Shay with bumper problem

[Bill B]

I have a Bachmann Shay with the original trucks. The couplers hit the front and rear bumpers. How do I fix this problem. The model has been in a dis[lay and I was going to run it but it has broken both bumpers.

Bill

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Bill,
Can you describe the problem better, looking at my shay I am not sure what a bumper is.

[Jon D. Miller]

I have three Shay locomotives.  None have a bumper on the front or the rear.



Pictured is the three truck version. It has no bumpers.  The motor blocks on all the Shay locomotives are the same.  The exception would be that the early versions have plastic motor blocks.  Later versions have metal motor blocks.  However, coupler mounting is the same on all versions.

JD

[Bill B]

It is just below the coupler. It might be a place to stand. The coupler shank hits the plastic cross part under the coupler shank on both ends. The picture shows it under the coupler and just almost touching the rail.

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Try repairing the steps. It may be possible to use a very thin piece of styrene to reinforce the broken part. 5 minute epoxy works well for me as does JB Weld.

[Jon D. Miller]

Bill B.
OK, now I understand. You are making reference to the locomotive's foot boards.  That bumper thing had me wondering.

The coupler does set close to the foot board.  I've never had a problem with any of the Shays hitting the foot boards.  Are you sure the coupler shank mounting screw, where it attaches to the motor block, is tight?

JD

[az2rail]

How tight of curve are you trying to go around? You may be trying to make it go around a curve tighter than it was designed for.

Bruce

[Bill B]

The screws are tight. I am not turning the truck it simply hits the foot board. Lowering the foot board more than about 1/8 inch will cause it to drag.

[Bill B]

On Feb 22 2007 another person had the problem.

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Strange, I wish I could see it happening, I have two and never had the problem. Is the problem the same on both ends of the loco?  It there any possibility that it is the coupler that is broken or defective in some way?

[Mike M]

I have 7 shays --2 are the 38 ton -3 are the 36 ton and 2 are the 55 ton 3 truck
I have never had a problem as discribed. I aslo have run them on 4' curves
Mike

[Sleeping Bear]

 This may be a dumb question but are the draw bars and couplers installed correctly ? From looking at pictures and parts breakdowns it seems to me if either were installed upside down or incorrect things would hang lower and thus make contact, but as I don't have one I cant say for sure....but the first things I would check....hope this helps....Later All.....S.B.

[SantaFe158]

I managed to snap both of the footboards on mine when it snagged the track power wire.  I made a new one for the front out of small strips of wood glued to look about like the original plastic one and painted black.  A couple dabs of hot glue hold it onto the front of the locomotive.  It's an older 36 ton Ely Thomas #5 with the plastic footboards.

[Loco Bill Canelos]

On my 38 ton shay the coupler bar is screwed to the truck frame. if this gets loose the coupler will droop.  A little locktite on the screw should lift the bar up to normal level and keep it there.  It is also possibe to put a shim between the coupler bar and the lower part of the truck bolster, which would keep it from drooping.

I would say that if the screw is tight and the coupler is still too low then the problem is definitely the coupler or the drawbar

[Dave]

Mike,
      You have more Shay's than I have Locomotives!