Fleischmann ho 1324


A

aachtenberg

New Member
My mother found this train in my Father's stuff after years of him passing away. It renewed my interest in model trains. I bought a small ready to run system and have my son playing with it. I have attempted to run the old Fleischmann on the track and I can hear the motor spinning, but the train does not move. The lights come on, etc... I removed the housing to see the motor and I can power the train and see the motor turning along with the gears, but I cannot figure out why the train wheels wont turn. I have been looking for a snapshot of the train on the internet to make sure that I am not missing any gears, etc... but have been unsuccessful. Any ideas from Fleischmann owners (especially 1960 locos) would be most helpful.

BTW - what is the small brass "button" underneath the train for?

I do have the original paper maintenance sheet. The sheet shows the train at all different angles, but fails to show the left side of the loco where I can see if I am missing a gear or not. I can post pics if needed.
 
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Fleishman back in those years was probably 3 rail. The small brass button is the pickup for the center rail. Do you have any track w/the engine?
It's made something like an S gauge engine. The pickups are in the tender & that makes power to the engine.

Larry
 
aachtenberg said:
I do not have any 3 rail. The interesting part is the manual. It shows one section of track in between two rail track. Can you make any sense of this pic?


http://picasaweb.google.com/aachten/Fleischmann1324Manual/photo#5235651885826817218

I recognize the AC symbol, but not sure what it has to do with that small section of track. The "button" hits it once ?
Click to expand...

Does your transformer have a reverse built into it? That one rail may be a reverse for the engine. Can't figure out what the button is for. On some other scales it's just a pickup that sits on the center rail.(S scale).
Since you don't have a tender on that engine the engine gets all of the power on the 2 rails.
Sometimes an engine won't run because of dirt in the motor or the wheels are real dirty. I've done repairs on a lot of engines & there's always some little unforseen thing that causes a short or something. Wish I could help you more. Maybe someone else will think of something.

Larry
 
I'm assuming you have a Fleischmann HO AC locomotive. It uses a common three rail design from the 1960's that was also used by Roco, Brawa, and several other German manufacturers. The third "rail" was a brass contact button on each cardboard tie, wired together in each track section. As Larry said, the small brass contact, or button, on the bottom of the tender was to make contact with the brass contact buttons on the track. The system picked up power for the lights and motor off from the positive outside rail but the gearing picked up power from the contact button. This was done so good things about AC power, like not having to worry about reverse loops, could be combined with tracks that look almost the same as two rail, with small brass button contacts being almost invisible. You can convert the AC locomotives to two rail DC. Do search on Google and you'll find some articles on how to do the conversion. You can also get some original NEMA three rail button tracks and AC transformers but they've been out of production for many years and are prohibitively expensive unless you have a lot of German locomotives you want to run using the original track.
 
The fact that the engine has the brass button pickup under the coal bunker is pretty much proof positive that it's AC since Fleischmann only used that system to produce Märklin-compatible locomotives, which were three rail AC using the system I described. I'm not an expert on German trains and only remember this information because I had one of those Fleischmann train sets when I was a kid in the 50's. There are several Yahoo groups devoted to Fleischmann trains that would have guys that could give you more information.
 
Fleischmann BR 65.....not AC!

Fleischmann 1324 is a BR 65 tank locomotive released from 1962 to 1972. Later versions of this same design are still released to this day, but the body is no longer metal and the detail has vastly improved.

This is not a three-rail AC locomotive. Fleischmann did make Marklin compatable locomotives, but those had full pick-up shoes similar to those used in all 3-rail operation. The button is a pickup shoe of sorts and can still be found on all 2 rail Fleischmann locomotives to this day.

The button is for a "booster" rail for sections of track where current was either insufficient OR another function was desired. This third rail section clips into model Fleischmann track but is only a section of about 100mm long. They still make and sell this track accessory today and one can be seen on this page at Reynaulds.com

http://www.reynaulds.com/Fleischmann/temp.asp?item=6402

You will notice, that if you apply power to one set of axles and the button on the bottom, the engine will act as if powered. It will not do so if power is applied to the other side (axles) and the button, thus eliminating the 3rd rail pickup theory.

