My repair job with the zip tie works like a champ!  The RS-1 is a great workhorse and pulls about 23 cars at a time.  It would pull more if not for the two curves and uphill 1% grade.

Thanks.  I am a bit relieved. 

I had to go to work in education in 1992 and boxed all my DC train stuff.  Now I am retired, but with a very limited pension.  I calculated the requirements for my now DC Point Marion, PA railroad I built (my home town) and have about 129 cars and 7 locos.  One of them, a K-4, doesn't work and you cannot fix it.  It is now on permanent display on the mantle.  I don't want to lose any more but I fear as the years go, so will DC and I cannot the fifteen hundred dollars your company told me would have to spend to switch from DC to DCC.  I am  71 years old.  What are the chances, not counting disasters, of DC going away forever?

I live in central Texas and have a non-airconditioned garage layout, where the garage temperatures can exceed 120 degrees F.  My cars and engines stored well in non-air-conditioned storage until my retirement as of late.  The engines still work VERY well, except for the K-4, which I am working on to get the drive trains to work.  (My old Spectrum GP-30 (38?) pulled 23 cars of over 4 ounces each up a 1 percent grade yesterday in a traction test with no faltering!)  I can only afford to continue DC at this time, as teacher retirement is not so good in Texas.  Should I shut-down in the summer? I could still run the layout in the cooler 5 am hours (two or three hours), or should I remove the locomotives inside?  Should I remove all the cars?  I do keep the engines lubed well but not over-lubed.  Any suggestions are deeply appreciated.

By the way, if my Spectrum K-4 cannot be fixed locally, is there any trade-in option(s) for these wonderful locos or is it now a "static" display case object and should I just consider it a bad investment?  Thank you.  Ross Litman

I live in central Texas and have a non-airconditioned garage layout, where the garage temperatures can exceed 120 degrees F.  My cars and engines stored well in non-air-conditioned storage until my retirement as of late.  The engines still work VERY well, except for the K-4, which I am working on to get the drive trains to work.  (My old Spectrum GP-30 (38?) pulled 23 cars of over 4 ounces each up a 1 percent grade yesterday in a traction test with no faltering!)  I can only afford to continue DC at this time, as teacher retirement is not so good in Texas.  Should I shut-down in the summer? I could still run the layout in the cooler 5 am hours (two or three hours), or should I remove the locomotives inside?  Should I remove all the cars?  I do keep the engines lubed well but not over-lubed.  Any suggestions are deeply appreciated.

By the way, if my Spectrum K-4 cannot be fixed locally, is there any trade-in option(s) for these wonderful locos or is it now a "static" display case object and should I just consider it a bad investment?  Thank you.  Ross Litman

Trucks fit except that the gear case is about 5 mm too far away from the fly-wheel for the spin shaft to fit (spin shaft connected between fly-wheel and worm gear).  So, I used the old gear box frame with all original stuff except the side-mounted wheel covers.  I had a broken "snap" fitting on gear box, so held that side with a zip tie.  It held fast so far and the RS-1 runs well on the straight-and-level forward and back.  I will let you know about the rest of the operation as soon as I get the track back up.   I am doing some track lay-out modification and rewiring.  It should be ready in less than a week.  Thanks for the help you guys.  I appreciate you all trying to get me to buy new, but some things have so much sentimental value and I do like to solve problems.  It must be the "engineer" in me - laughs.  RL

Thanks - I ordered the parts and a couple of others just in case I broke one.  This engine has sentimental value to me and, as a retired Texas teacher, I cannot afford a new one - I am stuck with DC because I do not have $1,500 plus to convert everything.  Thanks though.  RL

I have an Atlas RS=1, product number8106.  Thirty years ago, it was dropped and broken in a high school science project and I am just now getting around to fixing it for my layout, now I am finally retired.  One of the trucks is broken.  I cannot find any spares from Atlas.  Does Bachmann make a truck that will fit it?  Thanks - Ross