I have an older AHM Nickle Plate berk that runs like crap. I have cleaned the wheels, lubed it and sprayed out the motor (with canned air) but it still runs poorly. when it stops, it just stops, and a gentle touch starts it up again. I do not even have to push it, just touch.
This makes me think there may be a loose or bad connection inside someplace, but it needs the tender attached to run.“SO” is it in the tender or loco? any guesses, hints links to disected engines with a “LOOK FOR THIS” sites? any good way to test it without the tender?
Check the little spring on the draw bar, it may not be strong enough or maybe bent out of contact with the post on the tender. Another solution may be to hard wire the tender to the loco.
Well to be blunt, by today’s standard an old AHM Berkshire is crap!! Back in the day some guys got good work out of them by remotoring them (preferably with a can motor). Sounds like if you do that, you may want to add some contact sliders of some sort, to make better contact with the rails. If you really want to fix it up I expect you could get it running pretty well, but there are several 2-8-4’s available in HO now that are going to be much better than your AHM engine no matter how much time and effort you put into it.
OK, those are very good reasons not to seek out an AHM Berkshire but if you have one in good shape it is worth at least trying to make it run right, isn’t it? It is a decent looking engine except for the wheel flanges and the too-small drivers.
My bet is the contacts on the tender axles. These are just thin steel, sort of bent to a gentle U shape, rubbing on the axles. If you have another tender try borrowing it temporarily, substituting and see if things improve. It is a little tricky to rebend those contacts because you do not want them acting as a drag. Sometimes fuzz has built up or oxidation on the axles. Cleaning them may help.
Heh heh anyone else old enough to remember the old Hobbyline “dummy” Berkshire, which I think sold for $2? Or the motoring unit that came I think from Canada – was it Sims?
I have several of the old AHM/Riva’s that I have fixed up that had some of the same issues as your’s. The above poster pointed out to hard wire the tender to the loco. This is a must, the small spring works good but it does move around some and you lose contact.
Another thing you can do before remotoring is take the cover off of the bottum of the drive wheels and clean the axles and the pockets. The one thing that I did years ago was to cut down the wheel flanges, they can walk right up on top of any tinny thing like ballast in the track and cause the wheel to loose contact. Setting up another set of pickups does help, you can use the rear trailing truck on the loco, or the front trucks on the loco.
As far as remotoring, there are allot of choices on ebay, just type in “motors” in the Ho section and look for motor setups for the AHM/Riva locos. There are several sellers who have a quick drop in motor that is an aftermarket motor. I have had really good luck with this, took 3 of the older AHM’s that were jerky, stalling, and poor running into slow motion runners. But as some of the other post here read, you can buy a new Berk pretty fair priced instead of going through all that work. I have new and old loco’s, I like the new one’s, but I like to try and get the old ones running as good as the new ones. Good luck!
Yes it is a pos , but it is from when I was a kid (it kinda sucked then too)and it was “awesome” to me then. My boys see it and wonder if we can get it going better. I’m thinking it will lose the NKP look, get some B&O numbers and sit it the roundhouse JUST visable enough to fill space and look like what it is in reality… An engine that needs work![:D]
I put my modelling time at a premium, I’ll buy something nice and new rather than waste (more)hours on it.
The AHM/Riva steam engines were not real bad years ago, into days standards, there is nothing to compare them to. They had their day in the sun though. Its kind of fun to take one of the old AHM steamers and give them a new look and running. They still bring a nice dollar at train shows and ebay, so there is a desire for them.
AHM steamers are a blast from the past for me. Even the box art is fascinating to gaze at. The issue I have with the stock motor frames is the cheap plastic distorts from heat causing the motor bearings to bind on the shaft.
I never had the plastic on any Rivarossi motors melt from heat, as they seem to be made of fiber reinforced plastic. I even had one motor that overheated and melted it’s motor mount, but the motor itself is still fine.
In addition to the pickup issues mentioned previosly, also check the torsion springs on the brushes. These are a notorious weak spot, because the motor relies on them to conduct the current from the brush holders to the brushes. Tarnish or corrosion will insulate them from the brush holders. The springs should also have sufficient tension on them and be making good contact with the metal tabs they’re mounted on. They can be soaked in white vinegar for 30 mins. or so if they need to be shined up.
I get a bit tired with the “It’s old crap, throw it out and buy a Proto 2K” comments. Anyone with with a modicum of mechanical aptitude can make an old engine like this run well, since they were pretty decent for their time. Some of us find the evolution of the technology within the hobby to be just as interesting as today’s state-of-the-art. Reviving an old beast like this can be a hoot, and a trip down memory lane for those of us who grew up with them.
SteamFreak,I agree with you about getting old stuff to run right, but, its almost a hobby in itself. I reworked that Rivarossi Y6-B awhile back for a freind and its not running now. He doesn’t see well and took it apart for some unknown reasson and now after almost $200 woth of motors and decoders and speakers its a peice of junk again. No more free rebuilds for me although I will say it was fun to do. He bought an ESU decoder with the right sound programmed in then proceeded to break the wires off the decoder while doing his thing with it. OH WELL.[sigh]
Okay, so it ain’t a P2K, but you can get the old Rivs to run fine with a little effort.
Clean and make sure the little loco frame to driver wheel plungers are all free acting. Clean the hole with a toothpick. Do not lose the little springs inside. Make sure the driver tire(s) are on straight and are not slipping or missing.
Make sure the wire is soldered well to the drawbar contactor, that the contactor is clean, and make sure when you slide the post into the drawbar that you force the spring to the side where is has the most pressure one it; i.e. the side it doesn’t appear to want to go to.
Make sure the tender axle contact wipers are all working right and clean, and make sure the contact up thru the center of each truck is working like it should, and is clean, too.
You may need to replace the motor springs at some point, too. Not too difficult. With the springs out I would clean the commutator with alcohol, and lightly lube the shaft bearings. I remotored a couple of Rivs (got 2 motors at once), but I didn’t think it was all that worthwhile, so I haven’t remotored the ones left.
I still have two old Rivs that I run. They are too fast starting, but they run okay at reasonable speeds. If you need any parts, best source I have found is Golf Manor Hobbies in Cincinnati. Good luck.
Does sound like an electrical connection problem. I don’t have any AHM’s but here are things to check that work on other steamers.
Wheel/axle wipers. Bent, broke, missing, dirty wipers are a bad thing.
Dirty, or corroded trucks or truck bolsters. Often juice picked up by metal wheels goes thru metal tender trucks into a metal tender bottom. Crud on the truck pivot cuts off the juice.
Sliding contact between engine and tender failing to contact. Consider hardwiring the tender to the loco with a small flexible jumper.
Wheel in backwards somewhere. Two rail wiring demands the left wheels be electrically insulated from the right wheels. Usually one wheel is insulated and the other wheel makes the axle electrically live. Juice is picked up by axle wipers. If one wheel set is backward you have a short and the train stops.
Long term flexing in use has fatigued a copper wire and the wire has broken inside the insulation somewhere. New wire fixes this.
Dirty commutator. Clean with alcohol and a Qtip.
Weak brush springs. If springs seem insufficiently springy you can stretch them.
Metal wheel touches metal chassis. Often occurs on sharp curves. It causes a short.
I remember your Y6b project. Sorry to hear your friend is like the Samsonite gorilla when it comes to working on locos. [sigh]
I’m sure that Berk will run well with a little maintenance. Be sure to remove and clean the brushes and commutator as well. Does it have their “Deluxe” ball bearing motor in it? They’re instantly recognizable by the hex bearing adjusting screw between the brushes.