I do not know about the missing gear as I do not have that locomotive.   Perhaps Spookshow or someone else on this forum who has it does.

If you are buying other locomotives, and want a steam locomotive, you might try a SPECTRUM 2-8-0.

The earlier runs of this one did not have a factory installed decoder.   If you find one from the first two runs, it is try-before-you-buy.  If you get a good one, you get a really good one.  Do be aware that it will require a very long break-in.  The last run of the 2-8-0 does have a decoder.

There is a USRA light 4-8-2 that did not have a decoder, as well.  The first run had some problems with the tyred driver's making proper contact with the rails.   I understand that B-mann addressed this in subsequent runs of it, but I do not have any from other than the first run.

There is a USRA heavy 4-8-2 as well as a Baldwin 4-6-0 and an ALCo 2-6-0.  All of them are excellent runners, but they do have factory decoders in them.  They are supposed to be dual mode decoders, and, the locomotives will run on DC, but the last two do run better on DCC with the decoder present.  If you take out the decoder from the 4-6-0 and 2-6-0 and re-wire, they are very good runners, especially at slow speed.   There is a 4-6-0 available in a trainset without a decoder.  It runs well.

The USRA heavy 4-8-2 runs very well either on DC or DCC.

Number 3 driver pair is out of quarter.  I do not know if it is connected to the main road, but, if it is, that could be the source of your trouble.

It does look as if the truck is sitting too low.  There should not be that much play in the seat/bearing of the trailing truck.

I do not know which version of this you have; there have been several.   I have only the very oldest version of this, with the half wheels live tender.  That one ran horribly.  In fact, the first time that I put it onto the track, GF asked me if it were broken.   Subsequent versions of this had an electrically neutral tender.  They were not the best runners.  I do have several tenders from the later issues of this.  Neither they, nor the oldest version, have an "bent", "angled" or anything but a straight drawbar.

The last version of this one is supposed to be allright.   I do not have it, so there is not much that I could comment about it.

Considering that there appears to be some manufacturing defect in the trailing truck, I would send it in to Bachmann and ask for a repair or replacement.

B&O had both phases, so I was quite delighted.

Did not the two appear at about the same time?   I have the B&O and do remember being quite happy that this was "not your Uncle Bob's Bachamnn Standard Line locomotive".   It was the first issue in a general upgrade of B-mann's Standard Line. 

Mine is still a pretty good runner with good slow speed control.  If there is one brickbat that I have for it, that would be that the couplers are not quite the correct height.   I forget it B-mann ever did a second run with the McHenry couplers.

This is a good locomotive, so if B-mann were to issue it in some of the other roadnames, I would expect that people would buy it.   I like mine.

The name of the product line of which I am thinking is RERAILED or RERAILERS, I forget exactly.  They come in plastic bags with cardboard hangers.  I do not know if B-mann sells them or if they sold a bunch of stuff to someone who is marketing them in this way.

Another item, on B-mann's own website, under "N scale warehouse finds", there is showing available a Durango and Silverton combine for about ten bananas.  The Durango and Silverton coach and Christmas combine are showing "SOLD OUT".

If they are, in fact, out of production, I would wonder why B-mann does not bring them back, especially since it has upgraded its 1870s eight wheeler.

They are still available in sets.  In addition, there are plastic-bagged-with-cardboard-hanger packages of old B-mann rolling stock running around.   I have seen the wood passenger cars in those bags.  In fact, it is how I acquired the Durango and Silverton cars.  I did not want the USRA 0-6-0 or the other stuff in the set, just the cars.  I saw them in these plastic bags, so I bought them.  I run them behind my D&RGW 2-8-0s and
2-6-0s, which MDC and Athearn manufactured.   They are foobies as standard gauge, anyhow, as the Durango and Silverton is narrow gauge.

MDC and Athearn sold fifty foot and thirty four foot wood passenger cars in N scale.  Athearn bought out MDC  a few years back.  Athearn has not issued any of the nineteenth century MDC models in some time. 

