I just got a Bachmann DCC Alco 2-6-0 which I want to run in DC, but it is not behaving well - starts and stops are jerky, if at all - but it is running on a RailPower 1300 from a train set I got about 8 years ago, and I wonder if the power pack is part of the problem.
Any advice on whether I should upgrade to a better DC power pack, and if so, what kind?
If it's new it's probably just stiff and needs some running in. And check the gears, I've had Bachmann locos that have had enough grease in the gears for a hundred locos, and this actually makes things worse than too little grease. Or maybe there isn't any at all, which is also bad.
And even though it's new, clean the wheels. Residue from the manufacturing process is just as bad as dirt picked up from running lots of hours.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
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