My Grizzly Northern Spectrum 2-10-2, bought in February, has now accumulated about 20 hours of running. While rough running noise and jerkiness has reduced somewhat the locomotive still is relatively noisy, slightly jerky and has a bit of a rolling gait when running in either direction.
I have inspected the drivers, driver quartering, axle seats and the Southern valve gear motion, all which appear ok.
However when running the loco upside down with the axle cover plate removed, I find that the centre (blind) drivers have a slight vertical uneven wobble of about 0.5mm to 1 mm, while holding the axle and its nylon drive gear in place and engaged with my fingers. There is a definite pressure variation on the axle drive gear that moves the axle up and down as the gear rotates, leading to a rocking motion on the centre drivers. This would suggest that there is a problem with either the axle drive gear or the pion gear.
Further investigation or disassembly is beyond my skills and the next step would be to let my competent LHS or Bachmann correct the problem.
As I have invested a fair amount of time in customizing the appearance of the loco I would like to keep it rather than replacing it.
I would be interested in comments and recommendations, including any potential problems regarding cross border Canada-US movements if the loco is returned to Bachmann.
I don’t know if you remember my thread on this beast but I too had teething pains.
I exchanged the Bachmann decoder for a Digitrax one. better speed and smoother response but I also removed the circuit board as it was giving me grief.
Next I slipped the lead axle from the frame and filed down the side bearing surfaces, smother running.
I added 2.5 ounces in front of the motor and got better traction.
a wee bit of oil also helped.
She’s now one of my better runners and am presently installing a Tsunami system in it.
I’fd check your wobbling axle and if it’s of centre I’d return it for a replacement. Bachmann service is very good but they do need the occassion poke to remind them.
Thanks Fergie. I remember your thread.
I spent an hour with my LHS today and he did a tune up on the loco, including cleaning out foreign material from and smoothing the axle side bearing surfaces, adjusting the eccentric cranks, valve gear and rods, lubricating the bearings and fine tuning the pressure of the axle cover plate on the axles. This has significantly improved the loco’s performance, although it still has a slight roll, not unlike some of the big 1:1 prototypes. He has suggested that more running following the adjustments may further reduce the roll. So run we must!
[:)]
I think this is Bachmann’s first die cast engine so there might be a learning curve for them as everything before this has been plastic. Glad it worked out for you.
RE: returning product from Canda to U.S. for warranty repair.
I have recently shipped my Bachmann Spectrum CN 2-10-2 back for repair from my home in Southern Ontario.
I shipped it by mail. I chose Canada Post airmail sevice which takes a 7 days to reach Philidelphia. The cost was about 11 dollars.
At the post office they will give you a small green customs sticker which you apply to the package. On this sticker there are number of fields which the sender must fill in, such as your name and address . Also there is a space where you decribe the package - I wrote “toy train.” Also there is a space to declare country of manufacture - I wrote “China”. Also in an appropriate space you should write “Warranty Repair.” Under the North American Free trade agreement packages can cross the Canada - U.S. border without tariffs for “warranty repairs”.
In my note to Bachmann I asked if they could return the package by U.S. Mail, since some commercial services may charge a service fee to clear custom on the return shipment to Canada.
I recently received my return package from Bachmann, sent by U.S. post office. They clearly marked “replacement part for defective product” on their package. The package was left at my door. No custom fees or taxes to be paid by myself were applied. It took about 3 months from the time I posted the parcel.
On opening the box, I found they replaced the 2-10-2 with a new model.
I have not had time to run the new 2-10-2, so I can not make any reports on it. My old returned CN 2-10-2 was number 4202, the replacement was number 4209.
Thanks Bob. I’m hoping that additional running following the tuneup will suffice. However I’ve taken note of your info should I have to return any of my eight Spectrum locos to Bachmann.
As an aside, I replaced the silly-looking long shank coupler that comes with the 2-10-2 with a Kadee No.5. Very simple to do, no cutting or filing needed. Looks much better and the coupler pin still clears the pilot.
Bob did you send it insured and what kinda documention did bachmann want to replace the loco . I’m in Northern Ontario.
I don’t think its fair to have to pay the shipping cost when its brand new .
I too wil
I sent it airmail and that service comes with $ 100 insurance, if I remember correctly. I did not aid additional insurance.
I mailed in my warranty card when I purchased the locomotive, since I had problems with it shortly after I started to run it. I held on to the engine for about a month before I got around to returning it to Bachmann.