HO 2-10-0 disaster

[LarrySmith]

Over the past year I have Purchased 11 diesels, mostly Spectrun, and 8 steam engines, (1) 2-10-2, (2) 4-8-2, (2) 2-8-0 AND (3) 2-10-0.  All engines, with the exception of the 3 - 2-10-0's, look great and run great.  The problem is the 2-10-0's.  On a scale of 1 - 10, I would give them a score of minus 10.  All three shorted out and would not run.  I sent two (2) back to Bachmann and after several months got them back with a note that nothing was wrong with them.  They ran for 2 to 4 hours in 20 min sessions ok but now only run 2 to 3 feet before shorting out.  If pushed about 6 inches they sometimes start again for a couple of feet.  I have not taken these engines apart.  The third engine I took the bottom plate off and added a piece of plastic bag for insulation.  It no longer shorts out but derails on curves with the center, none flanged, drive wheel derailing to the inside of the curve, effectively pinching the wheels into the rail and stopping the engine.

I am a senior citizen on a limited income and have reached my max frustration level with these engines.  To me they are junk at this point and I have a substantial amount of money tied up in them that I could use else where.  If anyone who can make them run would like trade for 2-8-0's I would be very interested.  No one at Bachmann will return my calls or e-mail, though because of medical problems I gave up trying to contact them last fall.  I have just spent the last 2 hrs. I will spend on these engines before writing this message.  With all of Bachmann's great engines out there they don't need junk like the 2-10-0.

[Guilford Guy]

*Sale Pending* I'll see what happens, if it doesn't go through I have a 2-8-0 with DCC, missing the right marker and handrail if you think its worth the trade.

[Yampa Bob]

Hi Larry
Yeah, it can be frustrating. They may not be shorting out, possibly just not getting power to the motor for some reason.  Apparently they worked fine at Bachmann. 

First the track work must be as perfect as possible, with no loose rail joiners to break the current to the loco.  The track may be "out of gauge" at the point where the drive wheel derails on a curve.  Could be just a bad section of track.  Or the drive wheels could have slipped out of gauge.

What radius are your curves?  If they are only 18" the loco has trouble making the curve, although the center drive wheel helps.

If it is infact shorting out somewhere, the circuit breaker will trip.  Are you powering the track DC or DCC.?

Don't give up, there is a logical explanation to the problem.  I'm sure others with experience with the 2-10-0 will be in to help, so keep checking back.

Bob

[the Bach-man]

Dear Larry,
Please contact Bridget, our service manager, by phone. Call the 215 number. She will see that you get correctly operating locos.
Thanks!
the Bach-man

[Stephen D. Richards]

Absolutly don't give up on this!  There are many on this forum that can help.  Do need a bit more info though.  If your 2-10-2 makes the curves then the 2-10-0 should as well.  However, 18" radius curves are very tight for five drive axles.  What is your curve radius!  Stephen

[westsidelumber12]

Absolutly don't give up on this!  There are many on this forum that can help.  Do need a bit more info though.  If your 2-10-2 makes the curves then the 2-10-0 should as well.  However, 18" radius curves are very tight for five drive axles.  What is your curve radius!  Stephen

My 2-10-2 runs fine on 18's

[rogertra]

I have three 2-10-0s, all over three years old.

One of them, from the first production run, had trouble with slipping gears due to poor casting and quality control at the Chinese plant but I stripped the engine and filed down the smokebox saddle a little and this seems to have worked.  I had the same problem with one of my 2-8-0s

I would have sent them back to Bachmann but all my engines have been customised so I wasn't looking for a replacements.

Of course, you did check to see that the tender trucks were correctly oriented didn't you?  The most common 'problem' with steam engines shorting are the tender trucks not correctly oriented.  The insulated wheels on each truck must be on opposite sides to each other and correctly oriented to each other to ensure correct power pick up.  If they're not, then you will get a short circuit.

A few minutes of experimentation will soon check it out.  Try first with the insulated wheels of the front truck to the left and on the rear truck to the right.  If that doesn't work, reverse the sequence.

Your reference to the loco running a few inches and then needing a push is symtomatic of mis-oriented trucks causing short circuits.

If I were you, I'd remove that piece of plastic bag from the keeper plate as it will, as you've discovered, cause more problems that it cured.  Besides, everything down there is plastic, so it would do nothing to prevent shorts.  What's probably happened is that when you removed the loco and tender from the rails, the trucks swiveled and got back into the correct orientation.  The shorting stopped not because of the bag but probably because the trucks are now correctly oriented.

All you'll do in removing the cover plate is to upset the very delicate bearings and springing and cause derailments and very poor running, as you've probably discovered.  Unless you're really good at it, never remove the bottom coverplate from a modern steam loco model.

Let us know how you got on.