09-02-2025, 10:41 PM
I got the unit apart tonight. You have to take off the lower (walkway) portion of the shell, then the side frame plastic covers can be snapped off which allowed the fuel tank to be removed and then the 2 motor screws are accessible. Getting the motor out was easy. Removing the flywheels required putting one flywheel in a vise so it wouldn't turn and a large set of vise grips on the other one and a lot of torque to twist it loose (not exactly what I call quality modeling). For the other flywheel I put the shaft in the vise and did the twist and pry on the other flywheel. The motor was totally destroyed by the time I got them off. Now I await the arrival of the replacement motor. These have a hexagon drive shaft on the flywheel end and I am trying to save that but I will not assemble them that tight again. They may have been sweat fitted and that isn't needed for a motor that only has a small amount of torque.
I am truly upset with these manufacturers that sell 3 and 4 hundred dollar locomotives yet have no parts to sell after a couple of years. Bachmann sells a product that is not quite as nice, but they have always come up with the parts I need. I couldn't even get an axle gear for an Atlas S-1 that was 25 years old from Atlas but I found out the Idler ger was the same as the axle gear and they were available. (the axle gear was sold as a wheelset only)
I still have Athearn BB locomotives that cost half the price of the decoder I installed in order to run them on DCC and they are over 50 years old and still run fine.
I may try putting a motor in without flywheels if there is too much of a problem. I will try to take some pictures to show how to de=construct these locomotives.
Charlie
I am truly upset with these manufacturers that sell 3 and 4 hundred dollar locomotives yet have no parts to sell after a couple of years. Bachmann sells a product that is not quite as nice, but they have always come up with the parts I need. I couldn't even get an axle gear for an Atlas S-1 that was 25 years old from Atlas but I found out the Idler ger was the same as the axle gear and they were available. (the axle gear was sold as a wheelset only)
I still have Athearn BB locomotives that cost half the price of the decoder I installed in order to run them on DCC and they are over 50 years old and still run fine.
I may try putting a motor in without flywheels if there is too much of a problem. I will try to take some pictures to show how to de=construct these locomotives.
Charlie