General Discussion (Model Railroader)

My two Bachmann HO Shays are suffering from slipping gears on the sideshafts.  Some of the gears on the sideshaft are sliding out of place when pulling loads on steep grades, resulting in one or more axles dragging instead of turning. You can slide them back, but they work lose again.

 Now, I thought I found the solution ... Bachmann sells replacement truck assemblies (front, center, and rear).  You just order what you need and in a few days they arrive and you just pop out the bad truck and put in the new one, hooking back up the drive train ... an easy 1 screw job.

I did find that some of the replacement trucks may have small burrs or something, causing them to bind a bit ... but otherwise things seemed OK.

However, I now see that Bachmann only has the front and year truck assemblies in stock.  They are out of stock on the center truck assemblies and those are the ones that seem to fail the most often.  Are other having this problem and does anyone know if Bachmann is going to get these items back in stock?

Thanks,

Marty

Can these gears not be epoxied into place?  If you were to rough up the shaft where it is resident inside the gear, say with a file drawn at 90 deg in a cross hatch fashion for several swipes, and a series of tiny channels or slits, nothing big or silly that might compromise the gears themselves, inside the orifice where the shaft runs, you could use Gorilla glue, just a wee bit, or else a two part epoxy.  I swear by the epoxy...I have repaired some heavy items and found it very robust and durable.  A drop of the stuff on the roughened shaft, and then slide the shaft in to the required/preferred depth.  Once it hardens, about 8 hours or so, you should have a durable fix.

Hi Marty,

My Shay is still running but if/when it fails my first call will be to NWSL for gearing problems.  I gave up on Bachmann when my little Climax failed after less than 10 hours of running.  They were able to scrape together enough parts to get it going again but warned me they might send me a Shay to replace it since parts were scarce.  Then they added salt to those wounds by stonewalling a discussion on their website about such problems.  NWSL was looking into producing the Bachmann HO Shay gears last year and I suspect they are now available.  For companies like Bachmann there ought to be lemon laws.  I spoke with their 'Bach Man' at a show in Texas a few months ago.  After he had heard my complaint he told me they were looking into producing a 3-truck Climax as if I might want to buy another plastic geared made in China lemon... don't hold your breath Bachmann.  The sad part is that no one else makes a geared drive loco that look as good as Bachmann's (but looks won't get it up that grade).  Roy                                                                                                                                             PS   NWSL has been bought by Evergreen but they can still be reached at www.NWSL.com      

selector:

Can these gears not be epoxied into place?  If you were to rough up the shaft where it is resident inside the gear, say with a file drawn at 90 deg in a cross hatch fashion for several swipes, and a series of tiny channels or slits, nothing big or silly that might compromise the gears themselves, inside the orifice where the shaft runs, you could use Gorilla glue, just a wee bit, or else a two part epoxy.  I swear by the epoxy...I have repaired some heavy items and found it very robust and durable.  A drop of the stuff on the roughened shaft, and then slide the shaft in to the required/preferred depth.  Once it hardens, about 8 hours or so, you should have a durable fix.

selector:

Can these gears not be epoxied into place?

The problem is the slipping is caused by the gears splitting, so if you glue (or epoxy) them in place, you'll get a constant binding, and the running will be even worse than before. I tried it with one of the gears on my shay, and ended up taking the gear out instead because it caused such an awful bind. If or when NWSL comes out with replacements, I'm definitely getting 6 for my Shay.

 Anyone with a Shay should at least contact NWSL. Someone sent Dave, the new owner a Spectrum Shay to evaluate. Please pass this on. The more people who contact him, the "possibility" he will respond with new gears. At least contacting him will accomplish more that a Rant in the forums. I see this discussion quite often in different forums.

http://www.bouldermodelrailroadclub.org/NWSL%20new%20owners.htm

 Rich

As suggested by some of the other posters, I've tried dabbing the superglue on the shaft and slipping the gear back in position.  I've done it before as well.  Past experience has shown that this may work for a while ... a few minutes or a few weeks ... hard to tell.

NWSL should be able to figure out that this is a huge potential market ... those Bachmann Shays are everywhere ...

I have posted on the Bachmann web site and I will repost their response here ...

Marty

My initial response  was a rant but it was only after months of trying to get Bachmann to at least acknowledge the problem and I had contacted NWSL last summer.  Some things deserve a rant and Bachmann has done so in spades.  The Shays were MR's loco of the year and it seems they, like the Climax, are going to be relegated to static status because the maker is not doing the right thing for its customers.  My 'rant' was meant to be a warning to future buyers- that company does not stand by its products.  I would like to correct my initial response: NWSL, like Evergreen Hill, are now owned by OSO Railworks.  I suppose I could have sugar coated my rant but I'm angry about being ripped off and hope to avoid the same frustration for others.                                                                                                        Roy (still steaming.... unlike my Bachmann Climax) 

 I used to epoxy glue for handrails (now I plastic weld them) and haven't had very many issues with it. I'd have to agree with the epoxy, since some are exremly durable. (as in durable enough to be used on the driveshaft in my car, and I race it)

I have Emailed NWSL as well,and told them my tale of woe with this product. (3 truck Shay)

HTH

Answer to my question on the Bachmann message board asking if they would produce more of the replacement truck assemblies:

"As long as the Shay is in production we should receive parts."

Currently the front and rear truck assemblies are available for $15 each ... the middle truck assemblies are out of stock but sounds like we should be on the lookout for the middle truck assemblies to be available again.

Between a little glue or epoxy and replacement parts ... we should be able to keep our Shays moving ...

Marty

If I recall correctly, Bachmann is making a new run of shays, which probably means that they will have more replacement trucks available at some point.

A gear in the front truck of my 3-truck Shay broke while I was trying to glue it inplace.  I ordered a replacement truck online from Bachmann and anticipated a fairly large bill by the time it was shipped to me in Canada.  I received the truck today and am happy to report that there was no invoice with it from Bachmann.

However I'm still going to investigate replacement gears from NWSL.

Don

This has been discussed here the past few weeks. Some people have received a replacement Shay with cracked gears. Some have received replacement trucks with cracked gears or the gears cracked after a little use. I see this in the Bachmann forums also. No idea if the new gears will be any better. Don't forget, this stuff is made in China. Go to the link below. Or search the this forum for Spectrum Shay gears.

http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/t/151681.aspx

I do know over a year ago I read of a few people who sent in a Spectrum Climax with a cracked gear and got a replacement Shay. Bachmann reserves the right to do that. The gears cracked a little later.

Rich

 i hope your guys have beter luck with nwsl than i did.  i spent 15 minutes on the phone with a nice lady who was about as helpful as air brakes on a turtle.  i gave up but still ordered one small item.  instead of what i ordered, they sent me a catalog.  i finally got the parts i ordered about 2 weeks later after i told them thanks for the catalog but i didn't order one.

grizlump