Royal Blue Big Hauler will not run

[papaskeet]

Have not setup for years, so for this year laid track in circle applied power, 4-6-0 ran short time, very, very slowly with very dim light and NOW WILL NOT RUN at all.  Track voltage at various locations reads 25 volts. Track appears bright and clean, any suggestions?

[trainman203]

Just like automobiles, after years of sitting idle, model trains will not run either.  You've clearly shown that the problem is not the track voltage or track cleanliness, it's the engine.  The dim light is telling you that very little power is getting through to the motor.

After years of inactivity, every point of electrical contact on the locomotive is oxidized. I'm not familiar with that exact model, but certainly the wheels need cleaning.  Plus, there's probably pick up feelers rubbing on the inside of the driving wheels, those things not only oxidize, but pick up fuzz balls, pet hair, and every kind of crud you can imagine. You get a stiff piece of thin cardboard, and push it in and out between the feeler in the wheel after blowing it all out with keyboard canned air. And look at all the fuzz that comes out, especially if it was a Christmas train that ran on track laid on carpet.  The engine not moving at all after having made slight movement is clearly telling you that some kind of particles have moved into position somewhere to interrupt power, and that they need to be cleaned out.

The wheel surfaces on both the engine and the tender without a doubt need heavy cleaning. To clean the engine wheels, you spin  the driving wheels on a paper towel dampened with isopropyl alcohol laid over the track, and be amazed at all the black greasy crud that comes off. the tender wheels need cleaning too. You roll the tender back-and-forth on a similar towel with slight downward pressure, pushing it slightly from side to clean the entire wheel surface, and again see how filthy they were.  Not being familiar with this exact model, but having bought nearly every recent HO scale steam locomotive Bachmann has offered, there are probably little pick up feelers on the tender wheel axles as well, and they will be just as dirty as everything else, clean them as well.

And just to be thorough, rub your track with a similar dampened paper towel, and I will bet that black oxidation still comes off.

Do all of this deep cleaning, and report back to us how it went.

[Fred2179]

The dim light is telling you that very little power is getting through to the motor.

After years of inactivity, every point of electrical contact on the locomotive is oxidized. I'm not familiar with that exact model, but certainly the wheels need cleaning. 

While this is all true in general, the Bachmann 4-6-0 is a little different. Yes, clean the wheels! If you have a rubber lube cap over the rear axle then pry it out and add lots of model grease. If you don't have a lube cap, and the bottom is smooth, then support the loco upside down on some styrofoam or similar blocks and remove the bottom chassis cover (big screw at front must come out too.) You may find brass strips attached to the cover that rest on the bearings, or (on even older models) you may find plunger-type pickups in the chassis that bear on the backs of the wheels.  Whichever type it is, clean and lubricate the wheels bearings and wheel pickups.

There's a page on the Reference docs section of thi site that has the 4-6-0 exploded diagram.