My frustration level is overflowing, may I vent?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
21

That is AWESOME.

I was thinking about chiming in earlier with respect to the value of doing things yourself instead of relying on manufacturers warranties… However, I think the OP has learned a very valuable lesson and skill. Now he’s not afraid to repair a loco himself, saving frustration, time, and money.

I tear apart and rebuild every single loco I purchase. I do this in part to install DCC but also to learn how they work. Every one of my steam locos (to include the N scale version of the Spectrum 2-8-0) has been gutted down to the bear wheels and reassembled in order to tune and unbind the valve gear. My point is that once you open these things up your realize they’re not mysterious black boxes but relatively simple machines that you can repair, oft times using parts from your parts bin or the electronics store. Worst case scenario is what the OP went through, i.e., ordering special screws. But now he has a bin full of these screws he can use for the next problem.

I understand the principle of holding manufacturers accountable for their work and for their warranties. However, doing so can often be far more work than just correcting the problem yourself. I’ve found I get a lot more fun and miles out of my trains since I take care of all repairs myself.

22

Dave,

Not sure how you came to your conclusion that I am a beginner at model loco mechanics, for I have been dismantling and repairing HO since the very early '60s (and Lionel since the mid '50s)!!!

I have retro fitted motors and done various regears, etc., etc. This last year I cut my teeth on installing DCC decoders, and learned a lot of electronic stuff that previously I had shyed away from.

My problem was that Bachmann would not send me (nor identify the specs) a replacement screw! Installing it is a no brainer of course, and I just lucked out in getting the proper dimensions using a micrometer and securing a replacement from a 3rd party.

While I am not yet an NMRA “Master Modeler”, I am surely not a newbie to the Hobby.

ENJOY,

Mobilman44

23

Sorry if I made a bad assumption with respect to your hobby experience.

However, your Bachmann experience is an excellent teaching point for those who ARE relatively new to the hobby. I think you will agree with me that there are a lot of posts of similar content with someone angry about a warranty repair that is usually quite simple. In your case it was clearly made more complex in that the screw disappeared and it wasn’t readily apparent what size you needed.

Hopefully this thread will help someone else with a similar experience get up the courage to affect the repair themselves and get back to enjoying the hobby.

24

Not to speak for Dave V. but one could reach the conclusion that the OP is a beginner from reading your many posts on this forum. No disrespect intended but many of the questions you pose here on the forum seem rather elementary in nature for someone with more than 40 yrs in the hobby.

http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/p/163041/1795244.aspx#1795244

http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/p/162786/1792926.aspx#1792926

http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/t/162876.aspx?PageIndex=1

25

Not sure how you came to your conclusion that I am a beginner at model loco mechanics, for I have been dismantling and repairing HO since the very early '60s (and Lionel since the mid '50s)!!!

I have retro fitted motors and done various regears, etc., etc. This last year I cut my teeth on installing DCC decoders, and learned a lot of electronic stuff that previously I had shyed away from.

My problem was that Bachmann would not send me (nor identify the specs) a replacement screw! Installing it is a no brainer of course, and I just lucked out in getting the proper dimensions using a micrometer and securing a replacement from a 3rd party.

So why all the wailing and gnashing of teeth? All you had to do was remove the screw on the other side, measure the length, diameter and length of the shoulder and buy a replacement (or multiples thereof).

Andre

26

The poor thing!! It was so stressed it done had a nervous breakdown!!

What happened? Were there any screws? Or what?-----sheeesh!

That is why I usually have several different types of screws for these types of things----or, at least I think I do—better check the inventory—

27

Did anyone notice that a very recent posting on this thread is missing?

28

Oh man, consumer product companies just don’t repair stuff like that anymore.

My favorite example - about 7 or 8 years ago, my coffee pot stopped working. It was relatively new, I didn’t have the reciept or anything, but I figured what the heck, I’ll call the company.

They apologized that it stopped working, and said, “cut the plug off of the power cord, and mail it to such & such address, and we’ll send you a new one”. Puzzled, but quickly realizing it doubles as proof that I had the coffee maker to begin with, and that by doing so, I’d sort of be destroying the one I had (not really, I could always add another plug to it), I did as they asked.

A week or so later, I get a box with a brand new coffee maker in it - newer than the model I originally had. Sweet! However, it was missing the little lever that allows you to pull out the carafe while it’s still brewing while you pour a cup of coffee. “no problem” I say to myself, I’ll call them, ask them to grab that little lever out of the stockroom, and mail it to me - heck, they mailed me a whole coffee maker, I’m sure they could mail me the little lever - I think I even got the part number for them from the manual or something.

So, I call them up and talk to them about it.

“No problem” they say… (warning, if you’re drinking anything, you’re about to laugh and spit it all over your screen)

… they say, “No problem… simply cut the plug off of the power cord and mail it to us, and we’ll send you a new coffee maker”. I pleaded to have just the lever sent to me. No dice. The person I was talking to knows nothing about parts, stock rooms, part numbers, etc. All they could do was tell me to chop the plug off, throw my perfectly good coffee maker in the trash can, and send me a new one. So I did exactly that.

Throwing the perfectly good - literally brand new coffee maker in the trash was painful - it just felt to wrong. I threw it in the recycl

29

Hey Guys - Happy Thanksgiving to you!

I thank you all for your comments, and want to add the following thoughts…

I made “a big deal” out of all this as I was only looking to get a tiny - but essential - micro screw from Bachmann, and they tried to make it a very major task and costly to do so - in my opinion of course.

Yes, I have asked some - what might be considered “newbie” questions over the last several months. The fact is, I am building my first new layout in 15 years, which is also my first venture into DCC. As I am 65, I fully realize this could be my last layout, and I want to make sure I am aware of “best practices” of today’s layout building process. And, of course I wanted to get lots of opinions about the various aspects of DCC - even the very basic stuff.

Some of my questions may have been considered “dumb”, but I have learned to never ASSUME stuff of which I am not totally certain. Many times I have been in business meetings where someone has asked a “dumb” question and later found that a lot of others in said meeting wanted to ask the same thing - but were embarrassed to do so. And, the true newbies to the hobby might have learned something from the responses.

Hey, like the title of my original posting indicated, I was very frustrated and just wanted to vent!

ENJOY,

Mobilman44

30

A good way to end the thread. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

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