I’m getting back into the hobby after a number of decades away (started as a child, now back as an adult) and have been buying some used DC locomotives and restoring some of my own models.
I got a used Bachmann GP38 off a buy/sell group, however, the locomotive just spins on it’s own. Other locomotives don’t have any issues getting around the track.
It appears that there is power getting to the loco, as the wheels spin and it moves ever so slightly, but there is no pulling power at all.
From the sound of it, the motor is turning but the wheels are not. To trouble shoot, remove the shell and watch what happens when the motor turns and the wheels don’t. Could be a split gear, could be a gear out of mesh, or a lotta other things. Take some good closeup photos and post them here, we may be able to help.
My Bachmann F unit ran like that. I took the shell off and the gears were out of mesh. Luckely bachmanns are super easy to disassemble and put back together
Cracked it open, took out all of the screws that I could find and tried to pry open the two weighted side panels to get at the drive shaft that seems to have separated from the end of the corkscrew gear.
I’m trying to be gentle. Don’t want to snap anything.
I’ve been refurbishing old pancake type motors so I’m hesitant to muscle this one. Any suggestions to get at the gears? What connectors and screws am I missing?
Nevermind. After looking up the EMD GP38-2 manual I managed to find the missing screw that I couldn’t see and reconnected the drive shaft to the end of the corkscrew. Works just fine now.
