Dept 56 Trolley

[carman761]

I am a new member and have a question.  I own one of these trolleys.  It has run fine last couple of years, it is only used during the Christmas season with my village.  I set it up this year but it will not run.  When I connect alligator clips from the track directly to the motor it runs fine, but when set on the track it will not move even though the lights come on.  Someone told me I needed to clean the track, I did that yesterday and still no movement.

Any help will be appreciated.

[richg]

Since the lights come on and you know the motor works there has to be a broken wire/connection between the pickups and one motor lead.
I guess the dept 56 is a four wheel small trolley.

Rich

[BIG BEAR]

Carman 761,
   Have you tried to flip the switch. I had one that sometime the bumper switch would get bumped to the middle and it acted like neutral. Just a suggestion.

Enjoy,
  Barry

[carman761]

richg, yes it is a four wheel trolley with a bump switch to change direction.

Big Bear, thanks I will check the switch.  Just curious why it would run when connected directly, but not on the track.  Would the bump switch cause that?

[jward]

if you've connected clip leads directly to the motor, you've bypassed all electrical components between the track and the motor. whatever is causing your trolley not to work is right there in what you bypassed. the bump switch is a good starting point. another clue is the lights are on. that means your wheel contacts are probeably not the problem. have you tried taking a resistance reading between the wheels and the motor with an ohmmeter?

[carman761]

if you've connected clip leads directly to the motor, you've bypassed all electrical components between the track and the motor. whatever is causing your trolley not to work is right there in what you bypassed. the bump switch is a good starting point. another clue is the lights are on. that means your wheel contacts are probeably not the problem. have you tried taking a resistance reading between the wheels and the motor with an ohmmeter?

The only thing being bypassed is the wheels.  I took it to a hobby shop and they tested resistance.  All seems normal.  Checked the bump switch, seems to be working normal.  The only thing I can figure is I am loosing connection between wheels and motor, but light does come on.
Anyone can advise on Bachmann's warranty?  I hear it is lifetime.  I am thinking it might be worth just shipping to them.

[Len]

You may have dirt build up between the back of the wheels and the wipers that rub on them, so power's getting to the light, but not enough current to spin the motor. A drop of Conducta-lube on the back of the wheel will sometimes fix that, or a shot of electronic contact cleaner.

Len

[richg]

If I am seeing the correct diagram, there is a lever that extends from one bumper to the opposite bumper with a pivot in the center where there has to be a reversing switch and the motor is near the switch. Have you tried pressing on each bumper to see if the switch operates? I would expect to hear a little click.

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/61040.pdf

Rich

[duckwerks]

I also have the Bachmann Dept 56 Village trolley.  Have used it for about 8 years at Xmas.  Bought it used in the box with all track etc.

This year it began working and auto reversing but started to loose power and then stopped.  The light was on, track had been cleaned and I made sure the auto reverse mechanism operated. 

I took the motor out and thoroughly cleaned and oiled it.  While still out of the body, I connected the leads to transformer power and the engine ran strong.  Began looking at the leads that are on the circuit board that switched the directions and found on of the two leads soldered to the board was broken (and the then completely detached).

Now I'm thinking about trying to carefully re solder it back together.  A tricky task I think.  The lead in its proper condition is shaped like a "Z".  It reconnects by sliding the leads attached to the motor onto the tip of the "Z".  There is not by chance a replacement for this Z shaped connector as I'm not sure I can successfully solder the two pieces of the Z back together.  Any advice.

Also, I downloaded the diagram that was attached to this string of posts but it only faintly resembles the trolley I have.  Mine has just one antenna on the top and it can swing to either the front or the back.  The rest of the insides look much different (same reverse mechanism and general trolley appearance are the same).  Might there be an earlier diagram?

Any help is appreciated.  Since these are no longer made, it is well worth trying to repair it.

Bob (duckwerks)