The B-mann as well as the MDC/Athearn cars are out there.  Some dealers, vendors and shops have them as NOS.   You will see them at shows, as well.   All of the above also pop up on FeePay.  In fact, there is a guy on FeePay and N Scale Yard Sale (a ya-HOO! group) who puts up the unpainted MDC cars from time to time.   He must have bought out some old MDC stock sometime close to the sale to Athearn.

B-mann has two body styles, coach and baggage/passenger.   The MDC fifty foot ("overland") cars come in four:  baggage/passenger, coach, "Pullman" and "business".   The thirty four foot ("Overton") come in four, as well:  baggage/mail, baggage/passenger, coach and "business".   The baggage/passenger is based on the car used on the "Hooterville Cannonball" combine that appeared in the television shows Petticoat Junction and Green Acres.

There are some on Shapeways who offer nineteenth century passenger cars, as well.   You must get hold of some Bestine or similar solvent to get rid of whatever it is that is on the bodies of the cars.  I understand that getting hold of Bestine is easier said than done, these days.

On what brand of track and what radius curve are you running it?   This thing needs at least an eleven inch radius curve.  I have several of these and they do climb on nine and three quarter curves.  This could explain the pilot trucks' shorting on the frame, as well.  I have never had the shorting problem, but mine will climb and derail on nine and three quarter curves.  Often, the locomotive itself will not start into the curve because the nine and three quarter curves cause the pilot truck to derail.

If you are using nine and three quarter curves from another manufacturer or older B-mann sectional nine and three quarter curves, buy some eleven inch, or greater, curves.   The sharpest radius available on the current E-ZTRAK line is eleven and one quarter inches.  These things will operate on the Atlas SNAPTRAK eleven inch curves.  The more broad the radius on this one, the better for it.  I am aware that B-mann sells fourteen and seventeen inch radius curves in its E-ZTRAK line.  I know that there are others, but I forget what radii are available.

If you are using sectional track, another thing about which to be sure is that all rail joiners are properly aligned.  If you are using
E-ZTRAK, misaligned rail joiners are not uncommon.

The climbing in one direction likely is due to the bias created by the motor's turning combined with the slop in the mechanism and the direction of the forces on the rods.   Not all axles on this one have gears; some are driven by the rods.

Another  thing to do on this one is to make sure that all wheels are in gauge.  The first two runs of this had wheels that were out of gauge.   If you push on one or the other wheels, the drivers will move inward or outward, as needed.  BE SURE THAT YOU HAVE AN NMRA APPROVED GAUGE FOR N SCALE WHEN YOU DO THIS.  Further, take GREAT CARE when you re-gauge the wheels.  The loctite on these breaks easily (ask me how I know this).

Another thing about the first two runs of this one was that they were try-before-you-buy.  Yes, they were stiff out-of-the-box, but if they wobbled, bucked and balked too much, you simply chose another one.  If you got one without too many wobbles and too much balking, you took it home, ran the dickens out of it and got a good locomotive.  These things are good pullers, once broken in.

These are excellent locomotives, once properly broken in.   They do require a long break-in period, but the rewards are worth the time spent breaking in this one.  Mine will creep at two SMPH.   The pulling power is good, as well.   This one remains one of the yardsticks against which all N scale steam is measured.  The other one is the Kato USRA heavy Mikado.


Was it a B-mann F-unit that stripped its gear?  Which one was it?   B-mann did have their "Limited Life Time Warranty" on the PLUS and SPECTRUM versions of the F-7.   Odds are that it is out of its primary warranty period, but, for a reasonable fee, B-mann will send you something else.  I am not sure what they will send you, but if you send an e-Mail to their Service Department, they will tell you what to do.   There is an updated version of this one that has an onboard "smart" decoder.  It runs well, be it on DC or DCC.   If you had the PLUS version of this one, the gears crack all the time.   B-mann did address that problem in the improved SPECTRUM version.   Both the PLUS and SPECTRUM versions of this one are long out of production.   If you have the old "FP-9", suffice it to state that it "had its problems".   I do not know if that one is still in production, but every version of it that I have seen has B-mann's "Limited Life Time Warranty", so I would suspect that B-mann would do something for you, for a reasonable fee,  Again, send an e-Mail to the Service Department.  The "reasonable fee" used to be fifteen dollars, but I do not know what it is now.  B-mann has been pretty good with me about honouring its warranty.

