My engine will not move

[Zev]

I got a HO Thoroughbread 00691 in the mail yesterday for my grandson.  Initially the train moved about two feet but did not have enough power to pull the three additional cars.   Now the engine will not move at all. The wheels will not turn.  I have a Tyco engine that is about thirty years old and put it on the track and it works fine.  Both directions and hauls all the cars.   I am surprised that I would have to pay for a defective engine.  How do I get this replaced with Bachmann paying shipping and handling.

[jbrock27]

I understand you are saying the wheels are not turning, but when you put the new locomotive (the Thoroughbred F7) on the track and apply power, can you tell if the electric motor inside is getting power?  By it humming or making some noise, or does absolutely nothing happen?

[Doneldon]

Zev-

Try applying power directly to the wheels. If you still have nothing, remove the shell and apply power to the motor's electrical terminals. And check for power in the tracks with your loco both on and off of them. You can use a multimeter or a piece of metal to look for sparks. (I' bet I catch hell for that suggestion, even though we all do it at times.) Also, check for shorts in the loco although the breaker in your power pack should be blowing if you have a short. Actually, that could explain things. Your new loco could be shorting and blowing the breaker. The breaker resets itself so it is fine with your older loco.

In any event, Bachmann's lifetime limited warranty should cover you for repair or replacement. Returning the set to your retailer might be a little faster this time of year. Bachmann service is swamped for a couple of months after Christmas.
                                                                                                                             -- D

[xman08]

i just had the same problem and it seems that it's either the gears are jammed with something or the drive shaft pops off in shipping and it will not go. i see alot of newcomers have had the same issue as i did and that's the simplest and most likely problem for brand new engines that don't work. bad quality control or like i said if the drive shaft gets bumped off in shipping, it's problems right out of the box. hope u got it fixed