Hi Rob,

I have a  couple of engines causing me issues too. At this point I'm not sure if it's the DCC decoder or the can motor. I'll take any tips on how to use a voltmeter properly so I can tell where the problem might be.

Rob (in Maine)

This is a great forum with wonderful people. Glad your here!!

Welcome, Rob. No manufacturer that I know of has blueprints available. About the only thing you can do is hope to find the manufacturer's parts list sheet which sometimes has a blow-up of the parts and their location on the locomotive. Almost all new locomotives have this, but older ones would be a hit and miss endeavour. You may want to post the model and manufacturer to see if someone has one of these for a particular engine. Good luck and have fun.

Roy

Rob(in Maine),

A good source for information on engines is the manufacturers websites. for older engines there are diagrams here.

http://hoseeker.net/lit.html

For the basics of using a multi-meter, here is a good video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF3OyQ3HwfU

A simple DCC decoder instructions can be found here.

http://www.digitrax.com/static/apps/products/mobile-decoders/dh123ps/documents/DH123PS.pdf

Good Luck.

John

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When you are up to you ass in alligators, it is hard to remember that your original intention was to drain the swamp!  >> Unknown

Rob, you've found a great place to gather information about old locomotives or just about any other imaginable model railroad topic.  Glad you're here!  Post more information about specific engines you're working on if you get the chance!

Roger

There are three possible places to post loco rebuild questions depending on how you view the nature of the problem:

Track and electrical/DCC - if its an electrical or DCC question

Locos and Rolling stock - if you consider its a locomotive issue

Operations and maintenance - if you think its a maintenance problem

Dear Rob,

Good to hear of another loco mech/elec "tuner". Please note that in following this particular subset of the hobby, you are placing yourself in a highly exalted position, that of a modeller who is not afraid to remove the shell off a loco! (Such modellers are rarer than one might suppose...)

Some general thoughts:
- Diesel locos are generally easier to work on than steam locos

- get yourself an cheap Athearn Blue Box loco, get comfy with it, tweak and tune it both mechanically and electrically, and you'll have enough knowledge to take-on the majority of diesels manufactured over the last 30+ years.
(Athearn's engineering pioneered HO diesel mechs, and many of todays locos follow the same basic principles)

- Steam locos are generally harder, esp when keeping track of the rods and valvegear. Get an exploded-parts diagram at the very least _before_ you start removing any screws. Take your time, and document _every_ change you make (a digital camera with decent macro capability on the workbench can be a lifesaver when you try to remember whether Tab B goes in Slot A, or C).

- Many locos have production "phases", in which mechanical and electrical details of their assembly have been changed. (Bachmann HO 44-tonner, with at least 4 discernible "production phases", covering changes in motors/wheels/electrical-system is a classic example).

When dis-assembling and repairing a loco, keep in mind that all parts from 2 "apparently identical" locos _may_not_ be directly interchangable.
(subtle differences in axle-gears, motor types, truck mountings, can result in a "repaired" mechanism which may well try to tear itself apart).

- Working on plastic locos and brass locos are potentially very different missions. Start and get comfy with plastic diesels, graduate to steam locos, and then if needs and whims require, proceed with caution into brass locos.

- At the risk of being excessively controversial, dump the DCC, esp in "initial diagnostic" mode. All DCC decoder manufacturers agree and state in their instructions that "...a loco which does not run well/smoothly initially under straight analog DC will not suddenly be free of issues if converted to DCC...". Attention to the _basic_ mechanical and electrical/pickup systems of any loco (break out the volt and ammeter) will achieve as good a performance as the inherrent design allows. From there, DCC has a "known working platform" on which to do the magic that it does soo well...

- Most manufacturers have had at least 1 "lemon" design, to one degree or another. If you intend to specialise in a given scale/gauge combination you will readily pick up on your favorites and those you "expect trouble from". However, it's rarely wise to write-off any given manufacturer's entire loco line based on a bad experience (or 3) with any given loco model.

The above having been said, here's some references which might help you:

http://www.atlasrr.com/Support/locoshell.htm

http://www.atlasrr.com/downloads.htm

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/references_2010.php

http://www.mcor-nmra.org/publications/articles/athearn_tuneup.html

http://www.hoseeker.org/assemblyexplosionAthearn/Assembly%20Explosion%20Athearn%20F7A%201973.jpg

http://www.hoseeker.net/assemblyexplosionAthearn/Assembly%20Explosion%20Athearn%20GP38-2.jpg

http://www.hoseeker.net/assemblyexplosionAthearn/Assembly%20Explosion%20Athearn%20SW1500%201973.jpg

http://www.hoseeker.org/assemblyexplosionAthearn/Assembly%20Explosion%20Athearn%20U28%2030%2033B%201973.jpg

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

Prof has given some excellent advice.  I'll add a few points:

-Do not be afraid to modify a locomotive.  Most have little or no value as collectibles, so if you have to rework the drive, replace motors, rewire things, etc., you are doing nothing but improving the model.  some people would disagree with me, but as far as I know, the goal is to have a model which runs well and is a reasonable representation of the prototype.  If you can do that, then it should not matter what the model is made of, or what company produced the parts.

-Learn to reverse engineer and redesign a drive, especially if you are dealing with steam.  Many steam locomotive models benefit from complete rebuilding, sometimes with different crank pins, rods, gears, bearings, even entire frames.  If you can accept these as potential techniques, you have a lot more freedom when it comes to improving a model.  You may end up remanufacturing an entire locomotive (that's how I figured out that I could scratch build), but you will have the skill to tackle pretty much anything.

-There is no un-fixable model.  About the only models which I do not like to deal with are the pancake motor single truck drive Tyco, Life-Like and Bachmann diesels.  Even those can provide shells for better drives, and I have seen people put DCC decoders into them as well.  If you are willing to do some work tuning the mechanism, and accept the limitations, you can make a tolerable model out of just about anything.  If I had nothing better to do, I would likely collect junk trains and fix them up, just because it sounds like fun.

Hi Rob, you have found my niche in the hobby; fixing up the clunkers. I am an honorary member of the Ohio Valley Lines model rail road club. A friend of mine belongs to the club too and we started a "Trains for Tots" program 4 years ago. Every year at Christmas, the guys at the club have an open house and randomly give away train sets to kids. These sets are made up of "begged, borrowed & stolen" HO gauge stuff. As you can imagine, we end up with a lot of locomotives that need repair before they can be distributed. I do all of the repair work and ship the engines back to my friend. Others in the club refurbish track, cars etc. One member custom makes cardboard boxes for the sets to go in. To date, we have given away over 300 sets. People in the community donate old trains and money. My friend attends so many train shows and flea markets looking for train items that the dealers now know him and either just hand the stuff to him or charge him a tiny fee since they know what he is up to.

I do have a layout that now serves as a test track for repaired locos. I have so many parts and I have seen so many different locomotives drives that you wouldn't believe it.

The above posts about ho seeker are good recommendations for drawings and just to learn more about this great hobby.