i cleaned the wheels and it runs very well on straight track but seems to balk on 22?Bachman EZ track curves.It has a Canon motor and Samsong gear box .I bought it new but it did not come with any manuals or maintence instructions of any kind…Any ideas?
If this is a brass locomotive, and eight-coupled, it will not want to negotiate 22" radius curves, no matter who laid 'em or made 'em. I would guess that it might be okay with 26" curves, but probably not. 28" or 30" is more likely.
Crandell
Well the Powerhouse series had diecast zinc alloy Boilers and frames.I further cleaned the wheels and it did run somewhat better but still came to a dead stop as it entered the curve.If I gave it a push it would run but you should not have to do that!
IIRC, the Oriental Limited Powerhouse 2-8-2 was really designed for a 24" minimum radius. What might be happening is that the lead truck is catching on the bottom of the cylinders and shorting out, or possibly the trailing truck is touching the frame and causing the same thing. They’re really good-running and very powerful locomotives, but being a brass/alloy combination, their tolerances are not nearly as loose as a plastic loco of the same wheel arrangement. If it is the lead or trailing truck wheels, you might want to consider replacing them with double-insulated wheels from Northwest Short Line. But I think you’re still going to have problems with the 22’ radius.
Tom
Check to see if the drawbar is touching the body of the locomotive when entering the curve - unless your locomotive has been modified to one with all-wheel pick-up, it may be shorting out, as the drawbar is a “live” component of the power collection system.
A friend who has quite a few brass locos, and runs them probably more than most, was experiencing similar problems and traced it to the drawbars - while they weren’t shorting-out, many were so worn that contact was only intermittent. I added a wire between loco and tender to create a more positive path for the current, including a mini-plug to permit easy separation of loco from tender when required.
Another area to check is the track: are the rails soldered together at the joiners or do you have a positive way of feeding power to each section of track?
As already mentioned, a 22" radius is pretty tight for a brass loco with that wheel arrangement.
Wayne
Simple statements about 8 coupled steam engines might not be a universal statement as my PFM Samhongsa Northern Pacific Y-1 Consolidation does fine on 22 inch radius curves. It likely has smaller wheels and the wheels may be closer together than the subject Mikado does.
I have 2 Bowser 4-8-4 engines and a Mantua 2-8-2 which go around 18 inch radius all day. The key is the center drivers do not have flanges.
I remember those Power House engines. Late 80s or so. Many did not know they were cast boilers. Saw one demoed at a LHS . Real nice looking and it had excellent low speed response.
No doubt!When she runs it is smooth and silent!
The Powerhouse series are excellent locomotives–I have the Rio Grande USRA clone 3500 series 2-8-8-2, and I have to say that of my extensive brass roster, it’s definitely the most powerful locomotive I own–and one of the heaviest. Detail is sparse, but super-detail castings can take care of that problem. Evidently Oriental Limited was going to release quite a few wheel arrangements in the series, but only made a few–2-8-2 and 2-8-8-2 that I’m familiar with.
Tom
Good looking too!Especially after I weathered it! 
Darken your layout room as much as possible, Then run your Mike slowly. A spark should pinpoint your trouble spot and give a pretty good indication of what to do about it.
Another possible place for a short is the cab roof touching the tender. I have an Oriental Limited light Pacific which will do this on tighter curves.
George V.
I will check that!Although the drawbar has 2 holes and I normally couple the tender to the one furthest out.