Well, I had an accident yesterday and thought I would pass it along as it just might save you from a similar “tradgedy”.
I have a “new in the box” Spectrum ATSF GE 44 ton switcher that I’ve had for a number of years, but just forgot I had it. I put it on the test track and it growled, so I took it apart and “lubed and tuned” it, and then broke it in on the track rollers (Aristocraft). This little loco has two small motors, and really is kind of neat. Anyway, while it was breaking in I switched out the NMRA couplers, and noticed that one of the two “headlamps” was burnt out.
Well, I had some spare grain of wheat bulbs and soon had the replacement soldered in. This is a fairly intricate job and came out nice so I was pretty happy with myself.
Soooo, I put the body shell back on the loco and picked it up (by the shell) to admire my handicraft and ohmygosh, the chassis assembly slipped right out of the shell and hit the carpeted floor!!! In my haste, I had not secured the chassis to the body, and now I paid for my mistake…
At first it didn’t look to bad, for only a couple of truck feeder wires were knocked off, but then I realized a truck side frame was broken off as well. I attempted to glue it on, but delrin plastic just doesn’t glue very well. And in looking at the parts diagram, it was obvious that the part that really broked was the main truck/gear box, as the pins holding the side frame are a part of the main “box”. Looks like a call to the Bachmann parts people is in order!
Well, I am sure I’ll get this thing fixed and all will be well, and while I am “mad” at myself, I am really thankful that is was this loco rather than one of my BLI steamers or Kato diesels.
Try some CA glue and then use some airplane plastic putty and fill in the cracks. a bit of sanding and painting and it should look like new again…chuck
I have had some success gluing Delrin with CA glue if I really sand the daylights out of the glue joint surfaces, taking off all the Delrin shine and leaving a very rough surface for the glue to grab.
Bombs away! LOL! I had that happen a few years back to me to a loco. Did you get the knotted up stomach right away or after you took it apart? Good luck with the repairs!
Try drilling a hole in the corresponding parts; the pin on the truck and what remains of the pin on the sideframe. CA a small piece of wire (using it like a dowel) into one of the holes ensuring that the wire is not too long to allow the sideframe is mount properly. Let that cure. Then put epoxy around the pin and other surface and join the sideframe to the truck. Using the epoxy there gives you some play time to make sure it is level etc. The sideframe is not usually subject to a high stress load so it should hold up.
A few weeks ago I was putting decals on some rolling stock and realized my hobby knife was not as sharp as I would like so I installed a new blade in it. Just as I was finishing putting the new blade in I knocked a freshly painted hopper off the desk and as I tried to catch it (with the hand that the hobby knife was in) the knife sliced into my jeans at my thiegh, cutting a 2’’ long place in my jeans. I held my breath as I lowered my jeans and found I had a very small scratch on my thiegh, it barely blead. I try to be more careful now especially when I have a hobby knife in hand. Very Lucky. Those new blades are SHARP!!! Mike
A few years ago I was finishing up re-motoring and painting a 1950’s Mantua Big Six. I was working at my desk, made the final assembly and set it aside. While working on the computer I moved my elbow and heard a huge THUD. Broke the cast steps off the pilot, and left a nice dent in the wood floor. [banghead]
As you pointed out, at least it’s an inexpensive Bachmann, and they have great customer support. You should be able to get parts, but if not you can get a full replacement for a small fee, assuming you can’t put Humpty-Dumpty back together.
Did that same thing with the same mechinism modified for a Cannonball Car Shop 40 Steeple Cab. The nice thing here is that you didn’t break the central chasis and have to come up with a modification to hold everything in place.
The very first thing I learned at my train club was to always grab a diesel loco by the fuel tank. I was picking up one of my loco’s and one of the older members stopped me and told me a story very similar to yours. Ever since then I grab em by the fuel tank. [:D]
Thats why I said diesels and not steeplecabs, I’m still figuring out different ways to safely handle my steam loco’s. If steeplecabs didn’t have fuel tanks then were did the diesel fuel go? [swg] I know what you mean though, lol.
Oboy, now I don’t feel too bad. Mine was a Hallmark brass Missouri Pacific 4-6-2 that dropped off of a viaduct onto the cement floor of the garage on my first layout. I didn’t even want to look. Oddly enough, though things were a little bent, nothing was BROKEN. So I took it to the workbench, checked it out. Funny thing, before it took its nose-dive, it was never that good of a runner. After the nosedive, and a few repairs, it turned out to be a pretty good little runner–much better than when I originally bought it. Although I don’t reccommend it, perhaps a ‘shock to the system’ was all the little devil really needed, LOL!
The joke around the office is, “Drop your calculator. It’ll work better.” Seems to work too. Though no one has taken that to it’s next conclusion. Drop you computer, it’ll work better.
That’s how I ALWAYS pick up diesels! Mainly because there’s no little details to break off down there, but also because I have an Atlas SDP35 that has a removable dynamic brake blister to access the DC/DCC switch. I’ve never dropped a loco before, luckily.
(Although Guilford Guy is “leasing” me a Bachmann GE 70-tonner that the shell isn’t fastined on, I picked it up once leaving the chassis on the track holding the shell! He got a laugh out of watching me…[swg])