Thanks Jonathan, you have been a big help. I appreciate your time and effort. From the picture in the parts section it looks like the motor "kit" comes with the motor, fly wheel and gear assembled and the worm gear. That might just solve the problem. I agree that a call to the service department might be worthwhile.
Thanks again,

Ed

Jonahan,

Mine looks exactly like the pictures you posted. On mine the pulley gear, the one between the motor and the fly wheel, is not pressed onto the shaft tightly. In other words you can slide it back and forth a little bit and you can rotate it on the shaft. At first I thought this might be the problem but on second thought if this were not able to slip, it seems the belt would break if the drive mechanism ever hung up. Maybe you can shed some light on this. Does the gear on yours move or is it rigid?

You also mentioned the possibility of a bad casting that does not hold the worm shaft properly. You may have something there, the shaft does have some play in it. The end away from the belt end will move in and out a little if I push on it. Maybe I need a thicker bushing to take up the space.

Thanks for your interest and your help.

Ed

The fly wheel is tight. When I hold it the motor stops.  Thanks Ed

The belt looks fine so problem must lie somewhere else. Thanks for ypu info. Ed

I recently purchased an older Bachmann 2-8-0 HO DCC with sound. It looks great and the sound is quite good. However, there is a problem with the drive mechanism. The motor turns but the engine does not move. I can get it to go with a Little push but it stops each time it gets to a hill. The motor keeps turning but the engine does not move. I disassembled it and checked it out. The wheels roll easily when disconnected from the drive system so the problem is not in their alignment. When there is any resistance at all on the system the gear on the motor drive shaft, the one that turns the little belt, just freewheels therefore the motor turns fast but nothing else happens. Looks to me like the system was designed to fail! Any ideas? They sell new motor kits but I wonder if that would help, it might be just as bad as the old one. Any suggestions? Thanks Ed

Thanks, that worked. The shell actually came off rather easily once the screws were removed.

I am having trouble removing the shell on my GP7. I have removed the couplers and don't see any screws that look like they are holding the shell on. What am I missing?