Two of my HO Bachmann Spectrum USRA Light Mountain’s pick-up arms are bent away and not touching the inside of the drivers. This loco also makes some weird grinding noises…almost like the gears are meshing under labor.
It was given to me by a friend too frustrated to deal with it any longer. He bought it new and says it’s never been disassembled…at least not by him.
First…is there a preferred method of bending the pick-up arms back into place so they rest against the drivers?
Second…will some type of lubricant help cut down on the gear noise? It reminds me of how the old Athearn Hustler used to growl as it went around the layout.
Any comments and/or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks…
Contact Bachmann Customer Service about sending the locomotive back to them and they will replace it, even if you were not the original purchaser. The more you fiddle with it the worse you’re likely to make things. I have known people who sent models back to Bachmann and they always replaced them for a nominal fee.
I breifly owned a N&W Spectrum Heavy Mountain, it was a nice engine but I ended trading it for something more appropriate for my New England layout…
… anyways it had the pick ups bent out of shape and catching on the driver spokes as it came new out of the box. Turning the loco over in a cradle I removed the keeper plate and very carefully using a set of tweezers removed the offending pick up strips, I straightend them out away from the engine before replacing them. I seem to remember this was quite a fiddly job, they will only go back in one way or you will end up bending them out of shape again. It ran well afterwards.
I can’t really comment on the grinding noise, it could be for a variety of reasons. Lubing up will help some faults, but not all.
Probably best to send it back to Bachmann, they’ll either repair it or replace it. Mine ran well but it too was a bit noisy. I added a .010" or .015" styrene shim at the rear of the cab, between the superstructure and the frame, which helped to quiet the noise a bit. After ascertaining that there were no binds or other problems in the mechanism, I put it up on blocks and ran it for a couple of hours, in both directions, making sure that it was well-lubed and checking the motor often for overheating. This solved the noise problem, so I went ahead and modified it to its present appearance, based on a NYC Mohawk.
