New to On30

[R.L.S Live Steam]

Hello everyone I'm new to the forum and to On30, I just recently purchased a 2-6-0 and a climax to get me started into this beautiful scale. It was a no brainer to choose to model On30 because I love narrow gauge and I am a steam junkie lol!!! But after running my two locomotives yesterday my climax ran for about a foot and that was it. I looked over the forums and found out there is an issue with this locomotive and I know they are offering free replacement gears, but being that I really don't know how to work on it and that I just bought it a couple of days ago should I just send it in and have bachmann fix it? Also I have a second question I just found out that MMI offer a K27 and K28 in On30 some years ago and I would really love one of these for my collection. So if anyone that can give me some advice as of where I might be able to find one. Any info on both of these questions would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance.

Michael

[Stevelewis]

Hi Michael

I have  owned   around  12  Climaxes (amongst  other  Bachmann 0n30 locos) over  the  years  and  NEVER  had  a problem.
Did  your  climax  simply  stop running? Was there  any  noise  heard  from  it  when  it  stopped (ie  Motor  running  but   driving  wheels not  moving)? Did  the  lights  work on the  Climax?
Did  your  other  loco  run  OK  on the  same  track?
Are  you  using  Digital  or  Analogue (DC)?

Re  the  K27/28  these  are  nice  lookin' locos  but  I beleive  they  are   prone  to  being  a  bit  problematical somtimes  AND  they  are  B I G   so  you will need  plenty  of  trackside  clearance  and  they need larger minimum radius  curves  than  Bachmann 0n30 locos  require

[R.L.S Live Steam]

Hi Steve

Yes my 2-6-0 ran perfect, but the climax just sits there the lights work and the motor still runs but its like there's nothing going to the drive wheels.

And yes I know the K27 and K28 are big but I have to have one lol!!!

Oh and I'm running DC not DCC thanks of any info

Michael

[Biglars]

If you can get you hands on the replacement gears the fix is simple. Bachmann should have them.

Here is a link to the how to's for gear repairs I did.

Also look around the rest of this site there are many nice ON30 folks willing to help.

http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=40897

Larry

[Stevelewis]

Sounds  like  a  gear  prob  withh  the  climax.

If  you purchased  the  loco  NEW  then  surely  you  should not  have  to  repair  it  yourself, its  faulty

I am not  sure  what  the  consumer law is  in the  USA, but  here in  the  UK we  are  very  well protected if an item  is  faulty  Then our 'Trade  Descriptions Act ' means  that  the  onus  is  on the  retailer to refund  the   cost  of  the  item (unless a replacement is  acceptble to the  buyer)

Re  the  K27,  I remember  some  years  back  when  Bachmann  introduced  teh  g  scale 1:20.3  K27
I bought  one  to  run  on  the  Garden line here,  we  had  some   Big  locos  Connies,  LGB  Mikes,etc which ran no problem   just  about  clearing  the trackside  obstacles  such  as  rock  faces  Tunnels  etc,  but  the  K27  caused  some  major  earthworks  and  re designing  to be  done!!   Happy  Days!!

[GG1onFordsDTandI]

If I remember right, I think bought from a dealer in the USA (not at an auction site, or garage sale) its under full warranty for a year by Bachmann's policy, by including the receipt, and contacting service dept. After a year, or without a dealers receipt,  I believe there is a very low, set price, based on scale/loco to cover their handling and such. Some poking around the site would get the "sure thing" answer.
In the "States" it varies by state. You often have the right to return it to the dealer in an allotted amount of time (90 days norm), but the dealer may deny returns if "no returns" is stated before the customer, verbally, or by signage, or if the product returned, is perceived as being abused. Denied a return, you may also seek also seek out a companies warranty backing, if it has one. Buyer beware is the motto here!

[ScottyB]

I have one Climax that did have a gear issue, but a dab of superglue in just the right spot fixed it and I haven't had an issue in the 6 years since. Look through a magnifying glass and you can spot the gear(s) causing an issue.

I would still get the replacement gears, and the fix is really quite easy.

Welcome to On30. I switched over about 7 years ago from HO and love it.

Scott

[R.L.S Live Steam]

Thank you everyone for the great response, and as for the climax I did buy it from a bachmann dealer. But there policy is all sales final because there store is closing. So for the sake of me messing it up even more, I might just contact bachmann about getting it fixed.

And to Scott thank you for the welcome to On30 I love it, but I really need to add a K27 or K28 to my locomotive roster bad lol!!!

[mabloodhound]

Send it in to Bachmann (after calling them first)   The repair is free but you do need to pay postage to get it to them.

[Stevelewis]

Just  noticed  a  K28  on  eBay  right  now  seller  name  Beadadoodle  ( feedback just 22)  the  price  is  $1,600  no bids yet !!!!!!

Something  else  i remember  re  the  MMI K27/8  there  was  a  guy on  a  forum a  couple  of  years  back  who  had  bought one  and  had   lots  of  problems in  getting  it  to  run  correctly, apparently  the pickups were  not the  best  and   the loco kept stalling, so eventually  he  gave  up  and   took  the motor and  gearbox  out  and  used the loco as a free running one   coupled to a bachmann 4-6-0  ( what we  call a  Double  Header over  here in the UK)

[GG1onFordsDTandI]

what we  call a  Double  Header over  here in the UK

Same in the States.

[R.L.S Live Steam]

Thank you Steve for the info on the K28, but for $1,600  i'll have to wait for one a little cheaper lol!!! Im hoping to find one in the $400-700 range if possible.

[Stevelewis]

what we  call a  Double  Header over  here in the UK

Same in the States.

I thought  you  had  another  name  for  it ......  Helper?  or  is  that a loco  which pushes at the  back  we  call a   'Banker' !

[Stevelewis]

Thank you Steve for the info on the K28, but for $1,600   i'll have to wait for one a little cheaper lol!!! Im hoping to find one in the $400-700 range if possible.

I was  looking  thorugh  eBay  last  night  ( got  bored  with  Homeland!!)  and  there  have been a few  sold but  not  recently  the last  one  was in 2009  and  it  sold  for  UK££  289.  which at  todays  exchange  rate  is about $500 but  that  was  nearly  5  years  ago!

If  you check out  EDModels  on www.ngtrains.com  a UK retailer who  sells  worldwide  you will see his  adverts in USA  magazines, go to the  MMI  section  and  see the info posted  there,  briefly  that  nothing has been made  since 2007.

[R.L.S Live Steam]

I just wanted to thank everyone who responded to my post. I contacted Bachmann and the Climax will be on it's way to get fixed soon. I also want to say a BIG THANK YOU  to the folks at Bachmann I receive my replacement gears today. I couldn't believe it when I saw the box in the mail, I just got the the email on Monday saying they would be sending out the gears soon but I could have never imagine I would have them two days later. So again thank you to the people at Bachmann I truly appreciate it.

Michael