Bob, I knew they had several reporting marks, but not that many.  Please post the list.

Things could get confusing UPY #1325 and UP #1325, both locomotives on the same railroad, both the same colors.   Hopefully dispatchers wiill not make a mistake and send the wrong orders to the wrong crew, or throw the wrong switch leading to an accident!!!

Jim What kind of oil are you using on the track??

I have the Coal Creek 2-4-2T and have been running it for about six years without any problems other than to give the wheels a good cleaning one a year. It looks great pulling six Bachmann shorty log cars and a kitbashed caboose!!

I heard they were bad before I bought it, so I paid $40 for it at a local shop to use to decorate my engine house, I lubed it up real good and it is still going.  I guess I am lucky.

Jeez And everyone told me my trackwork was the most important part of my Railroad!!!   Guess not

Since the lights on the Shay work, we can rule out the TE as being the problem.  I suspect that there is a bad lighting circuit on the 2-8-0.  Could be as simple as a broken wire, maybe at the circuit board.   I am not familiar with the 2-8-0  circuit board, but if you can find a loose or broken wire that is probably it.  Hopefully one of the electronics guys can take if from here.  Sorry I can't be more helpful.
Good luck

If you bought these used or new old stock, you may have bought an older model drive train.  They were not good.  What are the markings and engine numbers?   I may be able to identify what model you have. 

Do you have another engine, and do the lights work on that one?

Did it just happen sudenly or has it always been that way??

If this is your first locomotive, I am sorry to hear you are having problems.  It can be frustrating!!  I have six of these engines and have never modified the front truck.  I have had one case where the leads to the truck were interfering with movement , but after rearranging the wires I had no trouble.   I had to reguage the lead wheels on the same engine.   I always check the guage of the wheel sets regardless of brand. 

I also use white grease to lube the slot the truck swings in.   This engine is sensitive to poorly laid track as mentioned by Jon and I would add that if you have grades, make sure you have a smooth gentle transition onto the grade.  Kinks in the track at a joiner at the transition point on a grade will also cause derailments of the front truck.  This is true of other brands of steam locomotives as well. 

When I first started out my track work was very poor.  One day after several derailments a friend pointed out problem after problem with my trackwork.  After that I got serious about track laying and eliminated 99% of my derailment problems.  This is especially true of outdoor track.  Sun, rain, settling of the track, moles, steping on the track on a soft spot, frost heaves and other factors make track maintenance outdoors critical.   Acorns or other debris cause derailments, and trigger the uncoupler mechanisms on the cars.  I usually have to relevel my outdoor track twice a year.  I also have an indoor layout and because it is not subject to all tha outdoor problems,  never needs any more that a light cleaning once a year.   The wider the radius of your curves the fewer problems, and you trains will look better,

All in all the 4-6-0 Big Hauler and the Anniversary Version are excellent buys for very little money.   My son has a different brand, but similar locomotive he paid 4 times as much for and has derailment problems, gear problems and quartering problems with the drivers, so you never know.   

I do hope you can get your problem resolved and enjoy your trains for many years to come.

try it with a new battery in the RC  transmitter in forward  at full throttle then check the leads some sets came wit a small lead which connected inside  the boiler and the other end to a 7.2 volt RC car battery pack.  I want to say that one end had a Tamiya connector to connect to the battery pack and the other which pluged into the boiler socket,   My memories are weak on this but the info should be close.  Check the box for the instructions, and the lead.  There was a small info sheet in with the battery pack connector which gave all the info on which battery to use.

Sorry I can't be more specific but my memory isn't what it used to be.  Maybe someone out there has an aoriinal set with instructions who will read this and provide better info.

Good luck and have fun with your train!!

If it is new and nothing seems to be binding, try running it for ten minutes forward and ten minutes reverse, but only after insuring that you have completely lubed the loco following the instructions.

I agree with Kor as my starter powerpack works fine with mine.  There was a problem in the early runs with loose gearboxes, so if you continue to have problems I would check that next!

Best of luck

Mick,

Look at the lastest post from the Bach man about this subject,  it may be of help.

Cheers & Beers

for those down under, the Bach man's latest post may be of some help.

The tender floor can become bowed up in the middle, if it is reassembled without the side sills being set right on the tender shell.   

Try unscrewing the shell and readjusting the floor to level!

It can be frustratiing at times contacting Bachmann USA,  but I have never had trouble when faxing them or by telephoning the number  on the back of the catalog(not the 800 number).  The email approach never seems to work.

Hope this helps.

Gotta agree with Brian on this one.   There is at present very little available in 1:20.3 and what is is very expensive.   If you have a lot of buildings in 1:22.5 or 1:24, stick with the 1:24 vehicles.   

The bottom line and most important thing is how does it look to you!!!

I feel one of the worst mistakes we make is to get to close and see all the flaws.  Look at your layout from normal viewing distance, generally this is about 6 to 10 feet.  If the scene is pleasing let it be.   I have actually used smaller scale vehicles in the far background of a scene which is not to close to the tracks, giving the impression of greater distance.   

I have found the service department to go out of their way to help as much as possibled,  sometimes it takes awhile, but they really do a great job.