Dead 1412 locomotive

[NewConductor]

after finaly getting this loco running, welding all the track etc..., the darn thing went up & died about 4 hours into running it. not a consecutive 4 hours, just in total.
the track has power, i can see little blue sparks when i touch the wheels to it. the light however died about 10 mins prior to the loco failure.
it is the flathead type of motor. anyone got any ideas? was there not a lifetime waranty on these things?
i'm just getting into the hobby and now this!  grrrrrrr
it is the CP 1412 diesel. nowhere on the loco are there any othe markings, except for "Bachmann China"
Help! i'm thoroughly not impressed!

[jward]

to be honest, this is an older, low quality locomotive. i would contact bachmann customer service and see if it is still under warranty. if not, you can get a much better, new locomotive for modest cost. i have seen bachmann ft diesels online as low as $17, and f7s similar to what you had (but with a much improved motor and drive) for around $30 at a hobby shop. trust me, a much better locomotive will pay off in many fewer problems.

[NewConductor]

thanks jward, you've mentioned that before. it's just that i'm so new to all this, that it is now frustrating to have finaly figured out the first reason it wouldn't run, to now just have it die 4 hours after i got to work.
i'm not quite set on HO scale, may be leaning to N. wanted to try some stuff with this one first and then make a decision. so i don't really wanna go spend $30 on another loco right now.
i'll try customer service and see what they say.
thanks.

[jward]

the problems you describe are the reason many of us who have been in the hobby for years won't buy older train set locomotives and cars. the hobby has changed so much over the years, and the newer stuff runs so much better.

if you do decide to get into n scale, older cars are usually ok, but some of the locomotives are atrocious. as a general rule, with diesels, if the couplers are mounted on the trucks the locomotive will be a poor runner, if the couplers are mounted to the body or chassis, it will be a much better performer. that improvement is indicative of other internal improvements you can't see which make for a more robust, and reliable locomotive. this rule applies to both n and ho scales.

i know very well the frustrations of trying to get older stuff to run right, and i feel for you. that's why i made the suggestions i did. good luck.