pencil eraser…(it will burnihe commutator, )…next, add a few drops of Pearl Drops toothpaste and drip them on the truck gears and run the locomotive around in both directions for about thirty minutes a piece …this will burnihe gears …clean the toothpaste from the gears and then add a drop of lubricant to the gears…I use whals clipper oil…also check the shims that hold the worm gear in place sometimes they need small washers to shim them…put a drop of lubricant on the worm gears…you also want to remove the steel clip and solder small stranded wire to the truck pickups and to the frame back to the motor…the steel spring has a tendency to loose electrical contact across turnouts and in curves…chuck
I didn’t realize how hard the SW 1000/SW1500 diagram is to read. I enhanced the photo a bit and it is more legible now. http://www.hoseeker.net/lit.html
Go to Athearn and Engine Diagrams, scroll down and then click on SW1000 1500.
Due to a problem I had recently with another website stealing bandwidth from HOseeker.net . You must link to a .html or .htm file at the site. If you link to a .jpg file you will get an error. The reason for this is, another website had embedded pictures from HOseeker.net in the pages of their website by direct linking. Everytime the pages with the embedded pictures were viewed at the other website the bandwidth was credited against the usage of Hoseeker.net. You are only allocated so much bandwidth per day and if you use all of it your site will shut down. It wasn’t a big problem, but I didn’t like the motive behind it. Which I think was to keep their site up and running at the expense of shutting my site and others down. Maybe if they had asked permission to do this I would have felt differently and left the site open for direct linking. It just takes one to make it more difficult for everyone.
Everyone may not have been interested in this explanation but I thought I would tell dingoix why his attempt at linking to Hoseeker.net did not work. Hoping this will save dingoix the frustration of saving and reposting the picture in the future.
Wow thanks guys I will get stuck into it during the week, Had a big day today at a railway preservation society openday in melb Australia. Broad gauge Diesels and steamers was interesting for a novice like me. we have E7 a units with dual cabs for bi directional running. These are privately own locos that run on the mainline on occasion.
I read your answer about a poorly performing Athearn SW1500 from 2006. I hope you’re still reading this site. My SW1500 is about 25 years old and was always a great performer. I hadn’t run it for months. Now something is sticking as I turn flywheel by hand. I removed each worm gear cover and worm. Can’t see anything else, but suspect commutator because it happens on each turn as contact moves over the split. Thinking of using your sandpaper suggestion, but could commutator cause problem after working fine for many years?
Just thought I would give you an answer. Check your brushes on the commutator, probably worn out from use and grabbing. Carbon does wear out intime. One spring tighter than other. Replace both. Good time to lube the armature shaft bushings/bearings front/rear.
I think the problem sounds more like hardened lubrication, probably on the lower gears within the trucks. Over time, the more volatile components of oil and grease can evapourate, leaving a solid residue between the teeth.
I’ve repaired non-running brass steamers simply by cleaning the old lubricant from the gears - in some cases, it can stall even open-frame motors.
Disassemble the trucks and manually remove the hardened material, then wash everything in hot water with dish detergent. Scrubbing with a brush wouldn’t hurt, either.
Once all the parts are dry, reassemble the trucks and lubricate all appropriate surfaces with a plastic-compatible oil or grease. NorthWest Short Line recommends LaBelle #102 gear oil.
Well, if the worms are removed, is the clicking happening at all the gaps in the commutator? It could be that a brush has turned and the arced face is no longer bearing properly on the commutator. Or perhaps the brush(es) are totally gone and it’s the spring(s) striking the gaps in the commutator.