The F-7s and 2-8-0s did run contemporarily on the prototype roads.  The first F-7 appeared in 1949, or so.  Almost all of the large railroads, many of the middle sized ones and more than a few even of the small ones bought them.  While some roads had parked all of their steam by the early 1950s, some did keep it until 1957, 1958 and even up to 1961, for one or two larger ones.  Some of the smaller roads kept steam later than that.  The Canadian roads did keep some of their steam up to 1961, or so.   As the more and more diesels showed up, the railroads relegated their steam to the grungy tasks.  As it was cheaper to have the smaller steam do the grungy tasks, much of the larger steam was the first to go.

The Rivarossi was a Y-3, a USRA 2-8-8-2.   I have had a few of them.  Those that I had were pretty good pullers.   Even the slow speed control was pretty good, which for that time was unusual.  These things must have been geared rather well, as that RR can motor just was not the best.   The problems that these things had was the Zirmac rot. I had one chassis turn to powder in my hands, another one cracked while running and a third broke into three pieces.   Even the most recent issues of these had the Zirmac rot problem.

Life-Like sold a Y-3, as well, even available with an N&W type tender.  The thing ran well, had excellent slow speed control, but was an anemic puller.  Walthers bought out LL and did one re-issue of the Y-3.  Supposedly the second run had traction tyres and was reported to be a pretty good puller, but as I did not  buy one, I really can not comment on it.

To my knowledge, no one has done a Y-6b or an A.  B-mann did do a USRA heavy 4-8-2.  N&W had these, class K; one class of originals, one of copies.  All, or almost all, of them received shrouds after the second world war.    Bachpersonn did a "J", as well, so they have the plans for the basic shroud.

I do not have the B-mann GP-40 (prototype is far too modern for me). 

Still...............

It seems that there is something in the mechanism that may be misaligned, as you mention that it is worse on the curves or in forward.  You could check the lubrication to see if it has caked, but, if that is the case, the best thing to do is to disassemble completely, clean out the old lubricant completely, then re-lubricate.  B-mann power tends to be far overlubricated at the factory.   Unless you are pretty sure that you can get it back together, you might want to beware of disassembling.

Before doing anything, you might be better off waiting until some posters who have the thing can comment.  You might check Spookshow's website to see it he has made any comments on the noise.  He will comment from time to time on annoying characteristics of the power and remedies, if he knows them.

B-mann does sell extension cords for the switch machines. 

You can put the turnout controllers next to your power supply, so you will not need an extension for that.  You can buy green extension cords that go from the turnout to the controller boxes.   If you have more than one turnout, you can gang the controller boxes together simply by plugging one into the other.  This will get the electric to the boxes.  You then run the green extension from the top of each controller box to the cord that goes from the turnout.

Are they the latest issue with DCC onboard?  ............or are they older SPECTRUM?   ...or, ne di sinant, are they PLUS?

If the first, try breaking them in.   If they are the second, they require extra breaking in, but they are allright.   If the last, you will always have problems.

The rail joiners on the E-Z TRAK do not always line up as they  should.  Never have I had to resort to magnifying glasses and pliers or tweezers, but, I am always careful.  It does not seem to matter what brand of sectional track that you use, misaligned rail joiners are a common and frequent problem.  I have run across this with the Kato, Atlas and other brands.   All that I can tell you is to take your time and do it carefully.

I wonder what version of this set you have.  If the locomotive and rolling stock have the dummy couplers, yes, they can be difficult at times.  What I do with those is put one car onto the track.  Next, I bring the next car, lift up the end to be coupled and carefully work the knuckle into that of the stationary car.   I continue until I have the whole train.

