# Help! How can I fix this?



## Green River (Dec 19, 2009)

Yesterday I bought this new old stock Athearn DC train engine for a great price and the tab that holds the coupler was broken off. The chassis seems to be die cast and I'm not sure how to go about fixing it. The shop owner seems to be a super nice guy and I sure would make it right for me but the thing is it was the only one he had with this CSX blue grey and yellow paint scheme and the $34 price was to good to return it. Is this a common problem with Athearns, if so how can I fix it? This is my first Athearn not counting the 2 others I bought for a similar price the same day. 

Thanks for your time!


----------



## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Epoxy it back on with JB Weld ... strong stuff.


----------



## johnfl68 (Feb 1, 2015)

I have not seen anything like that before, but with significant force, it is possible with die cast.

What is the engine model? Probably the best thing to do is to get another frame/chassis for the same engine model that has a Black frame (looks like it's black in the picture).

Depends on what it is, but there are usually Athearn frames on eBay, some only the frame, some frames with trucks and motors. Black should be easy to find, compared to some of the frames that are other colors.

John


----------



## Green River (Dec 19, 2009)

Of course it had to be the rear one also, I have just been running it backwards. I'll check eBay in case I cant find a clever solution to this problem.


----------



## teledoc (Oct 22, 2014)

I will SECOND what tjcruiser suggested, with JB weld. You would be surprised what can be done with it for repairs on diecast metal.


----------



## nemofreed (Mar 20, 2015)

Call around to some small weld shops in your area and see if you can get somebody to weld it for you on the cheap, You will have to strip the chassis down bare and likely clean up the weld afterwards but it might be cheaper than buying a replacement.


----------



## Br 98.75 (Dec 26, 2013)

Jb weld as the others... or green stuff if you feeling adventurous


----------



## lajrmdlr (Apr 25, 2014)

It may be simpler to mount a coupler box to the shell. Just make sure the coupler height match all your other couplers. If you don't have one get a Kadee Coupler Height Gauge.
http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/height.htm
They come in plastic or metal. The plastic ones are so they can be put on live tracks.


----------



## Green River (Dec 19, 2009)

lajrmdlr said:


> It may be simpler to mount a coupler box to the shell. Just make sure the coupler height match all your other couplers. If you don't have one get a Kadee Coupler Height Gauge.
> http://www.kadee.com/htmbord/height.htm
> They come in plastic or metal. The plastic ones are so they can be put on live tracks.


 I have already used JB Weld and reinforced the joint with a piece of brass channel, I'll post pictures later tonight.


----------



## Cycleops (Dec 6, 2014)

Green River said:


> I have already used JB Weld and reinforced the joint with a piece of brass channel, I'll post pictures later tonight.


Reinforcing it with some brass channel is a bright idea, somehow I doubt whether epoxy alone would have stood up.


----------



## Green River (Dec 19, 2009)

In the process for figuring out what to do and how to do it I forgot to take a picture of the assembly before I glued it together but here is what it looks like after the repair. The little coupler hold down piece still fits like it suppose to and it still looks OK scale wise, a splash of black paint and know one would ever know . I still like the idea of a shell mounted coupling box if this fails but I doubt it will under normal use. Thanks for the help and suggestions!


----------



## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

Looks good! Well done!:smilie_daumenpos:


----------



## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Score another one for JB !


----------



## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

Ya never, ever want to try to weld on the Athearn chasiss. It's made of low temp melting lead. A soldering can almost melt it and a butane bottle torch will turn it into a puddle in a few seconds.
A thin layer of JB weld is the way to go with repairs like that. I would be inclined to think the loco was dropped on the coupler end.


----------



## JNXT 7707 (May 5, 2013)

It's probably stronger than it was originally.
Also: never try to bend those Athearn coupler tabs. I tried it once. The tab looked like it was at a slight upward angle, so I tried to bend it back down - it cracked right off. Fixed it similar to yours, only used CA and a piece of sheet styrene for reinforcement. Not as sturdy as JB but it's held up so far.


----------



## ggnlars (Aug 6, 2013)

The problem is a very common occurrence. Some people actually cut the metal pockets out to eliminate the possibility of a short. When I get one, which is often, I glue a piece of styrene in the shell and attach a coupler pocket to that. Simple, easy to do. 

Larry
www.llxlocomotives.com


----------



## tr1 (Mar 9, 2013)

*Maybe plastic reinforcements and scuffing surfaces first.*

Try Gorilla glue,scuff up the surfaces to be joined together first. Then just follow the directions on the container.Scuff up the surfaces to be joined together though.Reinforcements could also be used,such as evergreen plastic. And Good-luck Regards,tr1


----------



## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

JB weld makes all different kinds.

For plastics,
http://www.jbweld.com/collections/plastic-composite-pvc


----------

