Please help me!

[dseau]

Hello everyone! I am the new owner of a Bachmann Southern Belle set.  You can look at its maiden voyage sunday here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qXM2yagl8Q

Today, i put the set on my countertop, every link is ok.  Nothing moves. The litte locomotive itself seems to have a problem, the little connecting rods dont seem to work at all, the wheels dont move.

Than you in advance for your help!

[jward]

it sounds like the locomotive is not getting power. is the power pack plugged in? are the wire connections to the track connected to the dc terminals of the power pack, not the ac ones? are they firmly plugged in to the track? does the headlight come on? do you hear motor noise when you turn up the power? is there anything laying across the rails of the track that may be causing a short?

[James in FL]

Hi dseau,

I too, think it's a power problem as we see in the video its running.

What has changed?

Clean your track and your lokie wheels.
That wheel blackening is on the tred of the wheels also, and has to wear off.
Really not anyway around it.
It's just got to be cleaned off the track and wheels, before becoming gunk, on either or both.
Double check all your connections.

Do you have access to a multimeter?

[dseau]

Thank you so much for your help, il will try to double check things.
But i was wondering, is it normal, when you have the locomotive in the palm of your hand, that the wheels and rods do not turn?

[Maletrain]

Yes, it is normal for the wheels to NOT turn by hand.  The gear on the driven wheel axel(s) is connected to a "worm" that looks like a large screw with its threads meshing with the gear teeth.  It is not possible to turn the worm by rotating the wheels because of the large mechanical advantage the worm has for tramsmitting poweer to the gear.  You cannot overcome friction when trying to transmit power the other way (from wheels to motor).

[dseau]

Well, my Southern Belle runs again, and again, thank you for your help.  The problem was a badly connected red wire to the rails; it did not stay in place.