Hello all, Awhile back I purchased an Alco RS-3 at my Local Hobby Store and before tonight I had never run it before..It is made By Roundhouse Products and it has no window "glass" or lights..Anyways, tonight I got a very simple "HO" set up and I tried it on the track and the train ran slower than molasses! I kid you not,my Tyco Alco S1000 ran faster than this thing!! What is wrong with my train? Is the gearing too low? I am going to Greenbergs World's largest train show tomorrow in Manchester NH, any parts to look out for? Also, what typeof ALCO 'S' and 'RS' series seem to be the best and what model company makes them? Thank you in advance, Zach.
Zach,
A few questions for you:
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
It is not even 1 inch per second..I got it back in I think September 2006 and it has been in it's box since then.. I am using a Giant round Bachmann 'E-Z' track system with atlas connectors and a bachmann controller, not very impressive, but I am still 14 so Cash it tight..
Well, usually slow and smooth is a good thing, but not THAT slow... Here's a few questions:
Alcoboy12 I kid you not,my Tyco Alco S1000 ran faster than this thing!!
That's not surprising, Tycos are toys and were made to run at unrealistically high speeds.
Lots of us work hard to make our locomotives run more slowly, instead of racecar speeds, which are totally unprototypical.
The Locomotive definatly is struggling,even without other loco's on the track.. I put the live wire from the controller to the wheels whiule it was off the track and the RPM was high but once put on track, it ran like a car with no wheels!
Ok, I'm pretty sure the unit you bought is older than what you think it is. In other words you may have bought it in 2006, but I will bet its older than that, even though it is new. You might want to take the cab off and check it for binding our needing a good lube job. Sounds like its pretty dry, so don't run it wide open until you check it out, you might just smoke the motor.
Athearn scapped this model when they purchased MDC aka Roundhouse. MDC made these RS3 for years, I have 2 of them that I run but they are pretty loose running, they have been used allot. The problem your having is the same that I had with mine, I bought mine back in 2000, and had problems with them running stiff.
Here is a web page to help you with parts and the way its built.
http://www.hoseeker.org
Thanks! This is my second one, my first was a Leheigh Valley one and now this one, I was thinking of getting another one but I am not really sure..Gotta love those Alsco's!
You say it's a Roundhouse unit? That I believe would be MDC. If it's like the one I have it has an Athearn type drive with the same type of motor. The motor could be bad. Also the gearing is 21 to 1 so it would have a prototypical speed.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
personal opinion - i have several kato rs2's and they are among the best pulling and smoothest running diesels i have seen in HO scale.
i understand the budget thing since i have been in this hobby for over 45 years but take this advise from an old timer, once you identify an exceptional piece of equipment, save your money up for a while and wait if you have to. otherwise you wind up with a bunch of junk sitting around giving you headaches every time you try to operate it.
check with an older, more experienced model railroader or ask around at the local club if there is one in your area. remember, the guy who is trying to sell you something has a personal agenda that comes before your own needs. that is just human nature. years ago when i worked part time in the hobby business, the consensus of sales strategic planing was to never sell the new customer the best thing first. let him move up gradually to the top of the line. otherwise, he would be satisfied with his first few purchases and never buy much more.
people do have different criteria so decide what is important to you. for example, p2k diesels are nice looking and highly detailed but with their axle gear problems, they can be a pain even though it is an easy fix.
over time you will settle on a few really decent pieces of equipment like i have. even though i now have a basement full of trains. i would guess 10% of my motive power sees 95% of my operation.
grizlump
I think you mean AHM Alco 1000 switcher. Tyco never made an Alco switcher. The Alco 1000 was also sold under the Model Power name after AHM went out of business.
As for the Roundhouse RS-3, there are two versions and I had both:
The early Roundhouse RS-3s had an Athearn drivetrain and reduction gears. They were designed to run slow, but the gears were very noisy.
The later Roundhouse RS-3s had flywheels and driveshafts similar to Life-Like Proto 2000 FA2s, and the gears were quieter than the early RS-3s
A slow running loco is a good thing if you are switching or running it in wayfreight service.
If you want good smooth running models of Alco S series and RS series diesels, look for Atlas locos. Atlas makes models of the S-1, S-2, S-3, S-4, RS-1, RS-3, RSD4/5, and RS11.
aloco... was also sold under the Model Power name after AHM went out of business.
... was also sold under the Model Power name after AHM went out of business.
One minor point of correction: AHM was resurrected as IHC, which it still is today.
And yes, switchers should go slow. The smoothest running switchers I have ever owned are Kato NW2s.
I have no experience with the MDC Alco switcher, but it sounds like the OP has a lemon. It should not run as slow as he says it does. A good lubrication may help, especially the motor bearings and gear boxes. I have some Athearn Cow & Calf sets that ran horribly slow when they were new because the motor bearings were very dry.
Ok, I know it has the brass flywheels with the grrove and the plastic driveshafts,it is noisy!! It is the kit type,with the do-it-yourself handrails and couplers..Are there any improvement parts for this unit?
What you have is the later improved production model with the LL Proto 2000 FA drive and trucks. I think the last production run of these was in 2000 or 2002 so the lubrication could certainly be died out.
