so today is my 23rd birthday. i am now the proud owner of a bachmann 4-8-4 4446. so this model does not have the pancake motor. but a can motor. now i talked to a fellow model railroader about this model. and he says that these were decent models. so she has not run in about 30 years and the motor and gearbox could use some lubercating. how do i remove the shell? can you guy,s send me some photo,s on how to do this? also even though my buddy said that these are realy nice engines and that i won,t have to worry about the axel splitting like the ones with the pancake moptor.... is there anything i should know or worry about my new prized loco?
Did you try contacting Bachmann directly? They might even have a copy of the original exploded diagram for it. Worth a try...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
If your 4-8-4 has the can motor it is about 10-12 years old. There was a set of 4-8-4's released under the Standard and not Spectrum brand. They did get some pretty decent reviews.
Very similar to this locomotive diagram.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/H508X-IS001.PDF
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/H502X-IS001.PDF
See diagram in above pic.
I have one of these locos. There are 3 screws to remove.
Flip the engine over, and place on a towel or etc.
The first screw is under the leading truck. It is very "deep" inside a hole.
The 5 other screws are under the trailing truck. The 2 screws in little holes(deep inside) are it. Unscrew those.
Im on my mobile device currently, but I will show pics when I get home.
Goodluck!
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Modeling the Santa Fe & Pennsylvania in HO
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so i also noticed that the no.4 driver has a tendacy to come loose and come off. now my buddy says that yes they are supped to do that.... but i have already had to put it back together several times. is this something i need to be worried about?
1. Can you please fix the grammar? plz? It's very bothering.
2. What do you mean by the 4th wheel coming loose/off?
Thanks
the no.4 driver on one side comes off. after sitting on a table or even after running. i put it back together and make shure it is put back together properly. but after a while it happens again
I sorry for being rude, but I takes me a longer time to read what you are talking about when you type like that. Hope you understand :D
The 4th wheel should not come off like that. Maybe glue it back together?
You should be worrying about this because if you don't fix it soon, you'll get quartering issues.
I dont know what your friend was saying, but it is not suppoesed to do that.
Below is a link to the Bachmann forums with company reps. You will see General discussions. Scroll down a ways and you will see other forums. Pick your scale.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php
The is a lot of info, Parts list, how to get a replacement loco which I have done. Mine was a purchase off of ebay. I included a check like the instructions say.
It was an old two motor DC 44 ton and got back a DCC ready single motor 44 ton which had the adapter for DC operation.
Many users of Bachmann products.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Hi Joe,
If a driver is loose, you have the classic problem with older Bachmann: split plastic axles. You'll need to quarter it and set it with good CA or epoxy, or find a donor loco. Of course most of them have split axles as well.
The early 90's Plus version was the earliest run with a can motor. The shell was retained by 1 screw under the cab, and the frame had nubs that locked into slots at the bottom of the smokebox area. If it's older, it has a pancake motor. The easiest way to spot them is chrome wheels and traction tires.
http://www.hoseeker.org/bachmann.html
Good luck with it, but it's not the easiest fix.
Nelson
Ex-Southern 385 Being Hoisted
so it even thought it has the can motor... is the issue with the no.4 driver fixable? If it is how do i do this? i have already put her carefully back in her box. i am moveing soon to medford oregon. so hopefully when the time comes someone down there can help me. i just hope that she is fixable.
There were 2 southern pacific GS-4 made by Bachmann
1. Old pancake motor, cracked axles, shiny paint, cheap
2. DCC eqquipped, new can motor and quality drive, very nice engine!
How to tell: The older cheap version has glossy paint, the wheels always pops off, and there is a drawlbar/pin tender connection. The newer one runs very nice, with DCC, and has a drawlbar/pin and 2 connectors connected to the tender.
Im confused by which type you have because you claim that yours has a can motor, yet the 4th wheel always comes off.
So do you have wires running from the engine to the tender?
If there is, then it is the newer version. If there aren't any then it the the cheap old version.
Charles
PS can you upload some photos? They would help.
this one is a bachmann standard line. it's box is white with blue on the ends. from what i am told the standard line GS-4's were good engines. Now my friend did tell me that the standard line didn't have any issues with the axels splitting. I don,t know if that is true or not. the no.4 driver when i do put it back in does stay together for a while but i don,t know if the axel is split. i talked to a guy from a local model train store. He said that yes the driver do come apart. But he stated that it should not be getting loose and falling off like how i described. i hope that she is fixable. i mean i just got her for my 23rd birthday. It would suck if she is not repairable cause i have wanted one for so long. Cause i am on my tablet... it won,t let me up load the photo,s.
So to double check: there are wires going from the engine to the tender?
No sir.
Sorry to say, but I think you got scammed.
Your axles are the old kind(Cracked axles), and so is your mechanism (cheap pancake motor.)
This is the newer version:(Orange plugs, and wires connecting to the tender)
Older version: (no plugs/wires, plastic drawlbar)
You have the older version
Your friend is lying, he put the old Bachmann Plus 4-8-4 into a new style box and gave it to you.
the bachmann is in it's origanal box. i even called bachmann to know what i have. when asked what was the item number on the box i told her. the engine is a bachmann standard line class GS-4 4-8-4 no. 4446. in the origanil box. the friend i know did not give it to me. he was just telling me the info i wanted to know because i am trying to find out. because i want to try to fix her.
