Help a newbie !!

[Anonymous]

My first setup--Bachmann Spectrum Steam Locomotive HO scale, brand new. MRC Tech 4 220 power pack brand new. All track and wiring are new as well. Everything is mounted on a sheet of plywood.

I hooked up the power pack last night and put the train on the track. Almost nothing happened. I can hear a slight buzzing in the tender car which is wired to the locomotive. I get no forward or reverse movement from the locomotive. I have switched direction on the power pack, pointed the train in both directions, rewired the terminal track. Nothing seems to help. I get the same slight buzzing wherever the train is on the track so I believe there is power all the way around.



Your thoughts appreciated. You can email me directly a [e-mail].

Thanks,
Jim

[Anonymous]

It sounds like something is mis-wired. Have you tried operating another locomotive on your track? This will isolate wether it is the loco or the wiring. Does the loco "buzz" as soon as the power is turned on at the power pack, or when you advance the controller? You may have accidentally wired the AC output to the rails. Also, I believe the MRC tech 4 model 220 has a momentum control. This brings the voltage up slowly to get a train started realistically. Try turning the momentum switch off, this should negate that function and apply voltage directly as you advance the control.

[Anonymous]

Jim,

My guess is that you have a wiring problem and that the locomotive and power pack are fine.

I recommend that you isolate the problem by taking the loco back to the dealer for a test and checking the output voltage on the power pack (assuming you did not hook the track power to the AC terminals). If both these tests check out, then you know it is somewhere in the track, although the 'Momentum Control' observation earlier may be the solutiion. Incidently, my MRC power pack with momentum control 'on' will take more than a minute to start a train rolling.

I don't know if a miswired reverse loop would cause this kind of problem, but if you have reverse loops in your track I would check them out to make sure they are properly isolated.

Good Luck - Ed

[Anonymous]

I have the Bachmann Civil War set and had it set up around the Christmas tree last year. Everything ran fine at first, but then one day my kids came to me very upset. The locomotive did not run. You turned on the power and it just sat there and hummed.
I fiddled with it for a while. Then my 3 year son brought me a little plastic rod and asked if this was important. He told me it fell off the locomotive. This rod is very important. Without it the locomotive will not run. It goes in a slot in the tender and in the locomotive. The gears in the tender turn it and it then turns the locomotive's drive wheels. It is no fun to replace. You have to hold the tender and locomotive at the right angle and get in place.
One thing I learned with this locomotive is make sure when you pick it up that the tender and locomotive stay level. The slightest bend and the rod pops out.
Hope this helps.

Tom

[snowey]

if it just sits there and buzzes, make sure you have the wires on the power pack hooked up to the DC terminals. Other than that, the only other thing I can think of is that the track might be dirty. Get some track cleaner at a hobby shop and wipe it on the rails with a paper towel. Also, the engine might need cleaning. The hobby shop might do this for you, or you can do it yourself. Get one of the exellent model railroad books from KALMBACH to find out how, or post a question on this or another forum. Atlas has an exxellent one at WWW.ATLASRR.COM You can post a question on there, and you WILL get an answer. Sometimes, more than one in the same day! For instance, once, I posted a question on there at 9:00 in the morning, & by 1:00 in the afternoon, I had 4 answers to it! (oh, the kalmbach web site is WWW.KALMBACH.COM)