ATHEARN ENGINES

[dknelson]

Hmmmm ... define "older!" To me that means a rubber band drive engine from the late 1950s!
Because older Athearn motors are not can motors there is a strong chance that the contacts are dirty. That could slow an engine down. The commutator may also be dirty. The metal Athearn used for wheels is somewhat prone to pitting in the event of shorts. And another possibility is binding in the mechanism. Lastly the metal strip Athearn used to bring electricity to the motor is sometimes a poor contact meaning that the voltage has to be high to bridge a gap. The solution if there is one is to be found through trouble shooting presumably with the shell off
Dave Nelson

[JeremyB]

Does anybody else find that you need to open the throttle up alot on the lower priced Atherean engines to make them go Fast, any input would be welcomed