removing shell

[Buckster324]

I bought an old bachmann what looks to be Gp 40 and of course it doesnt run. I can't get the shell off this thing, how do I take it off?  Once its off what am I looking for as far as why it doesnt run?

Buck

[Jerrys HO]

Buck

I never removed an older version but they should be close to the newer versions.
The fuel tank should just pop off and then you should be able to see the screws attaching the shell.
Try a 9volt battery on the wheels to see if you get any movement. Check the driveshafts to make sure they are properly seated. If lube is caked up clean and regrease.

This link might help also.

Jerry

http://www.trainelectronics.com/Meter_Workshop/index.htm

[jward]

depending on how old the locomotive is, it may be a pancake motor version, with only 4 wheels powered.     does one of the trucks freewheel when you try to turn the wheels by hand? if so yours is probably the pancake motor version. does the body have a rear headlight which protrudes above the roofline? pancake motor version.....

on that assumption, there were two ways i remember bachmann attatching the body to the frame. one was by a screw through the bottom of the fuel tank into the body. the other was through slits in the body just above the fuel tank. with those you carefully pry the body apart from the fuel tank until it clears the lugs on the fuel tank, then lift the body off.

if this is indeed a pancake motor job, there may not be much you can do with it. these old motors sat atop one of the trucks and were self contained. they had plastic bearings, and if the locomotive received heavy usage, the bearings could melt jamming the motor.

for a good look at the inside of a pancake motor gp40, follow the link and click on locomotives and scroll down to the 11th and 12th photos.

http://www.girr.org/girr/girr_ho/girr_ho.html#background