HO Trains: Price List for Distressed Bachmann Steam Locomotives
Mon 1-6-2025 1:56 p.m.
This post is about what model railroaders who like Bachmann steam locomotives need to be paying for distressed items.
The following are issues with Bachmann steam locomotives (with the exception of newer Bachmann Spectrum steam locomotives with metal axles).
1) Out-of-quarter drivers - The side rods on the sides of the locomotive are not fixed (that is, the rods are not horizontal from one driver to the next). The driver on one side of the locomotive is not offset 90 degrees with respect to the driver on the opposite side of the locomotive. Check for Defective Driver Quartering: With the palms of your hands side by side with the locomotive upside down and holding a driver with your left thumb, you can turn the driver wheel on the opposite side of the locomotive with the thumb on your right hand.
2) Retaining pins - The pins come out of the drivers and will not stay put.
3) Plastic spacers between chassis pieces (to electrically insulate the two chassis halves) are missing or stripped out.
4) Valve gear retaining pins connecting to the zamac chassis are broken on 0-6-0's.
5) Crosshead guides - The crosshead guides (plastic on 0-6-0's or 0.010-inch thick metal guides on 4-8-4's) are either broken or missing). The 0.010-inch wide, thin metal strips are located between the outer crosshead guides and the zamac (zinc alloy) chassis halves. The crosshead guides are difficult to access and replace / repair.
6) Missing parts - It is difficult to find the following parts - pilot and trailing trucks / wheel sets, tender trucks / wheel sets, missing steam chest parts on 0-6-0's, missing metal crosshead guide pieces, used motors in acceptable operating condition, missing plastic gears, brass shoulder screws for couplers, 1/4-inch long motor brush springs made from 0.005-inch diameter wire and drive shafts for 4-4-0 Jupiters.
If the locomotive is COMPLETE but distressed, I recommend the following acquisition prices:
0-6-0 - $3.00
2-8-0 - $5.00 - $7.00 (Note: 2-8-0's can be difficult to repair.)
4-8-4 - $15.00
4-4-0 - $5.00 (Note: The models have a tendency to go out of quarter, the motors burn up and the drive shaft between the locomotive and / tender is frequently missing.)
Drivers repaired with super glue only do not work for long before going out of quarter AGAIN. Drilling and pinning cracked axle tubes to driver nubs (use on drivers where the driver boss and the axle tube diameter are the same) or wrapping cracked driver tubes with sewing thread and super glue (use on drivers where the driver boss is larger than the axle tube) are two effective repair methods if properly implemented. Removing all the super glue from another modeler's botched repair job is very time consuming and difficult.
If an Delrin (acetyl plastic) axle tube is cracked or broken, swap it out with the axle tube from a 4-8-4 pilot truck or trailing truck. (Note: I have never tried this, but I will experiment with this repair technique in the future.)
On 0-6-0's, I use a piece of paperclip to replace broken plastic crosshead guides.
Driver pins for side rods that keep coming out can be repaired simply. Use a pair of pliers to SLIGHTLY squeeze the very end of the pin (maybe 1/64 to 1/32 inch long) to make the cross section of the pin oval-shaped instead of round. Then install the side rod and push the pin into place. If super glue is used, it will never come apart again for future repairs; therefore, I do not recommend using super glue on pins.
Plastic spacers can be repaired with a soldering iron to make a plastic fusion weld.
Valve gear retaining pins on 0-6-0's can be repaired by using super glue to attach a tiny angle made from tin can stock between the valve gear rod and the zamac chassis.
Drive shafts on 4-4-0 Jupiters can be fabricated from a suitably-shaped (hand filed) piece of flat metal stock.
A well repaired Bachmann steam locomotive is worth something when finished.
Have fun.
Regards,
ag01