If they have the couplers with the external springs, you should not be having too much trouble.  One thing that you can do it put the locomotive onto the track.  With one hand, push a car up to it.  In the other hand, use a jeweller's screwdriver to push the knuckle on the locomotive coupler to meet the coupler on the car.   Take the  next car, push it up to the car already coupled, and repeat until you have the whole train.

I do not have this set or locomotive, as a GP-40 is too late a prototype for me. 

Unless you have other misaligned rail joiners, the missing joiner should not cause the electric to go dead.  I am assuming that since you stated that you just bought the set, that it is a newer set and has E-Z TRAK.   I would assume that the curves are the 11,25 inch radius.   B-mann does sell the curved, straight and terminal pieces separately.

I would check for other misaligned rail joiners and make sure that the plugs are securely in the terminal track and throttle box.

The missing rail joiner could cause problems, such as derailments.  I would hit the hobby store for the replacement track section(s) and do it properly.

You must re-connect certain wires to power the frog on the E-Z TRAK turnouts.   Look on the back of the package and follow the directions.  Further, make sure that the points are connecting properly with the stock rails.  At times, the track can become dirty, even on the edges of the point rails and stock rails.   A Q-tip (@) and some Life-Like track cleaner will help assure clean contact.  If that does not work, you can take a track eraser and erase the edges on the point rails and stock rails.  Be sure to brace the point rails with a finger lest you bend them out of gauge.

The MDT switcher will stall on turnouts with unpowered frogs.  It even stalls on some with powered frogs.  The best that I have been able to do with these things is hardwire a pair together.   You can pass of the wires as MU lines.

Be sure that the sections are connected properly.  Be sure that the metal rail joiners are properly connected and are aligned properly with the rails.  One of the most common track gremlins with sectional track is misaligned rail joiners.  They ruin electrical continuity and cause derailments.  Take your time connecting the track sections.  Connect one at a time and take extra care that the rail joiners and rails are properly aligned before you pop the sections together.   One sure way to check for proper alignment is once a few sections are joined and down on the board, pry gently on either side at the joint.  If one section lifts up without taking the other section with it, the joint is not aligned properly.  You must check each section on each side of the joint and both sides of each section.  It might be painstaking, but the reward is good continuity, smooth running therefore enjoyment of your trains.

I would buy the newer version if for no other reason than the newer version runs better.   

If you simply must keep the old one, if you will get a bottle of Life Like track cleaner, dip a Q-tip into it (be sure that you get the Q-tip good and wet), hold the Q-tip against the armature and turn it with your finger, you will clean a bunch of crud off of it.   Put the chassis back onto the track, apply power and see if it runs.  It might sputter and spark, but eventually it should take off running.   if it does not, you have another problem.

To be sure that you have not done any damage to the motor.   As you mentioned smoke, that is a possibility.   It is not necessarily the case, older power often smokes if it has not been run in some time.   I do have one very old locomotive that smokes every time you apply power to it, even though I clean the armature.  There never has been any damage to the motor, it simply smokes for a little bit, then runs allright.  I know other modellers who have locomotives that do similarly.   Smoking is often a symptom of  a fried armature winding.  If you will inspect the windings on each pole, it usually is obvious if there has been any damage.   You will see charred wires and often the break will be obvious.   If that is the case, the motor is toast.  You can pay for another motor and do a swap out, or you can even pay to have the motor re-wound, but for this version of the locomotive, you would be wasting your time and money.   The latest versions of these things are not bad runners.

You might be happier with B-mann's GE 44-tonner or 70-tonner industrial switcher.   Either of these are excellent runners.   B-mann does issue at least one of these lettered for a steel producer, but I forget which one.   They come with a factory installed "smart" decoder that allows operation either on DC or DCC.   If you are not a DCC user and do not plan to be one, you do get much better slow speed control if you remove the decoder.   The modification is easy; there are tutorials on it in various places on the web.  Do keep in mind, though, that if you do modify the locomotive, you might void the warranty.