Restarting an Unused HO Engine

Saw a review of that recently in one of the rags. Reviewer was a "name" in the hobby and, of course, I can't recall who. Anyway his conclusion was that it Works. Some of it is coming back to me as I type - may have been in O Scale Trains.

No.

The bands he's referring to are not traction tires but actual rubber bands that looped around both the driveshaft and the axles of older Athearn diesels, forming part of the drive system. They rotted away very quickly as they sat right next to the open-framed motor that filled the diesel's shell with rubber-eating ozone every time it operated. The bands also didn't provide much in the way of gear reduction, which is why those early Athearn diesels were known for their ability to run at scale speeds approaching 200 MPH.

There was also the "BOIIIING! phenomenom" which occured during rapid throttle movements, when the rubber bands would stretch and release several times; causing the loco to speed up and slow down several times before finally stabilizing at a given throttle settting.

~Pete

On 8/12/2009 6:42 PM Christopher A. Lee spake thus:

Since the loco is only 20-something years old, I'm willing to lay odds that it uses the modern drive arrangement (shafts w/u-joints) rather than the old-fashioned rubber-band drive.

Nobody here jumped to that conclusion. Everyone said to check for it. Why did YOU jump to that conclusion?

He did. No bands.

-- Ray

That came up later. His original post said nothing about selling it.

-- Ray

Is that the stuff that holds those cover CDs to computer magazines? That stuff could allow you to drive your car upside down on a bridge. Well, almost.

-- Ray

Yes, those are the bands I was referring to.

-- Ray

Even if it did, who in their right mind would get an armature resurfaced by a machinist when you could buy a DCC equipped loco for the same price or stick in a new motor for a lot less!

I have my own milling machine. Deal.

-- Ray

First off, the engine is making noise so it is picking up power from the track quite well. Older Athearn engines used a rubber band drive where the shaft of the motor is extened over the drive wheels and a rubber band goes from the shat down to the wheels. The axles on the wheels were large diameeter (almost as big as the wheels themselves) and that was how the engine moved. Later engines (if you have the SD9 - 6 axles on the loco) you will have the gear drive which is easy to work on although a bit harder than the earlier band drive, and the gears themselves can run dry although some light application of grease whon't hurt them. Be sure to use oils and greases that are suitable for plastics as cheap 3 in 1 oil isn't. The motor does need a drop on each bearing as does the top shaft of the trucks which take the power from the motor. For an aid in testing the loco, there is a metal piece that goes from one truck across the top of the motor and to the other truck and this is one side of the track power. The other side of the track power is the frame and if you connect one of the power wires to the frame and the other to the bar across the top, you will be able to make the loco run. I'll also note that if the loco is overloaded with cars, it will just spin the wheels and not really go anywhere but you will see the loco shaking in such a case. Athearn parts are available from the factory. Some of the plastic gears have ben known to split and that will stop a loco so inspect all of the gears for a spider crack from the center out.

-- Bob May

rmay at nethere.com http: slash /nav.to slash bobmay http: slash /bobmay dot astronomy.net

That's not "getting the armature resurfaced by a machinist", that's doing it yourself. Even if you are a machinist.

So what? You wouldn't do it. Others might. It remains an option even though you don't like it. What's your problem here? Do you really feel such an overwhelming need to "win" on this issue? A resurfacing of the armature on a miniature engine is really not that costly.

But then, you will never know.

-- Ray

Have a nice day, Ray. Be sure to get the last word in.

On 8/13/2009 6:13 PM Ray Haddad spake thus:

Before this thread gets out of hand and turns into yet another pissing match (curious how many threads in which R. Haddad participates go that way), it should be pointed out that a loco commutator needing machining is, once again, probably the wrong prescription. For a loco that's been run hard and long, maybe. One that's basically been stored away for 20+ years? Believe me, the commutator does *not* need machining, either by oneself or by a professional.

Deal.

Agreed. Lets look at the simple logical things first, the ones that are known to go bad with an Athearn loco. Things like a broken gear or lack of lubrication!

-- Bob May

rmay at nethere.com http: slash /nav.to slash bobmay http: slash /bobmay dot astronomy.net

That was a last resort. You guys are so intent on making yourselves the authorities on everything that nobody else can even offer a solution. Read what I wrote again if you have to.

-- Ray

On 8/13/2009 11:28 PM Ray Haddad spake thus:

Of course, it turns out that the OP's loco doesn't have traction tires, as I had guessed, so this isn't helpful.

Not what I would have chosen, but should work; fair enough.

Brush wear is unlikely to be an issue for a loco which was evidently little used and then stored, let alone a "gouged" commutator (what you meant type instead of "armature"), so again not helpful.

So you gave one small piece of helpful advice.

Who is his usual foil? I was knee deep in the big muddy when I realized pushing on was senseless.

LD wrote:.

...

Where is Greg Procter when we need him to debate with Mr Haddad?