Frustrated with my Brand New EM 1 2-8-8-2

[Bruiser02895]

I recently found some EM1s available for sale at N Scale Supply (great site with excellent preowned and new stuff and simply the best photography of the products on the web).

Previously, i hated the Lifelike mallet (first run) which I never use because it cannot pull 10 cars, yet I am spoiled by Athearn Big Boy which pull 40 plus box cars effortlessly around curved track and up and down grades without ever so much as  a wheel slip!!!

My EM 1 has been a wobbling wheel slipping disappointment and I am so disappointed as from reviews on the web, it looked like a sure thing and real winner.

I finally broke down and purchased one and was pleased with its whisper quiet smooth DCC operation with my NCE PowerCab on my double mainline Kato Unitrack layout, that is, until I tried to have it do what my Athearn Big Boy and IM and KATO ABA and ABBA consists do. 

>:(I had heard that the EM1 was a terrific puller with drawbar traction to pull up to 40 or 0 cars on level track. For comparison my 2009 Athearn Big Boy pulls 45 40 foot box cars on double elevated curved KATO track effortlessly with no wheel slip.

I noticed that my EM1 was having wheel slippage with 18 to 20 40 foot box cars on the same track.  I tried running the engine to break it in but eventually i noticed also that the only the front drivers seemed to be powered in regard to providing traction.  i checked the decoder connection in tender for loose wiring but everything looked good.

I am sure if the back drivers were engaging with actual tractive effort instead of just rolling, this engine would give the Big Boy a run for the money.  After about a week of operating the engine with a smaller and lighter train, I was backing it up and it seemed to jam and would only run smoothly in forward.

Is there a common cause for this problem or do I need to return this to Bachmann under the 1 year warranty?  I bought it last month and was very surprised to find that N Scale Supply still had inventory on hand as most everyone has been sold out for a months or longer.

Does anyone else have a EM1 in which the rear drivers did not engage to provide traction followed by transmission failures in reverse where the gearing seems to be slipping, locking up or not engaged?

My fear is, the Bachmann won't be able to repair it but will instead send be a Pennsy K4 which while a very nice loco is not really what I want as i often turn off the sound on my locos and simply watch them run, even the Broadway Limited E8s and Alco PA and M1A 2*8*2 (probably the best sounding N Scale engine of all time to date).  I hate to admit it, but I get tired of the sound as I tire of holding the power cab and simply like to watch the trains.  I mean the horns are cool to blow but after a couple of minutes, I wish they would just sound by themselves as macros.

I sometimes think the hobby was easier and less frustrating before DCC as my ABA and ABBA consists of IM and Kato F units don't seem to clear off my power cab and the engines then won't respond to their individual long addresses and I spend an hour trying to reprogram engines just to be able to run some trains.  Right now of the 8 F units I added to decoders, I can only operate 5 of the engines and I am finding that Kato engines are particularly unreliable with their decoders. 

Frankly, before i bought some BLI locos wherein the decoders stopped controling the motor, i never once sent a loco back to a manufacturer for being non-operational other than the very disappointing KATO GG1 and GS4 which can't keep their traction tires on and are therefore essentially junk in terms of pulling long trains. 

I modeled Scale O and had Lionel engines with sound and smoke and frankly found the noise and smoke to detract from the enjoyment of watching the trains after a while.  After a while I abandoned these as N scale was simply so much easier in terms of operations (no remotes and offered more consistent operational reliability).

I fear I am almost ready to abandon DCC and go back to pure analog as a I run E and F multi-unit consists or large articulated steam with long trains on double main lines.   

I find trying to manage traffic on double track to be work and not that enjoyable as even with Powercab recall, switching back and forth between multiple trains to adjust speed is a pain and watching more than 3 trains at a time is nerve wracking when you have 200 pieces of rolling stock running around a layout.  I like to fiddle around and work out when the trains are running and too often inattention can lead to a failure to notice uncoupling or derailments with catastrophic consequences such as when i had a kato double track container train derail and fall to the floor.  Have not even tried to figure out where all the pieces go.  Threw it all in a box and just went back to running my IM and Kato F units and steam as the Kato container cars have always been a pain to couple and keep on the tracks. 

Wow - I did not realize how frustrated I was with the hobby, yet I love it so much.  I could post pictures and a movie of the EM1 on which the only the front drivers have traction.  When I pick up the rear drivers, they do not even spin when the power is on.  This tells me the motor powering the rear drivers is not engaged with the worm gear correctly.  Needless to say, like a front wheel drive articulate, the front end wobbles under heavy load which detracts greatly even when running just 20 cars behind it.  As the BLI M1A runs betters and pulls better and offered sound for the same price, I now feel like an idiot for taking the plunge on another Bachmann steamer as my other Bachmman DCC steamer (a C&O mallet is also a poor performer).  When I add up the money I spent, I feel like a degenerate gambler since I could have bought another Broadway Limited M1A or waited and bought another Athearn Challenger or Big Boy for the money.  The last thing I need is more unused trains sitting in boxes.  I am at the point, where I am ready to just throw these things in the trash because I don't like being reminded of my stupid purchasing decision in this hobby. 

[gatrhumpy]

The EM-1 is a 2-8-8-4.

[gatrhumpy]

My EM-1 has powered axles on all 16 driver wheels. There is something wrong with yours, so return it to Bachmann with a contact phone number and ask that they fix it instead of offering a different replacement.

Try this before you return it to Bachmann: Take the engine off the track with the tender on the track. Advance the throttle to ensure that all eight engine axles are moving and engaged. If not, return it. If they are moving, not sure what's going on.

Mine can easily pull 50 box cars around N scale T-track layouts.

[Bucksco]

You should contact the dealer you purchased it from for a refund if you are not happy with the locomotive.

