United Aircraft Turbo Train by Bachmann

[mjones038]

Hello all,

I picked up an old Turbo Train over a year ago. It ran rough at the time so I shelved it. Now I have time to work on it and hopefully put it on my layout. The motor and front drive truck are the problem. These need to be replaced. Would anyone know where these items, or event the entire assembly could be bought from? If necessary, I would be willing to go the route of individual pieces to rebuild this unit. I don't want this unit just for a static display
Any help would be appreciated!

[James in FL]

Hi mjones038,

This train was manufactured 45+ years ago.
As you probably already know, your best bet is going to be eBay for a donor, or maybe a train show.
Be sure you ask the seller if it is in running condition.
Have you checked what the spook has to say about it?

http://www.spookshow.net/loco/turbo.html

What exactly is wrong with yours? Dead motor? Something else?
Is it possible you could open up that front truck/motor assembly frame part and post a pic?

[mjones038]

Hi James,

The motor seems strong when I run it out of the frame. I don't think I have a problem there. It might be worth trying to convert to DCC if I get the drive truck repaired.  I see wear and tear on the idler gear plus a lot of wobble, and the two drive gears, the worm gear appears to be ok. I was thinking that being 40+ years, I would have better luck finding the whole assembly rather than the idler gear and two drive gears.
Mark

[spookshow]

Unfortunately, they didn't really run all that great when they were brand new, so it's going to be an uphill climb.

-Mark

[James in FL]

I see wear and tear on the idler gear plus a lot of wobble, and the two drive gears, the worm gear appears to be ok. I was thinking that being 40+ years, I would have better luck finding the whole assembly rather than the idler gear and two drive gears.

Maybe.

Way back when N scale was new, in most cases, it was a one size fits all as far as driveline gearing between models from the same manufacturer.
Measure the diameter of the shaft hole as well as the gear diameters and tooth count, maybe one of us has something in the junk box that you can use. Wobble can be addressed with washers on either side of the gear. If the center hole is worn out, it may be possible to drill and sleeve with some tubing.
Maybe a long shot but WTH, you got nothing to lose.

[Desertdweller]

I think this Turbo Train might be a good choice for a re-issue.  Not just a repop with the same old shortcomings, but a re-engineered model.

I was working in N scale at the time this train was released, but didn't buy one then.

I remember this train was put on a nationwide tour, giving free rides to the public (missed out on that, too).  So it would be appropriate on many model railroads of the late 60's time period.  I would buy one if it were in the United Aircraft livery and not PRR or AMTRAK.  There may very well be a market for those roadnames, too.

Les

[plas man]

would it be possible to re-motor using a 'F' unit as doner chassis suitably modified ?

[TJ]

The only chassis I could think of are the CC RDC , KATO RDC ,Modemo , Tomytec and Greenmax or one of those other odd  chassis... all modified of course . one might want to try this > http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microace-E0003-Powered-Motorized-Chassis-21m-DT22-N-scale-/361671435323?hash=item54354c243b:g:1CQAAOxy-sRSZgbu . Scroll down to see diagram.

TJ