Oriental Limited Powerhouse 2-8-8-2 Problems

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I have a problem with my Oriental Imited Powerhouse 2-8-8-2, HO scale. It has an electical short and won’t run. I have torn it apart and I can’t find the problem. I can hear arcing when I try to run it but can’t see the sparks. Does anyone have an idea of what I maybe over looking.

thanks Craig

2

Good engines. They were state of the art when they first came out. Someone may have taken yours apart and re-assembled it wrong. Different drivers and wheelsets are supposed to pick up power from different rails. Suspect one, or more, is flipped. Go to Radio Shack and get a cheap meter, if you don’t already have one, and start checking. On some wheelsets and drivers you can look and see which one is insulated, but I don’t remember on these.

Also, there is a chance the insulation on a driver may have gone bad. This is fixable by the way. But you first need to pinpoint your problem.

Good luck.

3

Thanks Virginian, for the information. That will give me something to do this weekend!

4

Have you had the loco for some time and this has just started, or did you just acquire it? Reason I’m asking, is that I’ve got a Powerhouse 2-8-8-2, and I was having electrical problems with it until I realized that one of the tender trucks had reversed itself, when I picked it off the tracks, one time. They’re kind of loose (at least mine are) and they’re on a long pivot, rather than a screw, so they can turn completely around easily. I checked the trucks, got them lined up with the insulated wheels on the left and the loco works just fine. Check to see that your insulated tender wheels are all on the left side. Brass steam locos pick up from the driving wheels on the right and the tender wheels on the left, unlike many of the more current plastic locos, whose wheels pick up on either side due to the split frame.

Hope this helps. Those Powerhouse locos are some of the best runners and best pullers ever made, IMO.

Tom

5

I was going to mention checking the tender trucks. It’s pretty easy for one of them to spin around the wrong way. Can be trial and error, on some engines both tender trucks pick up on one side only, on some (especially newer ones) one picks up from one rail and the other from the other side.

6

twhite, yeah, I remember those trucks now that you mentioned them, but didn’t you mean INSULATED tender wheels on the RIGHT? Kinda hard to pick up juice with insulated wheels. You are right, these locos followed most brass practice and engine pick up was on the right rail and tender on the left, as I recall.

And remember, looking at it upside down everything is reversed.

Also, if you get some newer stuff you do need to be careful. On some, the engine frames each pick up from different rails and the tender trucks do, too (only the end wheelsets though).

7

Thanks guys for your input. So far I have not been successful. I bought this new and it has run excellent for years. Within the past few months, it pops the circuit breaker on the tranformer.