To fix this, get some LaBelle gear grease, (I like the #106 with Teflon), and some plastic compatable oil from your LHS, (an RC model shop may have them too). Use a flat head screw driver to pop off the bottom truck covers and add a 1/4" bead of grease to one of the gears, (running the loco will spread the grease), Add a small drop of the oil to each end of the motor shaft bearings and the same to the worm shart bearings at the tops of the trucks, then run the engine in each direction at varying speeds for 15 minutes each, you should notice the loco becoming quieter and smoother the more it runs.This loco will never be as quiet as most of the newer engines because of it's open-frame motor and has a larger drive line, but it should run quite smooth once broken in.This model was designed to run at close to scale top speed, which was about 75-80 mph, so, as someone else said, it's not a racer.
As to the window glass, the new Athearn RS-3 is the same body with some upgrades, and the new window glass will fit the old MDC/Roundhouse units. You could try contacting Athearn to see if the window glass is available separately as a spare part, (i imagine the headlight lens would be included with the window glass). If not available you'll have to cut some clear plastic or acetate to fit, Kristal Kleer (from Microscale) can be used to make the headlight lenses. Good Luck, Jay.
Jay
C-415 Build: https://imageshack.com/a/tShC/1
Other builds: https://imageshack.com/my/albums
Thanbks for the explanation, Jay! I just oiled it and ran it, It was quieter but it kept dying on me.. I have a non-running Athearn SW-7, do you think this could donate any parts? In real MPH, I think that it is only moving 10 Mph..
On another note: The Hobby expo was great today! I got an EMD F45(I think) that is undecorated..It has the same type of drive as the RS-3 and SW-7..Didn't Amtrak use these in the early 1970's? Anyways, it is in great shape,besides missing the railing and glass..It also has a dead lightbulb,but I got it for $15 and I was about to buy a boxcar from the same guy,but he said to take it,free of charge! Who makes it? Also, it has metal Truck sides.. My little brother Got a little Rivarossi Steam engine it is an 0-6-0, his first toy train ever was one like it but it had a red rooftop.. Take care and thank you all for being helpful!
Jay is right then, this is towards the last production of the RS3 that MDC made. It sounds like it could be binding, and the noise is from being dry. But the slow slow speed you are getting at high power output, is telling me, that you have over heated the motor to many times, so it is going to be short on putting out any type of torque with any type of load, because the motor is weak now.
When you put power to it on the track, does it give out a dull humm noise when you are increasing the power?
Does it have a smell of burned electrical?
Also I think you said that just putting power to it with no load on it it runs fine? So I guess if you are free wheeling it, try and drag a finger on one of the wheels and see if it stales easy, the motor is about to go then if that happens, stalling easy.
It does smell like it is burning, but i have only ran it twice in the entire time I had it, I have only changed one thing on it, I re soldered the wires because they had come undone because I was explaining to a friend how it ran.. Do you think it could have been faulty from the factory? I know prior to me purchasing it, it sat for 2 or 3 years inside a glass display case.. The body is not in the best of shape, it has some battle wounds from being moved around but other than that I cannot figure out what the heck is wrong with it!
If it does have a strong burnt smell, the motor has been hot to many times. There is a number of things than can smoke a motor. To long of train drags "overload", poor lube, which causes it to run tight, an under powered power supply, or factory defect. Heat is the criminal here, small electric motors don't do well to heat.
I had a BB Athearn GP35 a few years ago that always ran well and quiet, I had it pulling a dozen cars on my main line running for hours, while I was working on something else. It had to come up and then back down a 2% grade. Well it got so hot it melted the shell where the motor was close to it. I should have known better, but it happened, I ended up having to put a new motor in it a short time later, but the shell had some melted spots in it, so I replaced it with another I had.
Can you take a picture of the loco with the cab off and a pic of the motor, so we can see if it is the newer version?
Hello, what is your name? Sorry,but I like to know people's names.. I will try to get pictures of it tomorrow, I might not be able to because I am going to see 'Gran Torino' but I will try..If I can,I will also get a shot of my current, not-so-impressive layout..
As requested, I took pictures of it today, hopefully this will help..
Ok, first off, I noticed a very heavy brown grease or oil on the gears when I blew the picture up, thats a no no, which could lead it to dragging on the motor. As I suspected that it had and Athearn BB type motor. So what you can do is buy a replacement motor and reuse your old flywheels. What I would do at this point is to pull the motor and worm gears and see how it rolls on the track, if it seems to be tight or dragging you need to take apart the trucks and clean all the grease and oil off all the gears and center guide points. Then put the trucks back together and give each gear one tiny drop of Labelle Oil on the guide pins. Then after they are assembled free roll them and make sure they roll free. You can inspect each gear also to see if there is any burrs they are catching on. It is important to make sure the trucks roll smooth with no dragging or a catch in them, and not to over lube them.
After you have done the trucks, look at the motor and see if the windings have a white looking film on the winding, and smells burnt. The white dull color is from the windings being overheated which will make the motor "weak", or you may notice them being almost black witch mean it got really hot at one time or another. If all looks ok and the motor spinns free with no dragging, put it back in and connect the drive shafts, and give the engine a run. If the motor is weak, it will not change by doing all this work, the good news is you can purchase a new BB Athearn type motor for about $15 or so and replace it, if the motor is roasted.
Not trying to pick at you either so don't take this the wrong way. From the looks of your solidering, you need to do some practice work. Good luck and let us know what you find in the rehab work you have to do.
Ok, I will probably have my Hobby Shop or someone else do the work,because I am motor illiterate! Yeah, I have not solidered in awhile and I am only 14, so I guess I could use alot more practicing.. That grease stuff you see has been there since I purchased it..