Swannee River Special 4 6 0 puffs out .

[trainstrainstrains]

My Swannee River Special , recently bought on ebay pre owned,  Seems to get tired after three or four rounds on a circular track, it starts to slow down and stops, when I then reverse  it runs normal , when I go forward the same happens again , runs normal, slows down and stops.

[Kevin Strong]

When you run it in reverse, does it continue to run well for long periods of time? (i.e, hours on end as opposed to just a few minutes going forward?)

Also, if this is a starter set, are you using the starter set power supply and track?

One thing you can try, though I don't know if your loco has this switch or not. Open the smokebox door on the front of the loco. There should be an on/off switch for the smoke unit there. There may also be a switch that says "NMRA/Large Scale." Depending on the vintage of your loco, this switch may or may not be there. If it's there, throw it the other way. What this does is reverses the polarity of the power going to the motor. (What was "forward" on the power supply will now make the loco run in reverse.) Now run your loco. Does it do the same thing, does it do the same thing, but run well forward and poorly in reverse? If you don't have this switch on the loco, reverse the leads between the power supply and the track. It will effectively do the same thing.

What you describe is very odd behavior, so I'm leaning towards the power pack being somehow involved in all this. The power packs that come with starter sets aren't exactly known for their ability to handle large amounts of current. My initial guess would be that there's something when running forward that's drawing a fair amount of current, causing the power pack to bog down. When running in reverse, that extra load isn't there for some reason, and the power pack runs well.

If you've got a volt/amp meter, measure the current going to the locomotive. If you've not done this before, disconnect one wire from the power pack to the track. Attach one lead from the meter to that terminal, and the wire to the other. That puts the meter "in series" with the circuit, and all power will go through the meter, letting you know how much current it's drawing. (Apologies if you knew this already.) If you don't have one, head over to Harbor Freight or Radio Shack and get one. You're going to need it.

Compare the current running forward versus running in reverse. If you can switch the polarity, compare the current under those circumstances as well.

Later,

K

[trainstrainstrains]

The locomotives does not have the extra switch in the front, only one for smoke so I switched polarities on the power supply,  same thing good backwards , stops forward after a short while, I have bought everything second hand on ebay , no starter set, the rails are Aristocraft brass but used and not so clean, the ties have no screws , I have them but have not yet installed them , the power supply is LGB 50081, the circle has 14 rails, my two other locomotive work well on this track. I have no volt meter but I will borrow one on tuesday or Wednesday and will write.
Thank you again.

[Chuck N]

Most major track manufacturers have 12 or 16 sections to a full circle.  I think that you have either two few track sections, or two to many.  If you can measure the diameter of your circle we should be able to tell you which is correct.  Is there a part number on the back of the track?  Failing that measure the length of the inside and outside rails.  With that we should be able to figure out what you have.

There is a lot of flexibility in full circles of our track, especially if it is well used.

Most manufacturers use 30 degree or 22.5 degree curves for their sectional track.  Smaller diameters have 12 sections, larger > 8' diameter usually have 16 sections.

Chuck

[trainstrainstrains]

I suspect in this case there should be 16, they are the longer less bent rails. I'l check the diameter of the circle tomorrow. I also suspect the problem might be in the locomotive because I just tested the Olumana on this track and it runs like a clock, steady for ever. I don't' know how the 4 6 0 should run but it seems to lack power, perhaps something wrong with the wiring or the motor? It looks like its been tampered with a bit. The wires in the front where preventing the small front wheel part from moving and the back wheels were incorrectly placed when I got it.

[NarrowMinded]

Hi,

I would.check the axles for hair or carpet fibre that may have wrapped around them and cause binding as they tighten.

I would also check the gear on the motor to see if it is slipping and moving and causing a bind in the gear box area.

Nm-jeff

[trainstrainstrains]

Either I've gotten to the bottom of the problem or I've made it worse.
I first turned the loco upside down and held wires from the power supply to  the wheels but I soon got tired of holding them in place so I tied the wires to the front wheels,  everything seemed to work fine, no slowing down but I did notice a slight crunch when going forward, after a while the crunch became louder the loco slowed down , a little smoke , big crunch and stop. The last time I opened the bottom to fix the front wheels that nylon gear wheel did not look like that. So either the gear wheels were already worn and that was causing the problem or the motor was running against great resistance and the nylon got to hot and the teeth of the nylon wheel disintegrated.
I hope the two nylon gear parts are available, I now need instructions on how to take apart the necessary to be able to change the nylon parts. And to find out if something is causing friction where it should not.
PS. I intended to post photos of the state the nylon wheeĺ is in and the inside of the locomotive but I get an error message "file to big" even when I try one with such low resolution one can't see anything.

[Loco Bill Canelos]

HI TTT,

Your train is:90027*   SOU   Suwannee River Special   1996   1998   Pass    8254   Ver 3&4?   Southern Combine #11   Obs #100 "Steven Foster"

It is an older set first introduced in 1996.  They were equipped with an older Version 3 or Version 4 Chassis.   Those old chassis all had problems of one kind or another after running a bit.  The newer version 5 chassis is a really great almost bullet proof chassis!!!

Parts are no longer available for the older chassis.  I strongly recommend buying a newer Version 5  chassis currently on sale for $30.  They don't seem to have an exact color match for the Suwannee loco, but this chassis should work:   http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_69_148&products_id=4092

The steam chest color will be black unlike the green ones on your loco, but the chassis will fit fine.

Good Luck with your repair.

Bill

[trainstrainstrains]

Thank you Bill,
I will most likely buy one today, but I want to make sure my locomotive is the one you say, how can I identity it?
Does the said part include the engine?  I've looked at the Bachmann page before and noticed there is a green one for $50 will it not fit?

[Loco Bill Canelos]

TTT,

If your locomotive has the number 8254 on the cab it is the one I am talking about.  Your locomotive will be either the version 3 or version 4. 

Version 3  1994-1998  Smooth Bottom Cover You cannot turn the drivers by hand                        
Version 4  1998-1999  Large wide hump dead center between the rear drivers on bottom cover                        

The $50 chassis have the metal gears and there are some differences.  I have not personally tried to put the $50 Annie chassis on a Big Hauler loco like your, but I have been told there are some clearance issues which are not insurmountable by a person with some mechanical skills.

On the other hand the $30 chassis was designed for your loco body, and the installation will be straight forward.   The mechanisms are exactly the same inside and are both version 5.  The difference being the plastic siderods on the $30 chassis.

Bill

[trainstrainstrains]

It has 8254 written all over, it has a Bachmann China on the bottom and a little round sticker on each side July 1910 34942.
I am now a bit worried the link you gave me says SOLD OUT. If the right one is sold out can I perhaps adapt another one?

[trainstrainstrains]

Sorry, I posted the last comment without realising you had already answered. I will check again to veryfie it is sold out and get back to you.

[Loco Bill Canelos]

TTT  Any of the $30 chassis will work,  but may have colors that you will need to paint over. Some chassis have the long pilot(cowcatcher) and some have the short.  get one with the short one, or you could use the one on your loco and transfer it to the new chassis.

[trainstrainstrains]

It is confusing because the parts keep changing order as one looks at them but as far as I can make out the situation is as follows:
Parts  with No. 900 ending in 59,24,56,82,64,84 are sold out, that includes the one you recommended. Available are Parts with No 900 ending in 31,94,25/32/57,35,76  and two more expensive red ones 47 and 44/45.
So which of the available parts would be easiest to adapt?

[trainstrainstrains]

Again you answer before I manage to formulate the question , which is great. Will look closely at the $30 ones and decide thanks.