I've said it before, and I'll say it again - you, sir, are a genius, No broken loco is safe when in your hands - they ALL seem to be fixed perfectly. My hat's off to you, sir!!!
I'm nearly 50 y/o but as a young'n...8-10 y/o I was big into model railroading. I had 2 4X8 plywood layouts in what my family named the train room. The layouts are long gone but I still have all the trains, track, buildings, etc. Your channel, which I found a few weeks ago, is inspiring me to drag out the 5 or 6 train sets I have, plus the tons of extras I spent my childhood allowance on, and build a new layout. I've really enjoyed your channel and it has taken me back to a simpler time that would now be a nice relaxing hobby that is much needed right now. Keep it up with that awesome content! Howdy from Kentucky, USA!
I have to thank you for fixing it, that was my second ever HO scale locomotive and I ran it to hell and back when I was a kid. Brings back good memories, thanks Harrison.
Just a line to say Thank you ,by watching your videos i have felt confident enough to have a crack at loco servicing. Your presentation is great ,even an old timer like me understands what is required
I'm 58 years old. I started with a Bachmann kit back in 1974. I'm still in the hobby but in a more serious way I should say. I only run DCC and sound engines. But the simple rule will always remain the same : Clean wheels and tracks is ALWAYS the first step to do things when it comes to electrical pick up. It's most of the time the problem. Keep on your good work.
I remember way back in the 80's, those were sold en-mass at the Pocono summit, Pa. train station ,when Steamtown was running steam to that location from Scranton. They always sold out,lol.
I love how this guy fixes, and runs trains on his layout and has a huge variety of trains. I really with for a city/suburban Australian rail network, I wish I was him.
Well done restoring the Erie Hackawana! Since watching your videos, I've been performing regular maintenance on the commutator and gears and its been working like a charm on my Athearn locos!
Hi mate. I'm a big fan of your channel. I've opened and repaired, greased and maintained a few bachmann gp35 and gp40 pancake motors in my time. Also bachmann 060 steam train cracked gear replacements. Fun stuff.
Many thanks for your extremely interesting videos. There are some extremely innovative and useful ideas in improving locos working. You do mention quite often your use of Fibre Glass pencils. Can I suggest that these can pose a health hazard - fibre glass is not nice stuff - Another channel I watch - 00 Bill - used to use Fibre Glass pencils but now uses a metal cleaner - he uses TCut (Autosol is also good) - which he then cleans off with an electrical contact spray. One does not need much - just put a little onto a cotton bud. I use this technique on my railway especially for wheels and track. I also use a really excellent tool - a Dremel - its wire brush is excellent for wheels....the cutting disks I use all the time for cutting track and its little drills are excellent for accurate drilling of small holes .
The prototype Erie Lackawanna never had the EMD GP-50 or even a GP40 or a dash two GP40. They did have the EMD SD45-2 with the extra large extended fuel tank for the New Jersey - Chicago runs. They looked great in maroon, gray and yellow and in the bicentennial red white and blue paint scheme. They even posed them atop Starucca viaduct in Lanesboro Pennsylvania so rail photographers could document them.
I have only one of these bachmann type motors which runs in a f unit. One thing I did as I noticed it had split axles in the front I used model cement and let it try outside the loco in 2 coats and make a good fix. However I know if it ever dies I'll change out the chassis is a modern type probably from something that can fit it. Looks to me the date code on the board says 6-03-02 like it would be from 2002 I'm thinking because lifelike did same thing with date codes. Also when you mentioned current draw dropped the light bulb wasn't lit anymore so I'm thinking it blew out when it dropped current draw but I see at end it is working again
Since the wheel sets on the rear truck have gears (and clearly don’t need them), swap one with the wheel set on the front (powered) truck that had the bad gear. Instant fix! BTW: this unit may be more “Hackawanna” than you originally thought; looks like the fuel tank + weight was from Bachmann, while the frame and motor was probably from Tyco/Mantua, and the body shell looks newer than either one, maybe an Athearn “blue box” kit?
Great Video! As soon as I seen this I clicked on it I have a grandfather that worked on the Erie Lackawanna from its beginning until it's end in the Buffalo New York area. Fun Fact the North Shore RR in Pennsylvania still has locomotives with this exact color scheme, not sure if they are old units that were purchased from EL, but cool to see rolling around. Best Wishes!
