I got a new Bachmann Spectrum steam engine, and it works just fine.
However, I have a question about the drawbar, and this is an issue that I have often encountered with new steam engines regardless of manufacturer.
The drawbar is absolutely level. The pin on the tender sits just above the drawbar. If you move the tender back and forth, the pin rides just above the drawbar without touching it.
So, to connect the drawbar to the pin on the tender, it seems that the only way to do it is to bend the drawbar slightly upward.
However, I have been told in the past that the drawbar should not be bent upward because it causes the tender wheels to lift off the rails.
So what’s the answer? What do others do in this situation?
I have the Spectrum 4-4-0 and have noticed that the two wires between the tender and locomotive need to be on either side of the pin, they both cannot be on just one side—if they are then I have the same issue you have. But when these two wires are straddling the pin everything works fine.
Spectrum engines - and some others - have an apron that connects the cab to the tender deck, just like real engines do. The apron is hinged along the rear of the cab so it can move up and down.
The tender has a “lip” on the edge facing the cab, and you have to be sure that the apron is riding above that. If it slips below it, it will get hooked up and raise the tender’s front up.
When putting an engine on the track, I usually make the sure the apron is folded up against the back of the cab, then put the engine on the track, then when all the wheels of the engine and tender are on the rails, I reach in with a small screwdriver, pencil, etc. and gently fold the apron down on to the tender deck.
When you look at the tender and engine at eye level, the engine mount that holds the drawbar is slightly lower and closer to the “ground” than the bottom of the tender pin, resulting in the level drawbar sitting lower than the bottom of the pin.
However, your comment that the drawbar should not be lower than the bottom of the tender pin forced me to examine the tender a little more closely.
I noticed that the front of the tender (toward the engine) was higher than the rear of the tender. So, I removed the tender shell to see if something inside was restricting the shell so that it might not close completely onto the tender frame. Everything was OK.
So, I looked at the tender trucks. I adjusted the center screw which holds each truck to the frame, loosening the rear truck just a little. That seemed to level the tender and put the tender pin to fit into the drawbar hole. I ran the loco around the layout a few times, and the drawbar held. Hopefully, that solved the problem.
You can bend the drawbar up so it hits the center of the pin. On all my engines i have cut a retainer off an old piece of wire insulation 12ga or 14ga and put it on the bottom of the pin to keep the drawbar connected. This comes in handy when taking on and off the track. Just press fit.
