# Locomotive maintenance??,



## sparks325 (Jan 15, 2014)

Hello All!
I recently got back into model railroad after having just a starter set well over 30 years ago. They closed the
electronics shop (worked there 30 years) I was looking for a nice little N gage set for under the tree.
Well, 5 engines later, two DCC systems......when the bug gets you, that's it.
My question has to do with how much "care" do the newer Locomotives actually need.
I know with DCC the track and wheels need a lot of cleaning or erratic operation can be expected.
That gets me to the reason for this post. 
I have (had, back to the manufacturer for now) a Bachmann Alco 2-6-0. 
Sweet little machine! It is my favorite.
It started getting noticeably slower. It picks the power and signal from the tender . I cleaned (with a cotton swab and a somewhat strong automotive cleaner) the wheels, tires, pickups and the unusual wire arrangement of spring contact wire between the tender and loco. Reassembled everything and tested.
Now the engine would speed up and slow down without any input. Upon reading other forums lubrication. Was mentioned. Also look for bent linkages that could bind (the post read).
Well, after 30 years of working on some really small stuff, I thought I 'd open her up and clean and lubricate
everything. Where I ran into trouble was with the motor. It. Is not made to be serviced! So how far should. One go as far as cleaning and lubrication?
Brian, in Ohio (with only 4 engines now)


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## NIMT (Jan 6, 2011)

Yea if the motor is bad you'll need to find a new motor for it, they are not serviceable. The problem now lies in the fact that getting parts for Bachmann's can be real tough.
Maybe others on here might be able to point you in the right direction for a possible replacement motor.
There is one other thing that could be wrong, it could be a bad decoder, Bachmann decoders are some of the cheapest decoders made and are know for failures. If it is changing speeds without input it could very well be the decoder is failing.


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## sparks325 (Jan 15, 2014)

Thanks for the reply NIMT!
When I contacted Bachmann, they said that they haven't received any parts for that model yet.
They recommended sending it in. From searching the Internet it looks like Bachmann is trying to gain favor with the model railroading fans, to the extent of sending out a replacement engine to promote good customer relations. Here's hoping for the best.
Brian


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