New subscriber 52 years old with all my childhood HO and N trains getting unboxed and used for the first time in 25 years or so. My stuff is all Atlas, AHM, Athearn, Bachmann and IHC with a couple Katos, Riverossis and Tycos. Most of my old track is garbage so I’m going to give EZ track a shot with extra feeds and solder.
I have avoided Bachman locomotives in my buying of used locos, though I do have two GP30 Spectrum locos and one runs slow to start but will warm up and run well, the other is on its way via USPS so unclear how it will work. Thanks for the video!!
@@mercuryoak2 uh im assuming that could be the serial number for that circuit board right there instead of a date code I could be mistaken on it but I know around 2002 bachmann was like making the all wheel drive locomotives here instead of the pancake motor design.
Congratulations ! Great job. Amazing what water and a paint brush can do. Unfortunatly, this is a foobie as EL had disappeared into Conrail before EMD began producing the GP15. "The EMD GP15-1 is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Motors Electro-Motive Division between June 1976 and March 1982. Intended to provide an alternative to the rebuilding programs that many railroads were applying to their early road switchers, it is generally employed as a yard switcher or light road switcher. This locomotive is powered by a 12-cylinder EMD 645E engine, which generates 1,500 hp (1,119 kW). The GP15-1 uses a 50-foot-9-inch (15.47 m) frame, has a wheelbase of 29 ft 9 in (9.07 m) and has a length over couplers of 54 ft 11 in (16.74 m). A total of 310 units were built for American railroads. A number of GP15-1s remain in service today for yard work and light road duty. The radiator section is similar to those found on the EMD SD40T-2 and EMD SD45T-2 "tunnel motors," leading some observers to incorrectly identify the units as such or as GP15Ts, and giving them the nickname "baby tunnel motors" "]
The Erie and Deleware,Lackawanna &Hudson didn't merge until 1960 to create Erie Lackawanna. But most guys that worked for the EL Previously worked for the Erie or DL&H. My grandfather started out at Buffalo Creek, then went to the Erie railroad and was with them until it turned into Erie Lackawanna and he retired right before Conrail took over in early 71. Erie Lackawanna was really only in business for about 10 years before they failed and the great consolidation happened.
This is one of the reasons I'd rather get an old Mehano, Lima, frateschi, Piko or roco loco over a bachmann, never had a fleischmann before but I might get one.
The cheaper Bachmanns maybe, but the original 8-wheel drive chassis for the GP40, U36B and F9A was pretty exceptional in its day (even comparing to Athearn!) with a 5-pole can motor, all metal frame and some really durable gearing (axle gears were metal). Fleischmann's models are built like tanks!
Nice work Harrison! These old Bachmann locomotives certainly had their quirks, although the all wheel drive versions weren't to bad, but certainly no match for the Athearn, Atlas and Katos of their day!
I actually have one of those models painted in Union Pacific colors. I actually fitted it with DCC and sound by replacing the solid conductor bar and hardwiring in a soundtraxx ECO-PNP decoder and an oval speaker from a Digitrax decoder.
@@SMTMainline Ok so unfortunately half the screws are stripped and another is caked in dirt. I guess this is what I get for just impulse buying at train shows.
Do you hire someone to read all of these comments? No? Fine, I’ll do it. $20 an hour. 10. 5. I’ll do it for free. I’ll pay you. Another great fix. You’re a wizard Harry.
Ah yes, the pungent smell of burning electronics and the curl of white smoke. More often than not a sign of catastrophic failure. Luckily the force was with you, young trainmaster., I think the "help" from the cat made the difference!
What is that cleaning tool you used at 15:41 in the video? I've been wanting to get one of those for a while but I have no clue what its called or where to get it.
I discovered that once Bachmann went to the Bachmann Plus line of trains, the flywheels and dual drive system was a definite improvement. However, they suffer from the same split gears issues that later Athearn and Proto 2000 locomotives have. I don't know if Bachmann has replacement gears for them, or if northwest short line offers a better replacement.
I noticed an extra spur gear from the donor motor. It may be a good idea to replace the cracked gear with it as long as it would fit. Another idea I had to experiment with is using MEK solvent to see if the solvent will bond the cracked nylon gears on the old Bachmanns. This would chemically fuse (melt) the crack, and it would a great alternative if it works. It's just a theory if it works. Also, I would use caution due to the VOC fumes if you want to try the experiment.
