Mine is a Rivarossia A.T&S.F (thats how it’s spelled on the cab) 2-8-8-2 and it has special needs. 1. the ground goes through the tender (seince when did they do that?) and 2. every time I run it, it runs good I mean the best in my fleet but the back part of the motor sticks out of the back of the cab and there’s this wire that goes around a prong that sticks out of the motor that works its self loose and you have to tighten it. 3. The coupler on the tender sets a little low so I had to super glue it to another car so I could run it. No their is not a way to fix that, its as high up as it gets.
To fix the problem with the wire, carefully solder it in place: this will also improve the electrical conductivity, resulting in smoother running. If you’re using Kadee couplers, they offer several with offset heads that can be used to correct the situation of couplers that are too low. The sooner you learn to correct these annoying problems, the sooner you’ll start to really enjoy model railroading. No one should have to put up with “special needs” locos, especially when most of those needs are so simple to correct. [swg]
Hello I have some old Varney f7/3 that need cleaned and all the screws need to be tightened up for it to run. Once it starts to run smooth you can watch it slow down as all the screws back out. If I can fined a replacement motor for it I would get one but not to sure what will fit sense the motor mounts to the rear truck. It was my dads so I will keep it running for as long as I can then it will go on a shelf. Have a nice day Frank
I have had lokes that would only run right after enduring a diatribe of intense and loud profanity!
Seriously, I related once here on the forum of a trouble I had several years ago with an early '80s model Atlas N-Scale RS3; the truck under the long hood on this one locomotive was forever coming to griefs at one particular facing-point switch. I used to run this locomotive as part of a three-unit lashup and no matter where this loke was located in that consist and which direction it was pointing it would pick the point of this one particular switch. The only way I could get it through that particular switch was to run at extremely slow speed. I checked the gauging on this particular truck so many times I got tired of looking at it; I also checked the gauging of the switch itself all to no avail.
This was on a club layout; I never did hear of anyone else having any troubles at this particular location but something apparently happened because this switch got replaced and I never experienced any more trouble with my loke derailing. Santa Fe may have solved the derailing problems with the SDP40Fs but to this day I have never figured out what was errant in the truck-track relationship of this RS3.
An old trick to keep screws in place but still removeable is to apply a little contact cement to the threads near the end of the screw, let it dry for 15 or 20 minutes, then screw them in place as usual. Because the cement has been applied to only one surface, it won’t bond to the female thread, but it will still provide enough interference that the screw won’t back out on its own. You can use this same technique to keep the knuckle springs in Kadee couplers - use a small brush or toothpick to apply a small amount to the spring and its retainer nub on the non-moving part of the coupler - there’s no need to do the end on the moveable knuckle part.
I’m glad you spoke up about that particular cure for ‘backing’ screws. I discovered it a couple of years ago when I bought a PFM Rio Grande 4-6-2 that had the same problem with screws in the gearbox cover. I didn’t want to use Loktite, because I know how difficult that can be with very small screws, so I tried the contact cement application. It really WORKS! It holds the screws in place, but when you need to get into the gearbox for lubing, the bond is flexible enough that the screws come out easily.
If the other poster follows your advice about his Varney diesel, it should run well for a long time.
Hello thanks for the tip Wayne I will give a try. I just love these old trains and would like to keep them running as long as I can. Darth Santa Fe gave me a link for new magnets for the motor. It runs slow and will only pull 2-3 cars and if I put the metal B unit on thats all it will pull. Thanks for the help Frank
I have an old(70’s?) “made in yugoslavika” —their spelling, not mine–GP40 that is very light. Can’t seem to haul more than 2 boxcars without slip slidin’ away.
I have this old Lima 0-4-0 that looks like a Mantua Booster (which is why I bought it, oops) and I think it has weird wheel profiles, because it can pick up dirt and stall on track where every other loco I have does just fine.
BNSF: Your 4-4-0 shouldn’t derail like that. There was a thread a while back on here about a derailing MDC 4-4-0, with lots of suggestions on what might be the problem. They’re a pretty light engine, which doesn’t help. I’d check the gauge and tread width of the pilot truck wheels, first.
As for soldering, why not try it? It’s not hard, although you want to practice on scrap wire and metal before trying to fix your loco, because you can easily melt plastic parts.
(Of course, none of us actually DID practice. I think I got my first iron to fix something, melted the plastic part it attached to, melted a few more parts, and through a long series of false starts and stupidity, finally reached some vague understanding…but just because everybody does that…)
My Broadway Limited AC6000CW needs to be run alone because it resets itself all the time! Also my Genesis SD60M needs to be run alone because the digitrax decoder is stuck on momentum so i cant really consist any of the 2!