[Bruiser02895]

Thanks for confirming that the both sets of drivers should be providing traction and torque. 

The concern over the inability of Bachmann to repair or replace a EM1 is due to the reported total absence of spare parts reported on this forum as well as the fact they have indicate that they have no more EM1s in their on-line store inventory.

I was going to order another one from N Scale Supply to double head a long train but given my experience with the first one and the decoder and stalling problems reported with the Bachmann SD45, it appears that doubling down on Bachmann decoder equipped locos is not the way to go. 

What a shame.  It was such a gorgeous model -much like my Kato GS4 and GG1.   For years after those two traction tire disasters, I swore off Kato locos altogether as between broken truck mounted E and F unit couplers and the GG1 and GS4 traction tires issues, the number of Kato locos in my storage bins ballooned to over 15 locos.

It took me a while to accept that the GS4 and GG1 Kato locos were operationally flawed but I learned my lesson from their design flaws.  As it is, my Kato GS4s and GG1s are the reason I will never buy another Kato loco.  They run great but like their smooth running Mikado predecessor can't pull 10 cars without their traction tires.   In one case while wrestling with traction tires which could come off after only an hour of operation after receivig the units back from KATO USA, I dropped a GS4 on my tile floor and I still have not put that back together and I am not sure I can.    I am still angry about those Kato engines as I sent them back to Kato about 3 times each before I just gave up and put them and the passenger cars in permanent storage. 

Such disappointing operational experiences with what were suppose to be top of the line locos were bad enough when they were just DC and could be purchased for well under $100, but now such issues involving DCC and DCC equipped with Sound locos are more than just an annoyance, they are a threat to the hobby itself as few hobbyists will continue to write off hundreds of dollars worth of equipment for very long. 

Hence, my comments about analog locos and the loss of value taking place with the high cost of digital N Scale as the result of increasingly complex locos and decoders  are rushed to market without much testing and QC control.   

[propmeup1]

Has to be something wrong with your's. I have all four road numbers they made and each one pulls great. I double head them and yank 60 cars no problem.  A little much for my 13' X 11' but still looks impressive.   I've already triplehead as in a photo found in the book "portrait of the rails".  That was a train !

But yes I would say it's the engine you have.   They work great with soundtraxx decoders too

Keith

[Bucksco]

This really isn't the proper place to complain about other manufacturer's products. It would be best to give the Bachmann service department a call to discuss a problem with a Bachmann product.

[Mike C]

 Looks like you just got a bad one . I would return it to where you bought it if you can .  The only other option would be to contact someone that would fix it for you . I know there are a couple of people over on the www.therailwire.net that may be able to help you . It's probably the coupling between the motor and driveshaft on one end that is broken .  About the traction tires , if they keep coming off , all you need to do is use a bit of paint in the groove to keep the tire stuck to the wheel .

[Bruiser02895]

Yardmaster:

Do I need an RA# to send the EM1 to Bachmann for warranty repair?

On the Bachmann Service web page, the instructions indicate that I should contact the service dept before returning a product for repair, yet the form for submitting the return request does not seem to work nor can I seem to elicit a response via emails. 

Sorry about the venting but when I look at the 100 plus engines I have in storage and no longer operate due to operational issues or missing traction tires, or broken parts (truck mounted couplers) , it is more than a little annoying.   

I have taken apart countless units for parts to keep other units running but since many of these models are no longer available commercially, the absence of parts eventually leads to storage as ABBA sets dwindle to ABA and AB and BB and AA sets.  I have replaced a dozen broken truck mounted couplers with drawbars but on some models there just design limitations which limit work-a-rounds. 

[Bucksco]

Call the service manager Laura Harris at (215) 533-1600 during normal operating hours. She will be happy to answer all of your service questions.

[Bruiser02895]

Thanks.  I will call Laura on Monday.  Much appreciate the assistance.

[Bruiser02895]

I look forward to hauling 40' MT box cars behind the repaired or replaced EM1 unit without wheel slip on my DCC and DC double track mainlines on my 9 by 4 layout.  I have almost no buildings as i like to run the trains through deserts and forests and around curves and over bridges and find that industries and buildings are not as interesting as wide open spaces when running 40 car trains in N Scale.   I have redwoods and pine and dedicuous forests as well as cacti and desert scenes and with the sweeping radii of Kato elevated curve double track, i would rather use the space for an engine terminal and a staging yard.  i would love to combine the two separate lines but converting 100 plus DC locos is no small undertaking.

i do find that running ABBA and Big articulated steam with 40 plus colorful 1940s and 1950s 40 and 50 foot box cars is why I got into N Scale.  Of course with such long trains drawbar power is the key on curves and grades.  I like DCC because the speed control is vastly superior and the sound is great although with diesels and steam I tire of the engine noise but never get tired of the whistles, horns and bells.  I have done modern but find the last generation steam and first generation diesels to be the best. 

Wish Bachmann would make some DCC and sound equipped ALCO FA 1s and FA2s & RF 16s, C Lines in ABBA sets and some Pennsy T1 and S1 and S2 steam and some NYC Dreyfus Hudsons.   I like design variation in my units and running only FTs, F3s and F7s, Alco PAs, EMD 7s and 8s can get dull after a while even with DCC and Sound.  Since I live in St Louis where nearly every road name would have appeared at one time or another, I run eastern and western roads

[Bruiser02895]

Epilogue  - Bachmann did replace the EM1 with a different road # unit - which happily runs flawlessly - so despite some issues with the process and delay and having to send the engine twice, it all worked out in the end.  That said, sending engines in for warranty work is simply a negative experience regardless of the outcome.  I have bought additional Bachmann DCC units and they have been trouble free so far, so I can't really say anything bad about the N Scale DCC on board line.