KB02
Well-Known Member
I spent last weekend in Springfield, MA at the Amherst Model Railway Society's train show. I had it in my head that I wanted to buy a new locomotive but wasn't quite sure what I wanted. By the end of the weekend, I was starting to walk to the door without much (physically) to show for my time there and I saw a Bachmann Spectrum FM H16-44 sitting on the end of a seller's table for $10 - Little card attached saying "Does Not Run." Well, shoot: I'm pretty mechanically minded. I have spare parts and extra motors at home, why not? I took the chance. 4+ Hour drive home later, I couldn't wait and I dove in. Turns out it was a two fold problem: 1.) Poor connection from the frame to the motor leads (DC model) due to corrosion. and 2.) Shot bushings in the motor.
I looked it over and considered my options. That's when I realized the trucks were the same as another Bachmann loco I had which had a bad truck. I went to the layout, grabbed the other loco, a little tinkering later and my old loco was fixed and running great again. The part I needed from Bachmann was $40.00. I figure when all is said and done, I saved myself $30 AND got some more spare parts.
Speaking of spare parts... I have another loco that's been a bit of a project, too (Also a Bachmann). It needed a new motor so I had picked up a Kato motor for it. The motor I got didn't have flywheels so, even though it was a 5 pole motor, it was really choppy at slow speeds. It has been sitting untouched for the better part of a year. I looked at my new pile of parts from the H16. The motor shafts were the same size as the Kato (1.5mm) AND it had flywheels small enough to fit in the space on my project loco. A little pulling and fitting later and the other loco is a runner again!
So, long story short, my $10 find fixed two locos and I am very happy with my purchase.
Side note: If anyone is interested in a Bachmann Spectrum FH H16-44 shell (in great shape), it's frame, or the whole thing to turn into a dummy or weather the heck out of it to turn it into a derelict, hit me up with a private message! Ha, ha!!!
I looked it over and considered my options. That's when I realized the trucks were the same as another Bachmann loco I had which had a bad truck. I went to the layout, grabbed the other loco, a little tinkering later and my old loco was fixed and running great again. The part I needed from Bachmann was $40.00. I figure when all is said and done, I saved myself $30 AND got some more spare parts.
Speaking of spare parts... I have another loco that's been a bit of a project, too (Also a Bachmann). It needed a new motor so I had picked up a Kato motor for it. The motor I got didn't have flywheels so, even though it was a 5 pole motor, it was really choppy at slow speeds. It has been sitting untouched for the better part of a year. I looked at my new pile of parts from the H16. The motor shafts were the same size as the Kato (1.5mm) AND it had flywheels small enough to fit in the space on my project loco. A little pulling and fitting later and the other loco is a runner again!
So, long story short, my $10 find fixed two locos and I am very happy with my purchase.
Side note: If anyone is interested in a Bachmann Spectrum FH H16-44 shell (in great shape), it's frame, or the whole thing to turn into a dummy or weather the heck out of it to turn it into a derelict, hit me up with a private message! Ha, ha!!!