Well of course...
If you call bachmann and tell her the item number on the wrong box, its wrong...
Where did you get the engine from then?
ANYWAYS...
Can you check your engine and see which kind of drawbar thingy it has?
Is it more like picture 1 or picture 2?
Charles, there was a third intermediate version of these Northerns that was part of what Bachmann called the Plus line in the early 90's (it was the same as early Spectrum, which wasn't confusing at all). It was the first version with a can motor and metal wheels on the tender (though no pickup or wiring harness). The wheels were plated with a matte finish so slippery that they had a hard time getting out of their own way.
It sounds like he has the older standard line version, though. If it's standard line it will have chrome wheels, traction tires, and plastic wheels on the tender.
Oh. I never knew about the intermediate version, I thought the plus line/spectrum line was the same as the first production types.
You learn something new everyday!
Thanks steam freak. i was starting to feel interagated... the engine is excatly how you say it. except it looks like the previous owner put metal wheels for the tender or these are in fact the ones you are speaking of. i think they are the origanil wheels. trainman.... you need to relax and not assume that i am wrong sir. you know what they say about the word assume... now that we are back on track... pun intended..... lol. what could be causeing the no.4 driver to do this? i already know that i need to open her up to put greece in the gears and oil the motor. and is this fixeable?
sorry, for going overboard!
But I was just asking to know what version you had, because they all had different methods of opening.
Now that thats over...
Im still extremey confused.
You say you had the most recent version, now you say you have the version that STEAMFREAK said, which is the 2nd most recent version....
So which one is it?!?
Since I have no clue which version you have, I guess I'll tell you how to open all 3 verions
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Bachmann standard: cheap, made before 90' white box with clear front
1.Find screw under the rear trailing truck. Unscrew
2.lift shell over chassis.
Bachmann plus: version that steamfreak described. Oversized white box.
1. See Bachmann standard
Bachmann standard line: DCC equipped, blue box, most recent version with no plastic axles. with wires connecting the engine to the tender
1. Locate the 2 holes near the trailing truck.
2. Inside the holes should be screws. Unscrew.
3. Located hole/slot near the leading truck.
4. There is a screw deep inside that hole. Unscrew.
Well good luck!
JOSEPH the steam buff what could be causeing the no.4 driver to do this?
Split center gears. Contact Bachmann and send it back for repairs. I will tie in to engine repairs with out a worry. But drive wheels of a steam enigne is another story! Very few folks here at the site have the tools or skills to repair steam drive wheels.
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
I agree with Ken, the Bachmann warranty is probably the best bet. Though still in their standard line, the modern version is superior to the original one you have. The $25 for a replacent would be well worth it. I'd probably quarter it if it were mine, since I've repaired quite a few of their Reading 2-8-0's. I guess I'm stubborn.
Charles, the Plus line was short-lived, but was their first step away from pancake motors. They came in a gray presentation box with a foam insert. The Reading 2-8-0's also got square keyed axles, but to my knowledge the Northerns never did. Go figure.
I have another version which opens differently, yet again. Mine is Bachmann item 50205 American Freedom Train with DCC. You can get confused by the diagram because there are posts on the underbody used to support the DCC chip and to locate and support the two weights, but there is only one post on the top of the shell. As you describe, there is a hole on the bottom of the underbody just in front of the rear truck and the screw is deep (there is a hole in the circuit board through which your screw driver must go to reach the screw!). If you remove this one screw, then spread apart the top of the shell where the toolbox is modeled (there is a small lip on either side), a gentle tug will separate the two. Be careful! There is a protrusion in the underbody that fits into a slot on the shell at the front of the tender near the drawbar pin. So if you need more force to remove the underbody, push on the truck from front to rear to slide lip on the underbody out of the slot in the top of the shell. Finally, the shell is still connected to the underbody via the two wires from the circuit board to the LED in the rear of the tender. These wires are long enough not to be a problem, just take care!
This is easier to do than it sounds. The circuit has a standard 8 pin plug and I plan to put a tsunami decoder and speaker in the tender.
Dave
A&Y I have another version which opens differently, yet again. Mine is Bachmann item 50205 American Freedom Train with DCC. You can get confused by the diagram because there are posts on the underbody used to support the DCC chip and to locate and support the two weights, but there is only one post on the top of the shell. As you describe, there is a hole on the bottom of the underbody just in front of the rear truck and the screw is deep (there is a hole in the circuit board through which your screw driver must go to reach the screw!). If you remove this one screw, then spread apart the top of the shell where the toolbox is modeled (there is a small lip on either side), a gentle tug will separate the two. Be careful! There is a protrusion in the underbody that fits into a slot on the shell at the front of the tender near the drawbar pin. So if you need more force to remove the underbody, push on the truck from front to rear to slide lip on the underbody out of the slot in the top of the shell. Finally, the shell is still connected to the underbody via the two wires from the circuit board to the LED in the rear of the tender. These wires are long enough not to be a problem, just take care! This is easier to do than it sounds. The circuit has a standard 8 pin plug and I plan to put a tsunami decoder and speaker in the tender. Dave
This thread is a year old if you did not notice.