IHC 2-6-0 problems

[Anonymous]

Hello again,

My Mother really likes steam engines but does not have the budget for the really good stuff. With this in mind she bought an IHC 2-6-0 from our local LHS nearby. We have had it for about a wekk now and up until today it has ran flawlessly and very quitely.

Tonight we purchased a new rerailer and a new Athearn DC power pack to replace our aged Life Like one that would overheat and shut down for about half an hour. All of our other locomotives ( 1 Life-Like GP 38. One Bachmann F7, One Athearn F7 Old as dirt, and a new Athearn GP 35) run pewrfectly and much better with this new power pack. However her Brand new IHC steamer will not even attempt to move.

No Light, no electric hum like there is power even getting to the motor at all. This happens on either the new power pack or the old one that as of two days ago ran this train fine. We have not abused this engine at all, It was alway put back into it's box after every session and it usually ran for about 30 minutes a night while we sat in her computer room and looked on Ebay for good deals on train stuff.

Any ideas on what could be causing this problem? Right now it is looking like the "buying cheap" has bit us in the rear withe this one. She is thinking about taking it back and applying the 60 dollars it cost her towards a couple of Athearn's.

[Anonymous]

That's a weird one. I have had two IHC 2-6-0s and a camelback which is the same mechanism with a different lid on it and I have never had a problem with any of them.

Does the loco cause the power pack to trip the circuit breaker? If so then it might be that the front truck on the tender got turned 180 degrees which will cause a short circuit.

If it is not that then you are probably going to have to open her up and check for any wires that have broken or come unsoldered from their contacts. Follow the exploded diagram of the back of the leaflet in the box. You will need small flat head and cross head screwdrivers. Check that the insulation hasn't worn away from the wires where they touch the weights in the boiler causeing a short circuit.

I hope you get it running again. They are nice little models that have never given me any trouble.

Neil

[nfmisso]

Take it back to your LHS, and exchange it for a new one. Generally these are reliable locomotives.

[Anonymous]

Getting locos, especially steamers, into and out of their boxes with all that foam packing can sometimes make something come loose. You could check that, but since it is new, I would follow the advice to take it back to the store. At the very least, they should have a test track that will confirm (or deny) your "new powerpack" theory.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

Well I figured it out thanks to the post about the backwards truck.

One of the tender trucks had an annoying squeak to it that I had forgotten about taking the wheels off to wipe a bit of oil onto the axle tips. When I put them back I must have gotten the metal wheels in backwards on the trucks and it was causing a short.

But the wierd thing is I know I tested it afterwards and it ran. But I can't for the life of me figure out how now. I must be losing it or something.

[Anonymous]

When you put the wheelsets back in you might have bent the contact strip out of the way. The loco went fine for a while but then it got bent back into contact with the axle again and suddenly the loco doesn't work for no apparent reason?

glad i could help anyway.

Neil