The best way I have found to repair Bachmann gears is to clean them, super glue the cracks, ream the hole out until they're a slip fit on the shaft and then I dot of super glue on the shaft then slide the gear on. The superglue will hold the gear to the shaft. Half the problem with these gears is that they're press fit onto the shafts and the pressure splits them after a while. I have locos that have been running for years with no clicks for years.
Good job! That is kind of what I expected on the engine. Those pancake Bachmann motors are one of my least favorite. I think I have 2 or 3 of them where the housing is melted. I remember seeing that on the live stream.
Bachmann, enough said. Don’t get me wrong, they are good to get started with the basics of the hobby for someone starting out and not experienced, anything more than that, no.
Hi Harrison, omg such a cute cat, she seems to be a little bit older but of good character! (Chewing trees is not a bad character trait - that's just what cats do). I ♥cats.
I like those pencils, and use them in several applications, but I’m concerned about using them on commutators. The metal is very thin and scratches easily. I use denatured alcohol and a soft paint brush. The excess alcohol evaporates and leaves no residue. Your thoughts, Harris?
I'm not too concerned since they are not too abrasive. Alcohol will remove carbon and oil nicely but of the metal has been sitting it could be oxidized which the alcohol will only make worse.
Nice job there. Did you replace the springs in the unit? If so, how was the performance? You also have a really nice layout. I sure wish I got my up and running. Some day.
Looking good. Glad you cleaned it up too. You made it look like a new engine. I was watching when you were working on the pick up truck and saw that it has gears but no drive. Are those the same size as the split gear, and would it be worth the hassle to pull them and switch them over? It would be nice to watch a video on gear pulling and resetting. I like how you trouble shoot.
On the subject of the actual Bachmann loco, I have always wondered why so many of Bachmann’s HO locomotives from the 80s had one power truck while the other one was a dummy. Curiously, their N locomotives had all wheels powered. Maybe it was just the ones that I bought.
To add to this they where called GP50 . In real life saw them pulling a freight train at 55mph to maybe 65mph.It was 3 of them pulling a mixed freight.All have sense have there noses lowered.
Those was my first train my mom got it for me for Xmas and I still have it and I have spent about $400 over the years buying donor trains for parts! She is the queen of my layout and some would say it's just a cheap junk engine! But not to me! So it makes me smile to see I'm not the only one that has to piece one together to get it to run! Oh yeah braces rubber bands work grate on the wheels!
Funny that it was EMD's 50 series that had the most problems with its motor and the components and electrical systems. The 645 had been pressed too far and too hard. The newer microprocessor 710 starting with the 60 series changed all that.
Can someone help me! My son watches one of your videos where you found a spiders egg sac/web like substance in the motor. Could some please tell me what video that was so we can watch it again??
That loco has the same motor(similar) or pancake motor as you said in a couple of my 0-4-0 switchers that I have One switcher body that I have is completely locked up. As a kid I was very hard on it when I used it. It was a very fast switcher and I would run it until it fly's off the tracks and I melted the body too by some foolishness of me with it.
The armature looks like the ones in my Aurora “Thunder Jet” slot cars from the ‘60s. The magnets also look very suspiciously “familiar” as well. I wonder if these are the same? It might be fun to try one of the reproductions from Auto World. I really don’t understand why manufacturers like Bachmann and Tyco didn’t put more into their drive trains.
When you first started looking for parts, I would have bet you would try a Model Power motor for parts. Even though they’re similar, I see far fewer of the Model Power locos going bad.
I think those old pancake motors are way more prone to gear failure because the motor is so close to them, it heats them up, deforms them, and makes them wear faster.
Bachmann had gear failures for years. The problem was with quality control. The assemblers had bins of these of these nylon gears and axle shafts. On went the gear whether it fit properly or not, sometimes there would be a locomotive that the gears were loose. I have an older N scale 2-8-0 ( pre Spectrum) that the axle gears split and all the drivers fell off.
Great job Harrison. I thought it was beyond repair when it went up in smoke on your live stream. Also maybe you can find a replacement for that cracked gear in your parts bin.
