Ticking Scratching Sound

[RkyGriz]

This is what Punkin said in an earlier post:
Thank you Bill,

"My original train did come with a metal swing arm front wheel assembly. The thing was giving me difficulty when running anti-clockwise corners. After putting an Ohm meter to it I could tell that when the wheels shifted or leaned to one side or the other the continuity would drop out. I contacted Bachmann and they sent a replacement front wheel assembly which did correct the problem. Laura has been very VERY good to work with. She has been exceptionally responsive."
So, yes Bill, if you read his prior posts you'll see that he clearly states that his original locomotive was equipped with the new upgraded front pilot when he received it brand new from the retailer that he bought it from. There was a defect with the front pilot, and Bachmann sent him a replacement for it. So, we must therefore conclude from Punkins' prior posts, that the loco he originally bought was indeed equipped with the newer #6 chassis.
I've had problems with the service department at Bachamnn myself. I sent in a loco for repairs and went through 3 returns until I received an acceptable loco which wasn't even the same as the original loco that I had returned. It was the Blue & Brown#10 D&RG wood burner and the one that I finally received was a black, unpainted coal burner because they had run out of the blue D&RG #10 which was fine as I was tired of having to deal with it  and wait for a suitable replacement.
So you can easily see how my sympathies are with Punkin on this.
With all due respect, Bill.
Take care!

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Hello All,

This has been a very confusing situation and I should NOT have posted any response to punkin at all until I was able to verify what product he actually bought!  I  thought he had a 81088 and replaced the front truck.  It is especially confusing because Bachmann has produced the Bumble Bee 4-6-0 in at least three different product numbers and more than one cab number. 

I have gone back and researched the very first posts made by Punkin. I now think that he most probably purchased Product number 91602 Annie Bumble bee and not product 81088 also an Annie Bumble Bee, but I am not positive since many dealers have both the 81088 and the 91602 Bumble Bee available for sale. 

If he did buy the product 91602 it does have the brass gears and that is what he should get back from Bachmann.   If the box he got back has the product number 81088 he got the older model with plastic gears.  If the box he got back has the number 91602 then it is the newer version with brass gears. 

If he told Laura which product number he bought for sure,  they will make it right.  The 91602 is a current production model so he should get the exact model back and not a substitute.

Again I should not have posted anything without knowing the actual product number.   If because of any post I made Punkin does not get the right item, I will buy him a new one at my expense if he sends me the product number and receipt for his purchase.

I fully support him in getting the correct item which ever one it actually was.

Bill

[Bucksco]

All the original poster needs to do is contact our service department and speak to the service manager. We will be more than happy to accommodate him. Mistakes can happen - nobody is perfect. Our service department does everything within it's power to keep our customers happy. There are often multiple versions of a product due to upgrades made during the life of the product. If the wrong version chassis was inadvertently sent we will be happy to make it right.

[punkin]

Hello all and thank you very much for the support. I'm still very new to the world of model trains and my learning curve is still quite steep.

The train I purchased was a Bumble Bee 4-6-0. The box says #91602. It did come with the metal swing arm thing up front and shortly after running it the thing would stutter and was kind of jerky. The lights would flicker. After some of you offered suggestions on how to troubleshoot, I used my Ohm meter on the truck assembly and could see that under certain conditions the pickups would present an open circuit and drop voltage.

After explaining this to the tech at Bachmann, he sent me a replacement swing arm assembly. After replacing the swing arm assembly all was running very very nicely but then after a few hours of use I detected a second problem which presented as a ticking sound. It got worse over time and then when I opened the bottom cover I then noticed that it appeared that the brass axle carriers were turning in the plastic chassis mount locations and were chewing up the plastic.

After again contacting Bachmann they asked me to send the entire locomotive in. The turn around time was very fast. I was quite pleased with this. It appeared as though they replaced the entire unit. Before putting it onto my track I thought to inspect and lubricate as I know this is important. When I turned the unit over I noticed that the bottom side was very much different. The front carrier assembly was a plastic affair and now had a spring in the middle. When I removed the bottom lubrication/inspection cover so as to apply grease, I noticed that the gears were now plastic instead of brass.

I did contact Bachmann again and asked why the different unit. The service manager said she would look into it. A few days later I received a phone call from the technician who essentially said that the replacement chassis with the brass and metal parts were not available and that the unit that I received was as good as the one I previously had and that it would serve me for many years to come. It was explained to me that this is how they do warranty replacements and that I should not be alarmed. I was encouraged to put it on the track and run it.

Currently I have my replacement engine running, pulling my newly lighted caboose and so far after about 2 hours of run time, all is well :-)

[RkyGriz]

Hi, Punkin. Glad to hear that you're happy with the way everything turned out. In the end the only thing that really matters is if you're happy with the unit that you received. I hope that it will last you many happy years. Just remember to maintain it per the video instructions. All 3 of my powered Annies are great and the one that I was telling you about in my last post is actually my favorite. I just wanted to make sure that you were aware of the differences between the #5 chassis and the #6 chassis locomotives and that you'd receive a proper replacement for what you originally bought and then had to have replaced.
Just so long as you're happy my friend!
Take care!