So why doesn't it run? Several posibilities.

1. As you mentioned one of the gears may be missing or even stripped.
2. Old oil (especially on old Marklin) tends to lock things up when not used for several years.
3. Check the drive rods. Maybe those are gummed up or even bent.
4. Bolts - the bolts that hold the drive rods to the axles may be too tight.
5. Loose gear. Over the years, it is possible that the main gear on the pancake motor comes loose. It may be still on the shaft, but might need to be pushed back in place toward the center.

I hope some of this helps. I have a lot of old and new Fleischmann. The fact that the engine lights up and the motor still "runs" is a testament to the quality of this manufacturer.

Please also note that newer code track is not always suitable to the pizza cutter wheel flanges of older model railroad models. Even if this should start running on the layout, you may hear a clickity clack (a la Thomas) as the wheel flanges make contact with the railroad ties on your newer 21st Century track.

The most recent version of this model resembles this:

http://www.reynaulds.com/fleischmann/temp.asp?item=4065
 
I know nothing about this locomotive, nor the manufacturer. HOwever (as opposed to Never...oh, c'mon, you know it's funny!), if the OP has correctly concluded that the motor and gears are all meshed and all turning when he applies power, it is inescapable that one of the gears is spinning on its axle. It is no longer bound to the axle, but merely spins on it. You will need a new piece, or you'll have to remove the axle, scribe or score the shaft where the gear belongs to provide tooth for an adhesive, coat the axle where the gear is meant to reside with a slow setting CA gel, slide the gear back into place, and let the CA cure. That, hopefully, will buy you a few more years of useful service, although maybe pulling only short trains on low grades.
 
Actually, you'd be surprised. Quite a number of these models have gears on the main motor shaft that seem to be held in place automagically. I have a diesel from this manufacturer from the 80s that has a gear popping problem. I open it up, pop it back on soak the whole thing in oil and grease, set it back on the track and watch it burn!.... actually not really... I do add more oil and grease and away it goes. It is a small nuisance, but it only takes about 5 minutes to fix.

On another note, many of these old Fleischmann bastages were quite the hauler. Whether it was diesels and electrics with all axles powered or the steamers of this period with the same, and the inclusion of (cheating here) factory installed traction tires, some of these locomotives could pull quite a lot ....even up a 3% or greater grade. Typically the couplers somewhere along the rake would give out long before the engine did.

Sure they make a noise akin to Swiss watch in a blender, but these old "clunkers" with cast metal frames and chassis can still do some amazing things.

Honestly he should fix this thing and NOT give it to his son. ...at least until he is old enough to not want trains as a toy anymore.
 
Jeffrey, I was hoping a real Fleishmann expert would see this post. I only remember anything about them because I had a set when I was a kid in the mid-50's. That one was AC and the track had the little button third rail down the rail. Now that you mention it, I do remember sliding pickup shoe under the locomotive but it also seemed (in my dim memory) that the brass button under the tender also slid over the third rail. I guess the brass button is a leftover from the AC days. Anyway, I'm glad you could set the record straight and add all that extra detail.
 
For lack of pictures of the inside of this locomotive, I think I am positive I know the problem. There definitely is a gear missing. I cant verify with any pics online or the manual itself but there are two gears coming off the motor. They both turn.

I believe there should be a third gear that contacts to the teeth on the drive wheels and the second gear. It is missing. the two main gears have circlips and look fine. The third gear that is missing looks like it should be underneath the second gear without a circlip?

Any ideas where I can find gears this size? (they are plastic BTW).

Larry - thanks for the great post. It helped tremendously.
 
Nearly 15 years later, but I have the same model and the bottom gear of the gear train is missing with circlip.

Any ideas at all where i get a replacement please?
 
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