Hi, I have a problem with this loco not running more than an inch and then it stops and whines so I would like to disassemble it the right way instead of my way, so I could really use some help with the order in which to do this.
There were instructions posted on a web site a couple of years ago on how to open up an Athearn Genesis 2-8-2, but I don’t recall where I saw them.
In case you don’t already know, these locomotives had many problems with a cracked drive gear on the main axle and parts were not available from Athearn because the Korean manufacturer went out of business.
Try this: http://www.the-gauge.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=718
You’ll have to register to see the pics, so bookmark the link.
Andre
The only problem either of mine had was one of the wires to the pigtail the decoder attaches to broke from having to be stuffed up inside the tender everytime I ran it. It is a real challenge to get that sucker open even with instructions. You’ve got to pull so hard you will think you are breaking it.
Dear Bob,
I have the same problem with the same type of engine, how do I fix it? Please help.
Rambo1
You need to get the boiler/cab off the chassis. On mine the broken wire connected directly to the motor. A little careful soldering will have it running again. While you have the boiler off you may as well add some weight where ever you can. I haven’t found a way to eliminate the pigtail so you need to be extremely careful with it when you stuff it into the front of the tender.
You could probably rig a couple of mini plugs and permanently mount the circuit board and decoder in the tender like most other HO steam locos but I haven’t tried that yet.
I don’t remember specifically how the boiler comes off the the instructions previously mentioned were how I figured it out.
Thanks for the link, very helpfull
I eliminated the pigtail by re-wiring the leads from the driver pick-ups directly to the motor (I don’t recall off-hand if I included that in the linked procedure, though) and also added tender pick-up by replacing the stock trucks with ones from Bachmann. I still have a pair of wires running between the loco and tender, but they’re very pliable:
If you wish to retain a working headlight (I prefer the non-working variety), you’re on your own. [swg]
Wayne
Bob how do you get the boiler cab off the loco? Even from the drawings that came with the model I can’t figure it out.rambo1…
Here’s a site with some disassembly instructions. I found this by typing “Athearn 2-8-2 disassembly” into Google. There may be others.
The cab removal is also covered in the first link, and you don’t need to sign up to read the instructions, only to see the accompanying photos.
Wayne
I have bookmarked this info for later on when I have time to tackle this project. It looks as if everything there is what I need, thanks again for all the great responses.
Athearn made a batch of these, of which I had two, they had bad drive gears, sent back to factory and had
repaired free of charge. Now run great.
Athearn did give replacement axles with metal gears for a short time. Now NWSL has the replacement gears covered using properly aged Delrin that won’t split. My Mikado has a plastic gear, and I’ve been very fortunate so far because it still runs smooth and quiet.
Hmm. That’s interesting: I’ve repaired only one of these locos, for a friend, and the gear which was causing the problem was the idler gear.
I have four of these locos in service, two bought new, and two used ones which came available when the gear problem was first announced. None, so far, have had any issues with the gears and they’re usually in service on very heavy trains.
Wayne