Fixing Old Broken Locomotives

[ironhorseman]

I have a locomotive that's in really bad shape and another one that's in just ordinary bad shape.

The 1st one has been through some rough times. After about a year or so I ran it so much that after a while it would only work best when running backward. Then some wires came undone. The front trucks are used the pick up electricity and the rear trucks are used to spin the wheels. I got some help from my dad and grandpa and they used a soldering iron on the front trucks but it resulted in a mess. Well, we eventually got the thing working again but eventually the thing came apart again. The plastic also corrodded and broke and the whole fron truck is a mess and broken off. I've done some wire tests and the motor still works and the wheels are in great shape, it just the truck comparment.

Is there any hope of putting this back together? Can I get a new plasitc truck? We have a soldering gun now. Those soldering irons are no good for small models. They're not accurate. Should I take it to a hobby store. This is an HO loco I've had since the 1980s and I don't know about it's warranty. I'll pay almost any cost to have it fixed. I'd rather get my old stuff back into service before I go buy more locos.

My other problem is with a Life-Like GP38-2. I was using it to push another loco in bad shape around the layout. I was going to give up and take the bad loco off when it got back to my location, but instead the whole thing go stuck in a tunnel and I panicked and accidently turned the throttle to full instead of off. Well, the loco was immobile and stressed so much it began smoking. I finally got it out of there but now it's hard to move under it's own power or even with one pushing or pulling it and the motor makes a "clacky" noise. I pretty much shelved it because I have other locomotives. But I was wondering is there any way to fix this? Can I replace just the motor? I'd hate to throw away or box premanenty a perfectly good locomotive just because one part doesn't work. I don't want to make it a dummy because I've got enough of those.

[Anonymous]

Clicking noises are usually from the gears or driveshafts rather than from a motor. Make sure everything's properly meshed in the trucks, I've had one or two locos where a drive cog has stripped a few teeth resulting in this kind of problem.

[dknelson]

Take a tip from an old timer: no matter how hopeless an engine or car might seem, even if it is physically broken -- don't toss it, don't bash it with a hammer out of frustration. Put it in a box. Someday something will turn up or some use will be found for it. Believe me on this. It might take decades.
Dave Nelson

[ndbprr]

Anything can be fixed. The question is the cost and as you have found out the ability of the person to fix it properly. Most hobby shops have a repair serviceone of their customers offers. It sound like you are young and if you take your engines in and have a puupy dog look you might find a new friend who will do the repairs at no or very little charge. Your problems aren't insurmountable and it happens to all of us. It is part of the learning process. I think you need to determine how much you want to spend to fix these even if you do it yourself. If you think you are up to it try E bay where you can find another junker like yours and combine the parts. That is the fun part of the hobby for me. Good luck

[AltonFan]

For your first engine, you might want to find a Athearn locomotive with a similar chassis, and try to fit the old shell over the new chassis.

It sounds like you burned the motor on the GP38-2. I would check the drive train for stripped gears or other damage. But you definitely need a new motor. Check with Life-Like for parts availability. If they can't help you, check with North West Short Line for substitute drive train parts and gears.

[dharmon]

I have to agree with Dan here. If they mean that much to you, look into repowering it with a new chassis and or drive. Or scour the swap meets to find a beat up similiar loco and salvage the part from it to do the repair. You may find yourself having to modify something, but if it's worth it to you do it. I rebuild stuff all the time. On my road's limited budget, the shops are always rebuilding/repowering the power, I guess that makes it kind of prototypical>[:)]

[Anonymous]

I run a repair service and am willing to accept your challenge. I will need to examin them to make a determination and then I can go about your repair. If you would like I can even upgrade the drives for you so that they are comprible in performance to the best of todays locos. Complete with Dual Mode DCC and Directional headlighting.

Again Its up to you. If you are interested email me (Use the link below) and we will work out an arrangmement.

James.

[Anonymous]

If it's an older lifelike GP38-2 (not proto) I have a working UP one I would sell for $10 including shipping to USA. FRED

[snowey]

Kalmbach Publishing has an EXELLENT book on repairing trains.

[Anonymous]

The Lifelike GP38-2 has a bad habit of breaking its large spur gears. Northwest short line has a set of gears to replace the bad ones.